Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya

Rampant increase and diversification of synthetic pesticides poses health, environmental, and livelihood risks especially to smallholder farmers who dominate agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Legal mechanisms for regulating pesticides, although important, have not fully addressed the dangers of eco...

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Autores principales:	James S. Krueger, Daniel M. Mutyambai
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Resilience Alliance 2020
Materias:	agricultural law agroecosystems kenya khat legal pluralism pesticides Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6fcf37f2b862477f9b452dadf19065c9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6fcf37f2b862477f9b452dadf19065c92021-12-02T18:04:53ZRestricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya1708-308710.5751/ES-11916-250424https://doaj.org/article/6fcf37f2b862477f9b452dadf19065c92020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss4/art24/https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087Rampant increase and diversification of synthetic pesticides poses health, environmental, and livelihood risks especially to smallholder farmers who dominate agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Legal mechanisms for regulating pesticides, although important, have not fully addressed the dangers of ecological services disruptions due to accumulation of different pesticides over time. Legal mechanisms also are not well suited to developing countries because of weak monitoring and enforcement capacity. Understanding the role of other accountability mechanisms in farming, driven by norm leaders in the community, is thus of paramount importance. We investigated the effectiveness of a traditional accountability mechanism, i.e., local councils of elders known as the Njuri Ncheke, in controlling pesticide use in khat (Catha edulis). Khat samples were taken from traditional production systems in which these councils have influence and from commercial production systems lacking the councils' influence. The samples were analyzed for pesticide residues using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Individual farmer interviews were also carried out, inquiring about the influence of the Njuri Ncheke on the local community and on pesticide use in crop production. Our results show that a variety of agrochemical pesticides are being used by smallholder khat farmers and that local Njuri Ncheke councils have had success in limiting pesticide use, arguably more success than any government agency working to control pesticides on any local crop. These results show the potential of public accountability through traditional institutions like councils of elders and the role they can play in complimenting legal regulation mechanisms for successful pesticides management in agroecosytems.James S. KruegerDaniel M. MutyambaiResilience Alliancearticleagricultural lawagroecosystemskenyakhatlegal pluralismpesticidesBiology (General)QH301-705.5EcologyQH540-549.5ENEcology and Society, Vol 25, Iss 4, p 24 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	agricultural law agroecosystems kenya khat legal pluralism pesticides Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	agricultural law agroecosystems kenya khat legal pluralism pesticides Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 James S. Krueger Daniel M. Mutyambai Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
description	Rampant increase and diversification of synthetic pesticides poses health, environmental, and livelihood risks especially to smallholder farmers who dominate agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Legal mechanisms for regulating pesticides, although important, have not fully addressed the dangers of ecological services disruptions due to accumulation of different pesticides over time. Legal mechanisms also are not well suited to developing countries because of weak monitoring and enforcement capacity. Understanding the role of other accountability mechanisms in farming, driven by norm leaders in the community, is thus of paramount importance. We investigated the effectiveness of a traditional accountability mechanism, i.e., local councils of elders known as the Njuri Ncheke, in controlling pesticide use in khat (Catha edulis). Khat samples were taken from traditional production systems in which these councils have influence and from commercial production systems lacking the councils' influence. The samples were analyzed for pesticide residues using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Individual farmer interviews were also carried out, inquiring about the influence of the Njuri Ncheke on the local community and on pesticide use in crop production. Our results show that a variety of agrochemical pesticides are being used by smallholder khat farmers and that local Njuri Ncheke councils have had success in limiting pesticide use, arguably more success than any government agency working to control pesticides on any local crop. These results show the potential of public accountability through traditional institutions like councils of elders and the role they can play in complimenting legal regulation mechanisms for successful pesticides management in agroecosytems.
format	article
author	James S. Krueger Daniel M. Mutyambai
author_facet	James S. Krueger Daniel M. Mutyambai
author_sort	James S. Krueger
title	Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
title_short	Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
title_full	Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
title_fullStr	Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
title_full_unstemmed	Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya
title_sort	restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (catha edulis) and the njuri ncheke of meru, kenya
publisher	Resilience Alliance
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/6fcf37f2b862477f9b452dadf19065c9
work_keys_str_mv	AT jamesskrueger restrictingpesticidesonatraditionalcroptheexampleofkhatcathaedulisandthenjurinchekeofmerukenya AT danielmmutyambai restrictingpesticidesonatraditionalcroptheexampleofkhatcathaedulisandthenjurinchekeofmerukenya
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Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya

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