Transcript Kenya's position on pesticides

KENYA’S POSITION ON PESTICIDES IN
TEA
INTERSESSIONALMEETING OF THE
INTERGOVERMENTAL GROUP ON TEA
MOMBASA KENYA
18th -19th July 2011
TEA RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF KENYA
Background information
Setting of MRLs is currently an integral part of
food safety to protect consumer health.
A default limit of 0.01mg/kg is imposed where an
agricultural chemical is not authorized in the
countries importing commodity; or MRL limits
are set based on GAP and ADI (Acceptable Daily
Intake) levels of chemical toxicological data.
Codex Alimentarius Commission was established
to safeguard food safety & trade- Kenya benefits
from codex MRL standards- Kenya Standard KS
65-2009 adopted Codex limits for heavy metals in
Black tea.
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Minimization of pesticide
contamination in Kenyan Tea
A very small (less than 0.2 percent) area of the total
planted area with tea in Kenya is affected by pests
and diseases. The pests and diseases are also very
minor (not of economic sigificance)
The pests includes; tea mites (red crevice mites, red
spider mites and purple mites), scale insects, tea
weevils, tea mosquito bug and chafer grubs.
Diseases include; Hypoxlon serpens-wood rot and
Armillaria spp.-root rot.
Level of crop losses is minimal and below economic
injury level
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Measures taken to contain pests and
diseases below economic injury level in
Kenya includes;
Regular Pest and disease surveillance through
field visits.
Conservation and utilization of indigenous natural
enemies to benefit from the law of natural control.
Adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
system where pest and disease problems are
remedied mainly by cultural practices.
Developing and availing pest and disease
resistant/tolerant tea varieties.
Management of weeds through manual operation.
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Pest Control Products regulation in
Kenya
• The national regulatory body-Pest Control Products
Board (PCPB) collaborates with the TRFK on
evaluation of pest control products (PCP) for use in tea.
• Products being evaluated in the event that their use will
in future be necessary, are products such as botanicals
(plant based products), biological agents such as
entomopathogenic or antagonistic fungi and petroleum
based oils. None of these are synthetic chemicals.
• Farmers are trained on Good Agricultural Practices
(GAP) and on need for adherence on the same.
• Consequently, Kenyan teas are pesticide free.
• Recent monitoring by TRFK of East African teas for
presence of heavy metals and toxic elements has not
found the levels to be above the stipulated limits
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Kenya’s Position on MRL
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Use of pesticides in tea production should be discouraged.
We advocate for continuous consultation and dialogue among all
stakeholders of tea in the world to exchange ideas and experiences
on issues regarding management of pests and diseases and on
MRLs, heavy metals, toxic elements, harmful microorganism and
mycotoxins.
Setting of MRLs should be informed by scientific data derived from
properly designed and controlled trials as per FAO, 1990 guidelines
Setting of MRLs should be based on the tea liquor since most of the
tea is used as a beverage.
Pest management practices in tea should embrace IPM strategies.
All producer countries should develop, implement and enforce
Codes of practice that will ensure safe tea products.
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THANK YOU
12 July, 2016
Tea Research Foundation