Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: carbofuran | Date: Sep 22 2008 | By: Martin Odino

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?

Tags: crop farming, furadan, pastoralist, pesticide

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