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By Jackson Okata
Nairobi, Kenya: A consortium of civil society players within the food systems sector has called on the government to enhance the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB)’s capacity to enforce pest management decisions effectively.
Speaking in Nairobi, the groups said limited budgetary allocations could hamper PCPB’s efforts to implement the government’s decision to withdraw 50 harmful pesticide products from the market.
Anne Maina, the National Coordinator of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, called on parliament, the National Treasury and the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen the capacity of all institutions mandated to regulate, surveil and enforce pesticide management decisions as recommended by the Departmental Committee of Health Report on Public Petition 70 of 2019.
“Despite its central regulatory role, PCPB remains underfunded, understaffed, and not formally categorized as a state corporation, thus undermining its ability to enforce pesticide regulations effectively”, she said.
She cited the example of the stalled construction of the national pesticide residue laboratory, initiated in 2018, a delay she blamed on limited funding.
They lauded the Cabinet’s recent approval of a bill to transform PCPB into a full-fledged regulatory authority, saying the legislative reform will address the governance, budgetary, and operational gaps that have historically undermined the Board’s effectiveness.
Concerning the government’s recent move to withdraw 50 harmful pesticide products, the consortium said that if effectively implemented, it will mark a decisive step towards safeguarding human health and biodiversity as well as Kenya’s ecological integrity, aligning with global best practices.
“This is a crucial step towards a safer, more sustainable food system,” Maina said.
The group cited the enactment of the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 and Section 12(2) of the Standards Act (cap 496), as critical legislation that can provide a robust legislative foundation to support and enforce the ban of 50 harmful pesticide products and the issue of double standards in chemical regulations.
They, however, raised concerns over several pesticide products, previously flagged for phase-out and scheduled to be withdrawn from the Kenyan market by December 2024, but still circulating.
Additionally, the food safety advocates want the Ministry of Agriculture to make public the list of 50 pesticide products targeted by the ban.
They want highly hazardous and widely used active ingredients long identified as a priority for regulatory action to be included on the list. Some of the products are Mancozeb, Paraquat, Glyphosate, Carbendazim, and several synthetic pyrethroids such as Lambda-cyhalothrin, Cypermethrin, and Deltamethrin.
To ensure that Kenya’s pesticide regulatory reform maximizes benefits to human health, the environment, and agricultural resilience, the consortium is recommending the establishment of a multidisciplinary advisory panel of independent toxicologists, ecotoxicologists, agronomists, public health experts, farmers’ representatives, and civil society organisations to mitigate risks of regulatory capture.
“We call on the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to formulate specific regulations to implement the double standards provision introduced under the Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024,” said Easter Bett, Executive Director, Resources Oriented Development Initiatives.
She added, “Clear and enforceable regulatory guidelines are critical to ensure this legal safeguard translates into meaningful protection for Kenyan farmers, consumers, and ecosystems”.
Bett called for a withdrawal strategy combined with the promotion of safer, effective alternatives—including Integrated Pest Management (IPM), biopesticides, and agroecological approaches, as well as supporting registration and approval of safer alternatives, which she says is critical to ensure farmers access quality alternatives.
We welcome the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to adopt the Farmers’ Resource Guide: Achieving Food Production without Toxic Pesticides (RTFI, 2024), which provides practical, farmer-friendly solutions to reduce pesticide dependency while maintaining crop productivity.
Groups under the consortium include the Route to Food Initiative, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, Kenya Organic Agriculture Network, Consumer Grassroots Association, Resources Oriented Development Initiatives, Centre for Environment Justice and Development, among others.
