Economy

Avocado farmers decry slow pesticides vetting

avocado

An avocado farmer tends his crop in Nyeri. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Avocado farmers have decried the slow approval of pesticides by the regulator saying it is putting their investments at risk.

Through their lobby, the Avocado Society of Kenya (Asok), the farmers said it takes up to three years for the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) to inspect and conduct trials of new chemicals.

Asok chief executive Earnest Muthomi claimed some manufacturers have had to give out bribes to have trials for their products done.

“The process is tedious and in some cases prone to corruption. Officers there [PCPB] ask for bribes before they designate experts who work with those from the manufacturers for trials of the chemicals.

Currently we have only five products approved for use in the country which poses a challenge since some of them are not found in the market,” Mr Muthomi told Business Daily in an interview in Meru.

On Monday, PCPB executive officer Peter Opiyo could not be reached for comment about the corruption allegations as his phone went unanswered. However, in an earlier interview, He had said they would fast track registration, adding that there was no pending application so far.

“Any company expressing interest is free to do so and so long they follow the procedure and all requirements fulfilled ours is to register the products,” Mr Opiyo said.

Mr Muthomi said farmers had resorted to using illegal chemicals to control pests despite their efficacy.