Thank you for bringing the petition titled “European Union stop manufacturing and exporting toxic pesticides banned in the EU” to our attention. We appreciate the opportunity to respond and would like to address the allegations regarding the export of pesticides not registered within the EU to Kenya and other countries.

The safety of our products is always our first priority. All our products are safe for humans and the environment if applied according to label instructions. We apply consistent safety standards worldwide, even if they are stricter than local regulations in some countries, and we have continuously adapted our portfolio accordingly. Since 2012, Bayer has no longer sold any crop protection products classified by the WHO as acutely toxic (classification 1a or 1b). Since 2016, Bayer has committed to selling only crop protection products whose active ingredients are registered in at least one OECD country or a country with a mature risk-based regulatory framework.

We conduct numerous training courses worldwide every year. In 2024, we reached 5.4 million people, including 4.1 million smallholder farmers. We focus primarily on training in countries where certification for farmers in the safe use of crop protection products is not mandatory. The mere fact that a plant protection product is not authorized or banned in the EU says nothing about its safety. Many other regulatory agencies around the world – including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand – also have very reliable, robust, carefully working and sophisticated regulatory systems in place to protect human health and the environment.

A full statement from Bayer is attached above