Supporting Integrated Pest Management in Kenya

In order to contribute to sustainable agriculture production, Dutch experts on pesticide management & IPM from Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and other Dutch organisations collaborate together with Kenyan stakeholders in this project funded by the Netherlands. The project is part of a larger initiative on harmonization of pesticide management in the East-African Region.

Expert visit

In the first week of June 2018 the Advisory Committee (AC) of the PEAR-Kenya project visited the Netherlands on invitation by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The projects’ AC members are drawn from organisations that deal with pesticides and IPM in one way or another and include PCPB, KEPHIS, MoA&I, AAK, FPEAK, KFC, University, IBMA-Kenya and ICIPE.

Pesticide Management

The aim of the visit was to explore Dutch and Kenyan practices on pesticide management, IPM, plant protection and (food) safety issues and to share knowledge and experiences. The full program entailed visits to Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Van den Berg Roses (rose grower), Quality Control Bureau (KCB), Koppert, the Dutch registration authority (CTGB), the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the research institutes RIVM and Wageningen University and Research.

Lessons learnt

Participants were very content with the range of topics addressed and expressed their positive expectations for the continuation of the project on pesticide management in Kenya. Some of the lessons learned include:

• To effectively promote IPM, the following 4 As are needed: Awareness creation, Adaptability, Availability and Affordability of the products.
• We live in a global market place. Decisions made at e.g. EU level affect the export of commodities from Kenya. Collaboration and information sharing is therefore important.
• The participants acknowledged the importance of Public-Private Partnerships between organisations. During the visit many industry-led initiatives passed the revue that were implemented jointly. The delegation agreed that also collaboration between parties in Kenya is needed.
• Use of (data) technology has been embraced in all areas including registration and monitoring of pesticides and inspection of food imports and exports.
• Dutch inspection is very efficient and is characterised by decentralisation of functions to various organisation, clear procedures, clear mandates and clear qualification requirements of users and distributors.
• The visit resulted also in a better understanding on current EU registration procedures and decision making, especially on Neonicotinoids.

Collaboration

This visit gave a positive boost to the Advisory Committee to support the PEAR-Kenya project and achieve enhanced effects. One of the main lessons learned was that no one organization can work on its own and that parties need to collaborate, also in Kenya.

Support

Up till the end of the project, which is foreseen in 2020, the project and the advisory committee will work together on pesticide management issues and support IPM in Kenya by working on e.g.  registration procedures of pest control products, human and environmental risk assessment and IPM curriculum development. Enhancing the collaboration among Kenyan and Dutch public and private sector stakeholders will be one of the main topics on the agenda of the next Advisory Committee meeting.

This project is initiated by the Netherlands Embassy in Kenya together in collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

More information

For more questions regarding the PEAR project you can contact Louise Wipfler in the Netherlands and Emily Osena in Kenya. For any other questions or suggestions you can send an email to nai-lnv@minbuza.nl.

Source: RVO.nl