Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has warned that stern action will be taken against cartels, whom he accused of sabotaging the government's efforts to eliminate toxic pesticides in ongoing efforts to achieve food safety standards.
Kagwe claims that these parties have, in the past two months, been reinforcing their opposition towards the government's decision to ban the importation of 50 pesticides, which were deemed unfit.
In a statement on Wednesday, June 11, the Agriculture CS said the cartels have been using unlawful strategies such as bribing legislative and regulatory bodies to block governments' efforts to enforce food safety standards.
Furthermore, the CS claims that the cartels have also used their influence to ensure that the media reports positive things about the banned agrochemicals in the Kenyan market.
Kagwe stressed that the government will not backstep in its bid to strengthen pesticide regulations in the country, despite the pushback by the individuals.
"You can expect these determined to produce the pesticides that you don't want to fight back. They will fight back through the media to ensure that they are reporting good things, they will also fight back in our legislative houses by bribing members of parliament and others to ensure that they have their agenda being sustained by the ministry," Kagwe said.
“This is not just a policy issue—it is a fight for the health of our people, the integrity of our food systems, and the future of our environment,” he said.
Speaking in Nakuru on Wednesday, April 7, Kagwe said that the 50 banned brands of agrochemicals, which he did not name but claimed that he received a list of the brands from the Pest Control Products Board(PCPB), were also prohibited in their country of origin.
Following the ban, the CS asserted that the government will now empower local manufacturers of pesticide products to promote safer locally produced products, especially from locally grown pyrethrum.
The CS assured that the government will ensure that farmers have the necessary resources at their disposal to expand the country's pyrethrum farming from the current 10,000 acres to over 70,000 acres to boost the production of these products.
Kagwe further assured that this step will also play a critical role in creating job opportunities in the country's agricultural ecosystem.
"People from the PPCB have given me a list of 50 chemical products that we have been importing from other countries to control our pests, and we have decided that we will stop the importation of the products," Kagwe said.
