Genetically modified maize will soon sprout on a farm near you

The first biotech food crop ever to be grown in the open environment in Kenya will be planted soon.

This comes at a time Deputy President William Ruto has promised that the government will lift a three-year import ban on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

But the introduction of the crop, insect resistant maize, will depend on whether by next Sunday Kenyans opposed to GMOs will have raised credible evidence on why they should not be grown in the open.

Already a consumer lobby group has threatened to go to court if the government does not present sufficient evidence to prove transgenic crops are safe for humans and the environment.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) has applied for a permit to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) to start growing GMO maize in the open environment within the next two months.

So far GMO crops in the country have been grown either in laboratories or greenhouses to avoid possible environmental contamination.

While NBA does not indicate where the first crops will be planted, the variety which is said to resist stem borers has been tested in parts of Makueni and Trans Nzoia counties in projects largely funded by the Americans.

Jointly with African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Kalro has developed maize varieties with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Howard G Buffett Foundation, Monsanto and USAID.

In a notice in the Press on the eve of US President Obama’s arrival into the country, NBA gave Kenyans until next Sunday to express their views on the maize application.

“All interested parties and persons should submit written comments or concerns to this application to reach NBA not later than August 23rd,” said the notice.

But already the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has written to the Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Education giving them seven days to sufficiently convince Kenyans about what has changed between when the GMO import ban was placed and now to justify its lifting.

“If we do not get satisfactory answers we are going to court to seek an injunction on the ban until Kenyans are assured of the safety of the transgenic foods,” said Cofek Secretary General Stephen Mutoro.

Cofek also wants the planned release of transgenic maize into the environment to be stood over until all matters safety are sorted out.

Mr Mutoro also wants a report prepared by a task force set up by the Ministry of Health to investigate the safety of GMOs in the country made public. “We want this report made public so that we know what will have informed the lifting of the ban.”

The taskforce, led by Prof Kihumbu Thairu of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, completed its work last year and presented its report to the Health Cabinet Secretary, Mr James Macharia.

Mr Macharia has declined to release the report, saying that would be the prerogative of the Cabinet. The Thairu report is said to have also concluded that the country lacked the capacity to effectively monitor the safety of agricultural bio-engineered products. The team found no evidence that GMOs are safe and recommended that the government adopt the precautionary principal.

The principal means when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if the threat has not been fully established scientifically.

Effectively test

The 2014 Kenya Agricultural Biotechnology Report prepared by the US Department for Agriculture says the country lacks capacity to effectively test GMOs.

“The Kenyan government has limited personnel and testing facilities for evaluating agricultural products for GMO content,” says the USDA document. During 4th Annual Biosafety Conference held last week in Nairobi and where the DP promised the possible lifting of the ban, the NBA Chief Executive Willy Tanui said the organisation was facing serious financial and structural challenges.

He said although NBA requires Sh200 million to fund operations it had only been allocated Sh92 million. The issue, he said, is further aggravated by administrative obstacles because while NBA has been moved to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Biosafety Act puts the agency in the Ministry of Education which has the funds.

There is also a directive to have NBA merged with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) which  it currently depends on  for GMO testing facilities.

Last year Kephis, which also tests horticultural produce for export, was under probe over increasing cases of products being rejected by the EU over high pesticide residue levels.

The US report also shows that Kenya lacks a policy on how GMOs can co-exist alongside conventional crops. “Once GMO crops are released for commercialisation, there will likely be challenges in managing co-existence with non-engineered crops.” The 2012 GMO ban did not affect the importing of materials for research with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) having made the highest number of application to the NBA during the period.

ILRI is working to ensure cows become resistant to trypanosomiasis or nagana in animals and sleeping sickness in humans.

The institute has successfully cloned a calf named “Tumaini” in the first phase of the project. Plans are now underway to clone a new cow with a gene originating from baboons that will make it resistant to nagana.