EU threatens ban on fresh produce over pesticide levels

Citing high residue pesticide rates, the European Union had recently threatened to impose a ban on fresh produce exports from Kenya. Should the ban be implemented, Kenya could lose almost US $200 million per year in foreign exchange. In a report in the ‘East African Standard’, senior officials at the Ministry of Agriculture were quoted as warning that the EU had threatened to ban all horticultural produce from the country, including flowers, unless the maximum residue rates on chemicals were observed. The report also said that Senior Deputy Director of Agriculture in charge of irrigation, horticulture and crops, J K Nzuva told farmers in Embu that Nairobi was taking the matter seriously since it posed a great danger to this “vibrant sub-sector”. The sub-sector is rated fourth behind tea, coffee and tourism in foreign exchange earnings for Kenya.