Tax on pesticides bad for the country

But their greatest threat has always been pests and diseases. In fact, they wipe between 40 per cent and 100 per cent of yields whether on farm or in post-harvest, according to Food and Agriculture Authority.

The latest move by the government, therefore, is set to hit farmers and consumers the hardest as manufacturers have already announced that they will raise prices of pesticides.

Cost of production

This will see a 50 per cent increase in the cost of production for farmers, which will ultimately raise the price of food and increase dependency on food imports.

Besides farmers, the tax will affect the pesticide value chain from importers, distributors and retailers, who earn a living from the trade, and some who might now be forced to close shop.

Studies show that agro inputs like pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers account for more than 50 per cent of the production gross margins for majority of agricultural commodity enterprises.

Increased demand for the pest control products that will now be unaffordable will also lead to proliferation of counterfeits as rogue traders take advantage of desperate farmers.

The development will have serious ramifications on food production and water down the work done in fighting fake agrochemicals.

The new tax equally hurts the fledgling manufacturing sector and efforts to bolster its competitiveness as locally made products fight for the same market with imported ones that are highly subsidised in country of origin. Kenya is now among the few countries taxing an area that governments world over have increasingly subsidised.

Lastly, the nation is coalescing around the transformative Big Four Agenda to guide the development agriculture, among other areas.

The agenda hopes to boost food production, but this will not be possible by making it hard for ordinary food producers to access basic inputs that are vital in growing yields.

The government should remove the tax on pest control products and save farmers the nightmare of facing pests and diseases and being unable to control them.