The Kenyan government has approved the growing and consumption of genetically modified crops (GMO crops). This was announced by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the country’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA), Nehemiah Ngetich. Ngetich said the government approved the growing of the first set of genetically modified (GMO) crops following the High Court’s dismissal of consolidated petitions against GMO crops. The petition had challenged a Cabinet order to lift a 10-year ban on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/food-genetically-modified" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gene-altered foods</a>&nbsp;in the country. 
The CEO, while appearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Livestock Development to explain the NBA’s role in ensuring the safety of GMOs and their products, pointed out that crops already approved for commercialisation include cotton, maize and cassava. 
 “The Authority has already approved the commercialisation of Bt Cotton, which has been cultivated since 2020 without any adverse effects reported through our monitoring and surveillance system. Other crops, such as Bt Maize and virus-resistant cassava, are at advanced stages of variety testing towards their commercialisation,” Ngetich said. 
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 Nehemiah Ngetich
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Aside from the already approved varieties, the CEO also enumerated other GMO crops currently under field trials across the country. This includes the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) in Kitale, virus-resistant sweet potato in Kakamega, BioCassava Plus (BC+) in Alupe, Busia County, and virus-resistant cassava in Thika. 
He also noted that a GMO potato variety that is resistant to late blight disease is being tested at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in Nakuru. He said Bt Cotton, containing insecticidal proteins derived from the soil-dwelling bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, has already undergone field trials in Mwea Scheme, Kirinyaga County. 
<h4 id="fears-over-the-safety-of-gmo-crops" class="wp-block-heading">Fears over the safety of GMO crops</h4> 
Despite how well-intentioned they are, GMO crops are struggling for acceptance worldwide. This is particularly so in Africa where the concerns though varied, appeared to zero down to one factor; a strategy by the West to either depopulate Africa or make sure Africans depend on them and their genetically modified seeds for food security since the GMOs cannot be replanted. 
For claims that they cannot be replanted and therefore the country must be at the mercy of the developers, experts say this is not entirely correct as some GMO crop varieties, like Tela maize in Nigeria, are not sterilized and can be replanted. 
However, the replanted seeds cannot guarantee as much yield as the original GMO seed itself so it doesn’t make sense to replant. However, Tela maize is a government-funded project so the government must not invest for profit. 
See also: <a href="https://technext24.com/2024/07/07/gmo-foods-nigerians-eating-for-decades/">“Nigerians have been eating GMO foods for decades, it did not kill anyone” – Naija Farmer</a> 
For private organisations that invest to make a profit, the story is different. Because it takes years of hard work and millions of dollars in funding to produce GMO seeds, to recoup their investments, the researchers make the seeds sterile through technology so that farmers cannot replant the harvest. As such, they must buy new seeds every farming season. 
Concerns have also been raised about possible health implications like cancer, stroke, etc. 
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 There are health concerns over GMO foods
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However, these claims have been debunked and the outcries attributed to people’s natural resistance to change, especially about technology. For instance, many Nigerians have been eating GMO crops for decades without even knowing it. And so far, there has not been any linkage between them and cancer or any other health challenge. 
Also, there has been no scientific publication or health publication linking human or even animal health challenges with the consumption of GMO foods. 
Similarly, Kenya’s biosafety chief, Nehemiah Ngetich, assured Kenyan farmers that GMO crops are safe by highlighting the benefits of genetic engineering in&nbsp;agriculture. These benefits include increased crop yields, reduced production costs due to lower input requirements, decreased reliance on pesticides, and enhanced nutritional value and food quality. These advantages, according to Ngetich, contribute to greater food security for the country’s growing population. 
He has reassured Kenyans that despite the absence of substantiated evidence that GMOs are harmful to human health, the Authority will ensure that the GMO crops cultivated and consumed in the country meet the same safety standards as other foods by carefully assessing and approving only those deemed safe for human, plant, and animal health.

Kenyan government approves cultivation and consumption of GMO crops

Technext.ng

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