Food Safety Awareness Intensified in Nyandarua County
A multisectoral approach has been embraced in a bid to sensitise members of the public on safe use of pesticides to enhance food safety. Inappropriate use of pesticides leads to human and animals being exposed to residues in food.
Micro Enterprise Support Program Trust MESPT in partnership with Keitt Exporters Limited, on Friday did a back-to-back roadshow at Njambini, Munyaka, Engineer, Ndunyu Njeru and finally concluded in Kinangop South at Kwanguruka area
Other partners on board were Nyandarua County Agriculture department, PCPB, KEPHIS, Syngenta and Bayer. All partners called on responsible use of pesticides.
Mr. Dipesh Devraj, the Operations & Commercial Director at Keitt Exporters noted that they are very keen on having farmers produce safe food as it is the only way of guaranteeing markets. He noted that farmers groups that will not adhere to responsible use of pesticides will be banned and blacklisted. He urged farmers to report unscrupulous pesticides dealers to KEPHIS and PCPB.
Ms. Doreen Kinoti of MESPT called on the farmers to comply with the responsible use of pesticides so that they can reap great gains from competitive markets. The county government officials also reiterated the health and financial benefits that a complying farmer is likely to get.
They challenged the residence to take up the chemical use as a personal responsibility (self-regulation) but also use the ‘Nyumba Kumi’ model so that a few farmers do not spoil the markets for a whole region. The regulators PCPB and KEPHIS explained that utilizing the trained spray service providers is the way to go as buying protective gears and spray equipment by individual farmers could be expensive. Furthermore, they noted that there should be strict adherence to use of chemicals for the intended purpose and the right quantity of chemical should also be adhered to.
Commenting on the issues of food safety. Dr. Kimani, CEO Pest Control and Products Board adds that farmers must read the label on the pesticides package and ensure they use the product on the crop for which it has been registered and follow the prescription on rates and pre-harvest intervals.
Also if food being grown for export, it’s important to understand the market requirements on use of pesticides and ensure compliance with their standards. Some market standards may be different from those used in Kenya.
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