As the global community’s attention is drawn towards food safety and food standards, the Nakuru County Government, in partnership with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), has rolled out a campaign seeking to reduce the risk of pesticides to stakeholders in the food value chain.

The initiative dubbed ‘Ukulima True’ which has also received support from the Centre for Behaviour Change and Communication (CBCC), is further aimed at raising awareness of environmentally friendly bio-control and bio-practice products.

According to Deputy Director, CABI Africa, Dr. Monica Kansiime, excessive use and misuse of pesticides are causing a loss of biodiversity, destroying beneficial insect populations, and reducing food safety.

Kansiime indicated that through the program that will run up to December 2023, smallholder farmers are being trained to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) to ensure healthy crops and lower the risk of contaminating produce with dangerous pathogens or agrochemicals.

The Deputy Director expressed concern that food safety guidelines and regulations put more emphasis on food exportation than domestic food, adding that more emphasis should be put on ensuring that domestic food is also taken care of.

Speaking during an on-farm training session for 30 farmer groups in Subukia Sub-County, the Deputy Director disclosed that initiative was part of a process to streamline Kenya’s food production systems to align them with the sanitary and phytosanitary standards, the guidelines for producing safe food.

‘Farming is a noble profession, and there is a need to educate farmers on food safety, environmental sustainability, and workers well-being in fruits and vegetables farming,’ said Kansiime.

The Deputy Director noted that by following GAPs, from field preparation through harvest, storage, and marketing, the risk of contaminating produce can be greatly reduced.

‘The reality is that every Kenyan is exposed to pesticides which, when sprayed on crops, can end up in the human body through the food, fruits, veggies, and drinks that we consume,’ she said.

‘We are investing in training the avocado, tomato, maize, and bean producers to adopt integrated crop management and integrated pest and disease management practices that advocate for building diverse and resilient systems to drought, pests, and diseases,’ she added.

Kansiime said, ‘The key to a pest- and disease-free farm is farm hygiene, where the farm is kept weed-free and at the right crop density and spacing. With a changing climate, timely planting can help evade adverse weather that predisposes crops to disease attack. It can also help evade periods of high pest and disease attacks on the crops.’

Kenya is a signatory to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Protocol, with the objective of making sure that food is safe and that trade is not hindered.

The Deputy Director said an estimated 40 per cent of crops are lost to pests globally, among which fall army worms in maize and the tomato leaf miner are well known for their devastation.

‘CABI is helping growers adapt to this major challenge through projects like the Bio Protection Portal that apply expertise in digital development and crop health to promote sustainable approaches to pest control and management,’ said Kansiime.

The Bio Protection Portal brings together in one place the various safer and more environmentally friendly bio-control and bio-pesticide products that growers can add to their ‘arsenal’ against crop pests as part of an integrated pest management plan.

‘Ukulima True’ campaign, which is part of the CABI PlantwisePlus programme, promotes soil health improvement to ensure crops are healthy and able to fight off pest and disease attacks.

Other aspects of the initiative include crop diversification, rotation, and intercropping to take advantage of natural repellents and physical barriers for insect control.

‘Reducing pesticide risks will improve the safety of food and protect farmers, community members, animals, and environmental health. PlantwisePlus also works to ensure safer plant protection products, such as biopesticides and biocontrol products, are readily available and affordable for farmers,’ the Deputy Director added.

County Agribusiness Officer Ms. Miriam Kinyanjui indicated that pesticides can persist in the environment for decades, pollute water resources, and pose a threat to the entire ecological system.

Kinyanjui said the County Government was ensuring that spray service providers are trained and registered and that it was educating farmers on sustainable and safe ways to produce food.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that nearly three million people are poisoned and 200,000 die every year. In Kenya, about 350,000 cases of pesticide poisoning are reported annually.

While observing that pesticide overuse was a threat to food safety, the Agribusiness Officer said some of Kenya’s horticultural products destined for export markets have been intercepted based on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), defined as the maximum concentration of pesticides that are either not permitted in the markets or exceed the set limits.

‘We have begun educating our farmers on how to comply with the rules of the European market. Kenya has had challenges with cut flowers and, more recently, beans and avocados. All agrochemical companies should ensure proper use of their products through adequate labeling using the widely used national language and take responsibility where harm occurs due to lack of sufficient information,’ she added.

Kinyanjui stated that through the initiative, farmers are being educated to adopt food production methods that do not emphasize the use of pesticides and other chemicals.

She underscored the need to step up surveillance and monitoring at ports of entry, including airports and border posts, to ensure that unscrupulous traders do not smuggle deadly substances into the country.

Experts have warned that many farmers in Kenya rely on profit-driven agrovets rather than agricultural extension officers to manage pests and diseases. This has led to the proliferation of crop protection products in the country, particularly those that are banned in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

A study that focused on Kirinyaga and Murang’a counties found that tomatoes are among the basic food products on which pesticides are largely misused.

Kinyanjui underscored the need to strengthen pesticide risk regulation, research, and education to yield possible alternatives and put a stop to the importation of all the pesticides banned in the European Union.

Records from the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) indicate that Kenya has banned 43 products and restricted the importation and use of five others.

The board is now working with an international partner to train Kenyans on what to look out for. This is vital as pesticide use in Africa has increased by nearly 70 per cent between 1999 and 2021.

A 55-year-old avocado farmer, Ms. Rosemary Kamau, said she was now aware of the Bio-pest control method that makes use of pathogens, insect predators or parasitoids, pheromones, and insect traps to keep pest populations low.

‘I now know that the release of predators and parasitoids of pests such as ladybird beetles, spiders, wasps and predatory mites is also helpful. They have taught us that the use of pheromone dispensers to disrupt pest mating and the use of traps like sticky coloured boards, pheromone traps, and light traps to catch insect pests are also useful,’ observed Kamau.

Kamau said a farmer can attract predators by planting pollen- and nectar-producing plants.

Capsicum farmer Mr. Josiah Ngumi said the farmers had been enlightened on companion plants that repel pests naturally when grown next to crops.

‘These plants include garlic, which repels beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, and spider mites when grown next to vegetables. Basil repels tomato hornworms, while marigolds planted near squash or cucumbers repel cucumber beetles and nematodes,’ Ngumi said.

He added that he was now aware that various plant extracts and other natural materials can be used to repel pests, reduce their feeding or reproductive activities, and reduce the proliferation of diseases.

Source: Kenya News Agency