Counting health toll of hazardous pesticides use

Spray Service Provider (SSP) John Kamau during the application of pesticides in a cabbage farm. Professional Spray Service Providers were helping farmers in the application of pesticides an initiative that is being implemented by a partnership between Farmers.[FILE/Standard]

As Isaac Kiptoo wipes away tears from his eyes, unable to shake away the memory of the warning signs of the dangers of the pesticides, which he handled daily at his former place of work at Elementaita, Nakuru County.

Attempts to voice his concerns went unheeded, and by the time their toll on his health could no longer be ignored, it was too late.

“They assured me that the pesticides were harmless,” Kiptoo says in reference to his then-employer, Farmland Aviation Ltd, a firm specialising in aerial spraying of agricultural chemicals.

He says despite his repeated protests, he was often transported inside unwashed tanks that still contained chemical residues.

Years of cleaning and being transported in the tanks, breathing in the harsh fumes of agricultural chemicals, took a toll on his health.

Now, battling blindness and a host of other side effects, Kiptoo is left to ponder what could have been if his complaints were addressed sooner.

It is, however, worth noting that his body literally began raising red flags –severe symptoms, including itchy eyes, nausea, vomiting, headaches, diarrhoea, and persistent skin irritation.

 “I was taken to the hospital when my condition worsened, and the doctors confirmed that my illness was caused by pesticide poisoning,” Kiptoo painfully narrated to participants at a recent international symposium on Pesticides, Environment and Health in East Africa hosted by Maseno University and the University of Oslo in Kisumu.

But by the time he was taken to the hospital, the damage had been done since his vision had deteriorated, the skin had started peeling off, and he had lost all his hair, a finger and two nails.

Kiptoo spent nearly two months in critical condition, fighting for his life.

“Although the company had promised to continue supporting my medical care, it eventually terminated my employment, leaving me helpless,” he says.

At his lowest point, a compassionate businessperson from Nakuru stepped in, covering his medical bills and supporting his rehabilitation.

“Later, doctors declared me permanently visually impaired, prompting my enrollment in the Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind, where I learnt mobility and independence skills,” he says.

Kiptoo raised the matter with the Nakuru Labour Office and the Occupational Health Department, and they found that the company had been negligent in ensuring worker safety.  He was paid Sh242,500 as compensation under the Work Injury Benefits Act. Still, he felt that justice must go beyond compensation.

 “Justice is not just about being paid. It is about protecting others from the same suffering,” says Kiptoo, who is now blind and has to be led by a guide.

“These chemicals must be regulated, and companies held accountable.”

He went to the Employment and Labour Relations Court, Nakuru, in 2007, during which he sued the company for breach of duty to provide a safe workspace. After the matter was heard, the Court awarded him Sh4 million in general damages and Sh2 million as future medical expenses in 2011.

In making the ruling, the Judge found that the award under the Workmen’s Compensation Act and the Work Injury Benefits Act was not a bar to any claimant injured while at work from claiming an award of damages available under any other law.

The Company appealed, but three judges of the Court of Appeal upheld the Employment and Labour Relations Court’s ruling in their judgment issued in December 2024.

“Therefore, we find no reason to interfere with the award of general damages at Sh4,000,000,” Justices Mohamed Warsame, Fredrick Ochieng and John Mativo of the Court of Appeal ruled, “…we find no reason to interfere with the award of Sh2,000,000 as future medical expenses.”

Role of pesticides in food security and national development

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) says the agriculture sector continues to play a critical role in Kenya’s economy, accounting for about 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total value of the goods and services Kenya produces in a year.

“The sector also employs over 40 per cent of the total population and more than 70 per cent of the rural populace,” says CBK.

The Migratory and Invasive Pests and Weeds Management Strategy 2022-2027, developed by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and two development partners, says that Kenya, like many other developing countries, relies on agriculture for its economic and rural development.

“One of the significant challenges that threatens the sector is increased invasion and infestation of pests and diseases due to climate change and other factors,” says the Strategy with the Ministry developed with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank.

Greenlife Crop Protection Africa, a Kenyan-based supplier of agrochemicals, seeds, farm equipment, and consultancy services to support African farmers, says there are different types of pesticides, including insecticides, which are used to control insects, herbicides, which control weeds and fungicides, which manage fungal diseases.

“Pesticides are an essential tool in controlling pests that can damage crops and reduce yields,” the firm says.

Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN), the national coordinating body for stakeholders promoting the organic agriculture sector in Kenya, says pesticides are viewed as the solution to control pests, diseases and weeds.

KOAN, in a survey titled Pesticide use in Kirinyaga and Murang’a Counties: control strategies, says lack of proper information and knowledge on the use of pesticides among the majority of farmers poses risks to food production and food safety in the country.

“Pesticides affect organisms in the environment and can cause acute and chronic human health effects,” it says.

Across East Africa, pressure is mounting to address the silent but devastating threat of synthetic pesticides used in agriculture and disease control.

Scientists, civil society groups, and policymakers warn that many chemicals still widely used in the region, including some already banned in Europe and other parts of the world, pose serious risks to human health and the environment.

Exposure occurs not only through direct contact during spraying but also indirectly through contaminated food, water, soil and air.