Letters

LETTERS: Ban harmful agrochemicals to boost food safety

FARM

Most farmers in Kenya use this herbicide to kill weeds. FILE PHOTO | NMG

If death had an opportunistic target, it would be the Kenyan consumer.

The budding question these days is, what have we consumed that isn’t poisonous?

Recently, thanks to NTV investigative journalist Dennis Okari, we discovered that the meat we consume in Nairobi is laced with high amounts of sodium metabisulphite. One would say, I will stay safe and switch to vegetables and grains but they too have been found to contain high amounts of chemical residues.

The Pest Control and Produce Board website lists chemicals we end ingesting in our food. There are about 1,500 registered chemical products listed — the most notable one being glyphosate.

Most farmers in Kenya use this herbicide to kill weeds. It has recently been in the spotlight for its link to cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as a probable carcinogen that falls in group 2A. After carrying out exposure studies and meta-analysis on glyphosate, the agency ruled that there is strong evidence of DNA damage in human beings associated with the chemical.

There is sufficient evidence of cancer in animals associated with glyphosate and an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — a blood cancer that affects the immune system.

Not long ago, in the US, Dewayne Johnson sued Monsanto — an American agrochemical and agricultural corporation that is now owned by Bayer — the makers of Roundup.

He accused the firm of failing to inform him that the product contained glyphosate. The jury ruled that that chemical caused the non-Hodgkin lymphoma that Mr Johnson suffered.

He won the case and awarded $250 million in punitive damages and $39.2 million for losses.

Countries such as Austria and France are banning the sale and use of glyphosate.

In Germany, retailers are removing glyphosate from their shelves. In France, a court banned the sale and use of Roundup 360. French Agriculture minister Didier Guillaume announced that France would eliminate the use of glyphosate by 2021 with limited exceptions.

The Indian state of Kerala also banned the sale and use of glyphosate in February.

Despite such evidence and knowledge on the effects of glyphosate, the Pest Control and Produce Board still authorises the sale of glyphosate-based products to the Kenyan farmer.

Are farmers and consumers aware of the risks they face from using glyphosate and consuming produce grown with the chemical?

Relying on agrochemicals to produce food is not only harmful to human health but also creates a dependency that propels the cycle of poverty. This and other hazardous pesticides also compromise the constitutional right to safe food and a clean environment for consumers and smallholder farmers.

Yes, there is a looming food crisis in Kenya at the moment. But most certainly, Kenya does not need to rely on toxic chemicals such as glyphosate to grow food or increase its agricultural produce at the detriment of farmers and consumers who will be and are gravely affected or at risk.

There are numerous proven and effective ecological farming approaches used to control pests on farms. These practices protect the soil, the water and the climate and do not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs.

They also put power back into the hands of farmers, consumers and producers, rather than the corporations who control the food chain with harmful products and want to hold their grip on it

Practises such as push-pull technology, which involves intercropping a cereal crop with a repellent intercrop such as desmodium (push), with an attractive trap plant such as Napier grass (pull) planted as a border crop around this intercrop can control stemborer pests.

The use of plant extracts such as neem, garlic and chilli is also effective. These practices are not only effective in controlling pests but also ensure that consumers access chemical-free food.

Farmers do not need subsidised agrochemicals, they require proper storage facilities, water, markets and financial support to advance the sustainable and eco-friendly forms of farming they are already practising.

The regulator should make every effort to immediately restrict the use and sale of glyphosate products as well as other agrochemicals in Kenya.

Claire Nasike Greenpeace Africa’s food campaigner.