Foods / Tuesday, 09-Sep-2025

Viewpoint: ‘Herbicides reduce the cost of food production by half and triple yields’: Mass bans on synthetic chemicals would open the doors to 32 invasive species that threaten African crops

Viewpoint: ‘Herbicides reduce the cost of food production by half and triple yields’: Mass bans on synthetic chemicals would open the doors to 32 invasive species that threaten African crops

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The fall armyworm, just one of invasive species threatening Kenyan agriculture. Credit: Lyle Buss
The fall armyworm, just one of invasive species threatening Kenyan agriculture. Credit: Lyle Buss

A recent survey by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) shows the 32 key Invasive species in Kenya include 11 arthropods, 10 microorganisms,  seven plants and four vertebrates.

Some of the chemicals used to control invasive species are targeted for a ban by activists keen on promoting organic farming in Kenya.

It is also part of the European Union’s plan to force countries exporting foods to Europe to stop the use of pesticides.

“Chemical weed control is the most effective method to suppress weeds in order to get healthy and vigorous crop stand.”, says Emily Chepkoech, an agronomist from Egerton University.
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According to Thiong’o Mathenge, an agronomist in Nyahururu, herbicides reduce the cost of food production by half and triple yields of crops.

“The use of herbicides helps conserve the structure and composition of the soil which would have otherwise been damaged through ploughing as this would have left the field rough and cloddy,” he said.

According to the Agrochemicals Association of Kenya, there are more than 50 registered brands of herbicides that have all been assessed by the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) and found safe.

Mathenge says all that is needed is the judicious application of these herbicides, not a ban.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here.

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