{"id":2118,"date":"2019-05-15T17:23:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T09:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/?p=2118"},"modified":"2019-05-15T17:23:34","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T09:23:34","slug":"kenya-finally-ready-rollout-gm-crops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2019\/05\/15\/kenya-finally-ready-rollout-gm-crops\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Kenya finally ready for rollout of GM crops?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/img.agropages.com\/UserFiles\/FCKFile\/zkc_2019-05-13_07-19-47_319.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Some NGOs have opposed the campaign to lift the ban on the basis that Kenya does not conclusively understand the dangers of GMOs and that lifting the ban could open the country to potential risks. PHOTO | SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY<br \/>\n<\/em>The Kenyan Cabinet is over the next two months expected to make a monumental decision over lifting of a ban on genetically modified organisms.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Despite prolonged procrastination on the divisive technology, finally looks likely. The Cabinet is to decide on whether Kenya would lift the ban that was imposed in 2012 and which was informed by a controversial study that alleged GMOs cause cancer.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kenya\u2019s move will be closely watched by other East Africa countries including Uganda and Tanzania where research and contained trials of GM crops are ongoing.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The study, dubbed The Seralini Paper after its lead author Gilles-Eric S\u00e9ralini, linked GMO maize to the development of tumours and other severe disease in rats, risks that could also, manifest in human beings.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While the study, which was retracted and republished, has widely been used by GMOs opponents to instill fear in opposing the technology, its credibility has been tarnished after three studies funded by the European Union on the\u00a0<a class=\"anchor\" style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.agropages.com\/CompanyDirectory\/CList---glyphosate-1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">glyphosate<\/a>\u00a0-resistant GM maize NK603 identified no potential risks.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the studies, the G-TwYST (GM Plant Two Year Safety Testing), has discredited the Seralini Paper with the conclusion that glyphosate did not show any genotoxic potential and there was no evidence of carcinogenicity in laboratory rats or mice.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cIt was concluded that there were no adverse effects related to the administration of the GM maize NK603 cultivated with or without Roundup,\u201d the report states.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The EU was prompted to carry out the studies considering the bloc is a major importer of GM products particularly maize and soybeans from South American countries.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Enhance nutrition<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To date, the European Commission has approved the import of 19 GM products in addition to 58 others that can be sold in the bloc.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to Prof Dorington Ogoyi, National Biosafety Authority chief executive, Kenya is using the findings of the studies to build a case for lifting the ban to allow the country benefit from GMO technology and also allow the importation of GM foodstuffs.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cWe have a strong case for lifting of the ban and besides what we are doing locally we hope the Cabinet will take into account what is happening on the global arena,\u201d he told The EastAfrican.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He added that Kenya has enacted watertight regulations and mechanisms to ensure safety to human and animal health and also to the environment.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, some NGOs have opposed the campaign to lift the ban on the basis that Kenya does not conclusively understand the dangers of GMOs and that lifting the ban could open the country to potential risks.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Despite the opposition, NBA contends that GMO crops have the ability to ensure the country achieves food security and to play a central role in the revival of the textile industry.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kenya is in the process of carrying out national performance trials for Bt maize, which has been engineered with reduced levels of insect manifestation, meaning that indirectly farmers will use fewer inputs.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apart from maize, other food crops going through confined field trials are cassava, which has been engineered against viruses, sweet potato against bacteria and sorghum for enhancement of nutrition.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Increase production<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Maize Industry Task Force in its report also recommended the adoption of GMO maize to enable Kenya increase production, thus solving the persistence national maize deficit that stands at eight to 10 million bags annually.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moreover, lifting of the ban will enable Kenya import cheap maize from countries like Brazil and South Africa to cover domestic shortfalls.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of importance is that imported GMO food will be clearly labelled to distinguish it from organic food crops and will have a barcode with information including provisions for traceability.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Significant progress<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apart from maize, Kenya has made significant progress on Bt cotton having completed the first national performance trials and it is carrying out second trials in various parts of the country.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Results from the first trials show the Bt cotton (genetically modified pest-resistant cotton variety, which produces an insecticide to bollworm) performed well in terms of insect resistance while its quality was way above the conventional varieties.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The government hopes this will transform manufacturing, particularly the textiles and apparel sector largely on the industry, with BT cotton being the common denominator.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kenya projects that successful commercialisation of Bt cotton is key in increasing revenue from the textile and apparels industry from $350 million to $2 billion, creating 500,000 cotton jobs and 100,000 new apparel jobs by 2022.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThere is a concerted drive to ensure the manufacturing sector is revived and Bt cotton is a big component in the textile industry,\u201d noted Prof Ogoyi.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Currently, only two countries in Africa allow for commercial cultivation of GM crops.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The two, South Africa and Sudan, have a total of 2.8 million hectares under GM crops according to data of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Though South Africa allows GM food crops in the form of biotech maize which account for between 70 and 80 per cent of maize consumed in the country, and soybeans besides cotton, Sudan allows only biotech cotton.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"tl clearfix mt10\">\n<h4 class=\"p-source c-999 cb pt5\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Source<\/strong>:\u00a0<a class=\"c-orange fs16\" style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/news.agropages.com\/Media\/MediaIndex-1219.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The East African<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some NGOs have opposed the campaign to lift the ban on the basis that Kenya does not conclusively understand the dangers of GMOs and that lifting the ban could open the country to potential risks. PHOTO | SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY The Kenyan Cabinet is over the next two months expected to make a monumental decision&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2019\/05\/15\/kenya-finally-ready-rollout-gm-crops\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Is Kenya finally ready for rollout of GM crops?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Kenya finally ready for rollout of GM crops? - agrinoon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2019\/05\/15\/kenya-finally-ready-rollout-gm-crops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Kenya finally ready for rollout of GM crops? - agrinoon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some NGOs have opposed the campaign to lift the ban on the basis that Kenya does not conclusively understand the dangers of GMOs and that lifting the ban could open the country to potential risks. 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