I am looking at a 200g pesticide pack just 15cm away on my desk. It is Furadan 5G.
In a workshop on pesticide externalities that I attended hardly a fortnight ago, it turned out that Furadan 5G is not ranked amongst the top ten most used pesticide in a sampled part of central Kenya. Central Kenya is an intensive crop production zone favoured by optmum climatic conditions. Due to small land sizes together with the entrepreneural nature of the native community who grow food crop for sell in the nearby country’s capital city Nairobi, pesticide use is high for maximum yields. It is amazing however that Furadan, an acclaimed effective nematicide is not ranked amongst the most used pesticides in the area.
In my first Furadan survey, I found 88% Furadan availability in the areas that I surveyed. These were mostly around Nairobi. This area is characterized by both pastoralist and crop farming activities areas, though these are markedly distinct. In summary I found out that the crop farmers knew little about Furadan compared to pastoralists. Now that this product is not in high use especially in the agricultural stronghold in the neighbourhood of Nairobi gives an option of its use in the not so far pastoralist neighbourhood. I am afraid this just a confirms my survey’s inference and the way I had wished I was wrong.
It is worrying to think that the sole purpose for which Furadan is meant for as an insect/nematode pesticide is becoming obsolete if it has not already. A killer’s ready preparation for poisoning?
Donations made here are
Feb 3rd Elizabeth H USD 20.00
3 Comments
Seems that furadan is mostly in use where it is not meant to be, if crop farmers do not know much about it and pastrolists do, then this means that it’s the pastoralists who use it alot to poison, because I can think of nothing else they would use it for.
I received this wildlife alert email from the Defenders of
wildlife website to ban carbofuran in the U.S
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to ban carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide used for field crops.
Now the EPA is taking the next step by moving to ban food with
traces of carbofuran from sale in the U.S.
In its decision to ban the sale of this pesticide in the United
States, the EPA confirmed what scientists and conservationists
have been contending for decades: carbofuran cannot be used
without killing birds, bees, fish and other wildlife.
Now the Agency has concluded that even carbofuran residue on food
poses unacceptable risks to public health — especially to young children. It can also cause irreversible nervous and reproductive system damage to people who work with crops that are treated with this pesticide.
A million pounds of carbofuran are applied each year in the U.S. Although this impacts less than 1 percent of the nation’s farm
lands, the pesticide is commonly used by developing countries
that export rice, bananas, sugar cane, coffee and other crops to
the U.S. and elsewhere.
This decision could have a dramatic ripple effect in the international community. Banning carbofuran residues on food
sold to the U.S. will give developing countries a powerful
incentive to stop using this deadly poison.
But not everyone is applauding the EPA’s decision.
FMC Corporation — the sole manufacturer of carbofuran in the
U.S. — is currently suing the federal government for moving to
ban the pesticide and has vowed to fight the agency’s latest “no-tolerance” policy on food residues.
Thanks Francis. There was no better way of refreshing everyone’s mind. In Kenya fmc are also definately not amused and have reminded us that the product is useful rather than harmful. That is not what we have seen on our animals. It is even becoming apparent that it is being used by much fewer farmers compared to the ‘poachers’, be it in poisoning a troublesome carnivore that is attacking their livestock or killing birds and fish for human consumption. fmc however have the support of the local pesticides boards. There is a good reason…….