Themes

The report “Toxic Business; Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya” presents analyses on actual data of pesticides used in 2020 in Kenya. It shows that immediate action is necessary to protect human health, the environment, and the right to healthy food in Kenya. Please see an overview of the reports content and recommendations. 

The Route to Food Initiative (RTFI) a programme of the Heinrich Böll Foundation has released the first ever report based on empirical data on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) in Kenya. 

The 2022 report was launched on Friday 24th March 2023 , held in Yala, marked the launch of the Accountability report, shedding light on the Statistics and Trends of Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances in the country. 

The Route to Food Initiative, a program component of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, has launched a special edition of the Chakula Magazine, a graphic novel entitled “The Blind Spot.”

Many pesticides are banned in the European Union. It is illegal to use them in EU Member States, yet it is allowed to produce and export them to third countries – where they pose great risks to people and their environment.

Beneficial insects provide enormous ecosystem services to Africa. However, to continue benefitting from these natural processes, sustainable farming and environmental management practices need to be promoted.

Pesticide use leads to residues in food to which many people around the world are exposed. Kenya is no exception. Global trade of pesticide products and produce means that contaminated food is every consumer’s responsibility.

Social justice is getting more complex as injustices keep emerging and the world develops. This is in comparison to the 19th century, during the civil revolution where social justice only aimed to create more egalitarian societies and capitalised exploitation of human labour.