A decision by a San Fransisco court to award a man over Ksh11.4 billion in a case against Monsanto after their popular herbicide 'Roundup' was proven to have caused his cancer has sent jitters in Kenya as the weed killer is widely used in the country.
Lobby groups in the country are now protesting its continued use and are calling on the government to ban and ask the manufacturer to recall all that is on the shelves of Kenyan Vet-agro's.
Eric Ogumo, the chairman of Society of Crop Agribusiness Advisers in Kenya reported that the development should be taken seriously to ensure that the local farmers do not suffer the same fate.
“This is not the first time farmers are challenging the use of the herbicide. The government now needs to do more research on the safety of the chemical and also benchmark its findings with other countries to find out the truth,” stated Ogumo
Consumer Federation of Kenya (CoFeK) executive officer, Stephen Mutoro has asked the farmers who have been using the chemical to cease immediately and seek medical attention for their own good.
“Should the local users of Roundup be found affected by the chemical, we will not hesitate to go to court for compensation,” Mutoro added.
According to Daily Nation, the pest control products board whose sole mandate is regulating the importation, export, manufacture, distribution, and use of products that control pests were unresponsive to the queries that were put forward.
A survey conducted by Daily Nation on Sunday, March 31, showed that most of the dealers open had the herbicide in stock.
In counties like Uasin Gishu, Narok and Trans-Nzoia where wheat, barley, and maize are grown on huge plantations, spraying is the main method of weed control.
Meanwhile, Bayer, who bought Monsanto for Ksh63 trillion have vowed to appeal the decision claiming their own research showed that the herbicide was safe.
