Laikipia farmers have welcomed domestication of agro-ecology policy and Bill by the county government which is geared towards promotion of organic agriculture that discourages use of hazardous pesticides.
The bill is set to be enacted next month following validation of the policy by various stakeholders which came about after months of stakeholders’ engagement following months of engagement.
Biovision officer Africa Trust officer Amos Meme told KNA that six other counties including Muranga, Kiambu, Kirinyaga,Busia , Vihiga, Makueni and now Laikipia have either domesticated the legislation or are in the process in line with country’s national policy on safeguarding food security.
“We advocate farming that promotes less use of chemicals while at the same time taking care of our environment and we are in Laikipia to support the agroecology policy that we feel it will go a long way developing agrifood systems,’ said Meme revealing that they were spearheading the initiative in partnership with other organizations like Biodiversity and Biosafety Association Of Kenya (BIBA),Farm Africa and Hivos, institutions geared towards promoting organic farming and campaign against toxic pesticides.
Once the bill becomes operational, the devolved unit will be obliged to allocate resources to support agro-ecology, organic farming, smart climate agriculture and preservation of drought tolerant indigenous seeds and livestock breeds facing risk of extinction.
“Once the policy is passed, there will be a clear roadmap on health production, processing and health consumption. We want counties to shift to environmentally friendly ways,” he said.
Farmers in the county welcomed the move noting that for years, use of agrochemicals in farming had caused an increase of diseases like cancer and at the same time polluted the environment.
“Agroecology is a campaign because some farmers have yet to embrace it and the policy will offer us with a clear roadmap on how to farm without use of chemicals and get benefits. Not only farming but issues of water scarcity, soil degradation and other climate change challenges will be addressed,” pointed out Cicilia Mburugua, a Nanyuki based small scale farmer.
The development comes in the wake of growing concerns on the adverse effect on human health arising from misuse of toxic chemicals, some of which are banned in developed countries.
Newly released research by the University of Nairobi and Kenya Organic Agriculture Network has revealed that nearly 80 percent of vegetables sold and consumed in Nairobi contain high levels of pesticide residues.
The findings indicate that a third of them exceed internationally recognised safety thresholds; with popular vegetables such as kales and spinach carrying a cocktail of up to seven different pesticides.
By Muturi Mwangi
