After WildlifeDirect spoke to the father of 3 year old Kimutai last week there has been a flurry of media regarding this case. National Geographic also interviewed the childs father and the manufacturers of Furadan, FMC claim to be conducting their own investigations . This is not the first time that a human being has died from ingesting  deadly amounts of carbofuran, however it is the first time that it has gained media attention and a response from FMC in Kenya.

No reporting or under reporting of pesticide poisoning suggest this is probably not an isolated case

According to our sources in Uganda, a young man died in Uganda after ingesting Furadan last year. Although reported to FMC, we are told that FMC apparently have not responded to that incident. In the case of Kimutai the story reached the media because of a coincidence – the father knew a journalist who happened to be aware of the campaign to ban carbofuran in Kenya. Kimutai’s father told me that he fears that thousands of others may have been affected and have simply not reported the incidents. In rural Kenya autopsies are not conducted – and so the evidence trail ends.

A report compiled by the international crop research institute ICIPE states that 97.5% of Kenyan green bean farmers use pesticides and all are purchased in AgroVet stores.  The ICIPE report also claims that

“A fairly high proportion (about 21%) of farmers reported having visited clinics for treatment for maladies related to pesticide usage.” 

With such a high rates of maladies associated with pesticides one would expect the regulations to be stringently enforced. They are not. Kimutai was buried without an autopsy being conducted and according to his father, no record of the pesticide poisoning was forwarded to higher government offices. It seems that Kimutai represents an incident that never got recorded even as a statistic, even FMC cannot be sure that he died of Furadan poisoning. There were no tests, no documentation and apparently no death certificate. We agree with his father believes that this lack of reporting may be concealing a serious problem in farmlands across Kenya.

What does the Furadan label actually communicate?

 I have been asking people to read the Furadan label and tell me what it means

Two people have told me that it is a pest killer  for any form of pest from insects to rats to lions – this they know from recognizing the packaging and from previous experience. Two people thought it was a dusting powder for dogs against ticks – indeed the packaging for tick powder is in an identical container and may explain why Maasai herdsmen are trying to use Furadan on sheep. At half the price it’s a simple economic decision.

One person thought it was for malaria – the yellow square with x in side it is apparently a symbol used on malaria medicine.

None of the 5 people asked thought it was a deadly toxin. They associate a skull and cross bones with that.  None of the people I interviewed could explain what the six symbols in yellow at the bottom meant. Before I share with you recordings of farmers trying to explain – please send me your thoughts – what do you think the 7 symbols in yellow boxes at the bottom of the label mean?

Status of Furadan Buy-sback in Kenya 

We can also confirm that while the availability of Furadan  in Kenya is down, it is by no means gone from the Agrovet outlets. I personally visited several Agrovets in and around Nairobi and can confirm that it cannot be found anywhere near the headquarters of Juanco, the Kenyan distributor. Most Agrovets said they thought it has been banned by the government, however they admitted that it could be found in certain Nairobi stores, in major seed outlets and in up country Agrovets.

We have just received a report that it is available in Eldoret, a major agricultural town in central Kenya.  WildlifeDirect has been collaborating with FMC on reporting the presence of Furadan in Kenya but we remain dismayed at the lack of information regarding how much Furadan has been bought back, from where, where it has been taken or how it will be disposed. We have had no response to a series of emails to FMC on these issues. Our greatest fear is that tons of the product may have simply been moved to  border towns just outside of Kenya where we know the Agrovet stores are fully stocked with the deadly pesticide.

Ban Carbofuran in Kenya and Africa to save people and wildlife 

WildlifeDirect and other conservation organizations in Africa are proud to be associated with National Geographics Derek Joubert who says “We need to use whatever networks we’ve got, whatever political power we’ve got, to impose on FMC to pull this product out of Africa—that’s the bottom line.”