The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, has announced a ban on the importation of 50 pesticides which have been deemed unfit.
Speaking in Nakuru on Wednesday, April 7, the CS confirmed that the products, 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. According to the CS, the government will now empower local manufacturers of pesticide products to promote safer locally produced products, especially from locally grown pyrethrum. "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," he stated.
Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe during a meeting with Italy Country Director for Kenya Mariatu Kamara on February 6, 2025.
Photo Ministry of Agriculture The CS has further assured that the government will collaborate with the county governments to ensure that farmers have the necessary resources at their disposal so as 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.
