By Khalifa Hemed
More than 65 percent of the pesticides sold by Sygenta in Kenya are classified as ‘highly hazardous’ by the Pesticide Action Network, meaning they “are acknowledged to present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to health or environment” under international classification systems. Pesticides that are banned in the European Union (EU) due to their risks to health and environment continue to be exported to Kenya by European companies despite commitment made by the EU Commission in 2020 to ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the EU would not be produced for export.
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Quoting a study released by The Route to Food Initiative (RTFI) on September 13, 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) calls on the Government of Kenya to phase out the use of these highly hazardous pesticides within the East African country.
More than 85 percent of the pesticides sold by Bayer AG of Germany in Kenya are classified as ‘highly hazardous’ by the Pesticide Action Network, meaning they “are acknowledged to present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to health or environment” under international classification systems. The study says that in 2020 Highly Hazardous Pesticides by World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations, accounted for over 75 percent of the total pesticide volume in Kenya and nearly half were substances already banned in the EU due to their risks to health and the environment.
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“It should go without saying that pesticides considered too harmful for people living in Europe are equally harmful for those living in Kenya,” says Julia Bleckner, senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The European Union Commission should urgently introduce promised legislation to end the double standard of exporting dangerous pesticides that are already banned for use in the EU.”
“It should go without saying that pesticides considered too harmful for people living in Europe are equally harmful for those living in Kenya,” says Julia Bleckner, senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The European Union Commission should urgently introduce promised legislation to end the double standard of exporting dangerous pesticides that are already banned for use in the EU.”HRW says that data on Kenya’s pesticide use in 2020 obtained from a private market research company by the RTFI indicates that the Chinese-owned Swiss company Syngenta and German company Bayer AG had the largest market share by volume for pesticides in Kenya, together making up 35 percent. The group also found that more than 65 percent of the pesticides sold by Sygenta and nearly 85 percent of those sold by Bayer in Kenya are classified as ‘highly hazardous’ by the Pesticide Action Network, meaning they “are acknowledged to present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to health or environment” under international classification systems. Some of the pesticides sold by these companies in Kenya in 2020 had already been banned in the EU.
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The danger of highly hazardous pesticides is exacerbated in Kenya, where strategies and resources to minimize the effects of exposure are limited or not feasible. The location and size of farms means buffer zones are impractical for limiting pesticide drift or runoff to nearby homes, schools, and waterways. An Agrochemicals Association of Kenya study found that only 15 percent of farmers in Kenya wear full protective equipment when using pesticides for reasons including cost, lack of availability, or climate.The danger of highly hazardous pesticides is exacerbated in Kenya, where strategies and resources to minimize the effects of exposure are limited or not feasible. The location and size of farms means buffer zones are impractical for limiting pesticide drift or runoff to nearby homes, schools and waterways. An Agrochemicals Association of Kenya study found that only 15 percent of farmers in Kenya wear full protective equipment when using pesticides for reasons including cost, lack of availability, or climate.
Exposure to hazardous pesticides can have severe effects on the human rights to health, to adequate food, to safe drinking water, and to a healthy environment.
An ArtMatters.Info article
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