Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has raised the alarm over the continued sale of dangerous farm chemicals in developing countries, making a forceful call for unified global standards to end what he described as blatant “double standards in the regulation and distribution of agricultural inputs.” His remarks drew significant attention from delegates at the high-profile international gathering held in Kenya’s capital.
Kagwe delivered his address during the World Farmers Organization Annual Meeting 2026 in Nairobi, using the platform to shine a light on a deep-rooted inequality in global agri-chemical regulation. The Cabinet Secretary pointed out that while developed nations have moved decisively to prohibit certain chemicals due to documented risks to human health and the environment, those very same products continue to flow freely into markets across Africa and other developing regions, often with little regulatory resistance.
For farmers working the land, this is far from an abstract policy matter. In Borabu, Nyamira County, farmers such as Douglas Ndege can be seen applying herbicides to bean crops — a routine scene repeated across Kenya’s agricultural heartland. What many smallholder farmers may not realise is that some of the chemical products they handle on a daily basis have already been deemed too hazardous for use in Europe and North America, where safety thresholds are considerably more stringent.
Kagwe’s appeal was aimed squarely at governments, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders across the globe. He called on all parties to close the gap that allows chemical manufacturers to redirect products banned in their home countries to less regulated markets in Africa. The CS argued that this practice is not only deeply unfair but also poses grave risks to the health and livelihoods of millions of farming families who lack the resources to protect themselves from harmful inputs.
Kenya’s position, as articulated by Kagwe, is unambiguous: no nation should be treated as a disposal market for chemicals that richer countries have deemed unfit for their own citizens. This stance reflects a growing consensus among African governments that global trade and regulatory frameworks too often disadvantage smallholder farmers who are the backbone of food production on the continent.
By raising this issue at the World Farmers Organization forum in Nairobi, Kagwe placed Kenya at the forefront of a push for international agricultural reform. His message to the global community was direct — uniform safety standards for agricultural chemicals are not a privilege reserved for wealthy nations but a basic right for every farmer, regardless of where in the world they till their land.
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