Key takeaways
An investigation by Public Eye and Unearthed finds that European companies shipped 122,000 tonnes of pesticides banned at home to African markets in 2024. Export volumes more than doubled in five years, spotlighting a contradiction discussed on the sidelines of the African Union–European Union summit in Luanda.
Summit context and agricultural agenda
The 25 November summit gathered almost eighty heads of state and government in Angola to deepen cooperation, particularly in agriculture. While leaders celebrated fresh investment pledges, environmental defenders reminded delegates of what they called a lingering scandal: toxic farm chemicals barred inside the EU continue to be channelled to African fields.
Surging volumes of banned pesticides
Hundreds of obligatory export notifications reviewed by the NGOs show a sharp upward curve since 2019. By 2024, consignments reached 122,000 tonnes. The growth rate undercuts official narratives of sustainable partnership and raises questions about the effectiveness of voluntary corporate responsibility mechanisms.
European export hubs identified
Germany, Belgium and Spain emerged as the prime shipping points. Their chemical plants still manufacture molecules outlawed for domestic use, then load them onto vessels bound south. The pattern underscores how regulatory asymmetry allows profits to be preserved abroad even after domestic bans take effect.
African demand patterns
On the receiving end, Morocco and South Africa absorb the largest shares. Kenya, though smaller in absolute terms, buys close to 500 tonnes annually and ranks third. Officials in several capitals defend the imports as indispensable to food security, despite mounting civil-society pressure.
Kenya’s exposure and official stance
Kenyan import data reveal steady purchases of Imidacloprid and Iprodione, mainly for green-bean, coffee and cotton sectors. “These products can be dangerous, but not if one wears protective clothing,” insisted Fredrick Muchiri, head of the national Pesticide Control Board, in comments to The Nation newspaper.
Protective gaps on the ground
Field reality complicates that reassurance. A 2020 Kenyan study cited by the NGOs concluded only one farmer in six possessed adequate protective equipment. The mismatch between laboratory safety protocols and smallholder practice fuels concern about both human and environmental health.
Legal action and calls for withdrawal
In 2022, the African Centre for Preventive and Corrective Action filed a lawsuit in Nairobi, demanding that hazardous products be withdrawn from the Kenyan market. Activists frame the case as a test of the state’s duty of care and a signal to trading partners about acceptable standards.
Notification loophole exposes contradictions
Under EU rules, firms must merely notify authorities before exporting banned chemicals. The hundreds of filings reviewed by Public Eye and Unearthed suggest that transparency alone has not curbed the flow. For campaigners, the Luanda summit was the latest reminder that declarations of equal partnership ring hollow while the toxic trade persists.
