By KPC Reporter
Kenya’s soils are deteriorating in quality, its rivers are transporting poisonous chemicals downstream, and pollinator numbers are decreasing, according to a new report by Greenpeace Africa.
The report has highlighted an intensifying but mostly unseen environmental disaster caused by Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) and inadequate monitoring systems.
Entitled Food or Poison? The Cost of Highly Hazardous Pesticides to Africa’s Food Security, the report documents extensive contamination across Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
It demonstrates how pesticides including chlorpyrifos, glyphosate, imidacloprid and atrazine are building up in soils, water systems and biological food chains.
The findings indicate deteriorating ecosystem health, with pollinators and soil organismsessential for agricultureamong the most affected.
In Murang’a County, researchers identified 11 different pesticide residues in bee products, while studies in Kisumu discovered contamination in all samples from five rivers, with concentrations dangerous to aquatic life.
The report further notes that nearly half of Kenya’s 141 registered pesticide active ingredients67 in totalare classified as HHPs, with 67% toxic to soil life, 46% to aquatic organisms, and 41% harmful to birds.
“We are poisoning the natural systems that our food depends on,” stated Elizabeth Atieno, Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa.
“The bees, the soil, and the rivers are the foundation of every farm in Kenya. When we lose them, we lose farming itself. What this report shows is that the damage is already happening, and almost no one is measuring it.”
She added that while Kenya’s partial ban on 77 HHPs is progress, enforcement shortcomings persist.
“A ban without monitoring tells us nothing about whether we are actually recovering,” she said.
The report highlights persistent loopholes, noting that chlorpyrifos remains permitted for termite control and imidacloprid is still allowed in greenhouse use.
It warns that without strict enforcement, clear phase-out timelines, and farmer support systems, the ban risks being mostly symbolic.
According to the report’s author, Silke Bollmohr, the evidence points to widespread environmental dispersion of pesticides beyond agricultural zones.
“The data is clear. These pesticides are not staying on farms. They are spreading into waterways, accumulating in bee products, and contaminating household dust that children breathe every day,” she said.
“What makes this even more concerning is that most countries have no systematic monitoring in place, so the true extent of contamination remains largely invisible. We are making decisions about Africa’s food future without full information.”
The report also emphasizes the socio-economic pressure on smallholder farmers, many of whom rely on chemical inputs due to limited access to alternatives.
Jeff Kahuho, Senior Program Officer at PELUM Kenya, said farmers are caught in a difficult cycle.
“Smallholder farmers are trapped,” he said.
“They are sold the idea that chemicals are the only way to protect their crops, yet the same chemicals are degrading the very soil and water that farming depends on. Agroecology offers a genuine alternative. What farmers need now is investment, training, and policy support.”
Additional findings show that pesticide contamination in Kisumu rivers included diazinon, imidacloprid, acetamiprid and atrazine, while in Narok, about 70% of water samples were contaminated with carbendazim, making some sources unsafe for infants.
Despite these findings, Kenya and most African countries lack systematic national monitoring programmes for pesticide residues in soil, water and food, leaving the full extent of ecological and human exposure largely undocumented.
Isaac Kariuki, an agroecology farmer, said his transition away from chemical pesticides has restored ecological balance on his farm.
“I have moved away from these toxic chemicals and started working with naturebuilding healthy soils, protecting water, and bringing back pollinators,” he said.
“It is possible to grow food without poisoning our land. But many farmers are still trapped, and the damage is spreading into our rivers and ecosystems.”
The report calls for a continent-wide phase-out of HHPs, a ban on the export of pesticides prohibited in the EU to Africa, expanded investment in agroecological farming, and the establishment of regional pesticide monitoring systems.