On 21st January 2026, members of the Errant Natives Movement petitioned European states expressing concern over the continued exportation of highly hazardous agrochemicals that have been killing thousands of people in Kenya. The petitioners noted with much consternation that European governments have continued to approve the exportation of pesticides and herbicides which they have banned for use at home and in the entire European Union.

The petition further states that European countries and the United Kingdom approved the exportation of a total of 140,908 tonnes of pesticides in 2018-2019 knowing so well that they are banned from being applied in European farms or fields because of unacceptable health and environmental risks. They alleged that European corporations like the German companies, Bayer and BASF sell pesticide products locally in Kenya and other countries with active ingredients banned in the EU. The five largest pesticide companies –including Bayer, BASF, and Syngenta – already generate more than one-third of their pesticide sales from active ingredients classified by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) as highly hazardous.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to humans and the environment. For this reason, many of these pesticides are no longer authorized for use in the European Union.

Bayer responded to our invitation by stating that all the company products are safe for humans and the environment if applied according to label instructions. The company stated that it applies consistent safety standards worldwide, even if they are stricter than local regulations in some countries, and have continuously adapted its 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.