GMO maize, potatoes ready for market, says agency
The National Biosafety Authority plans to introduce 42 GMO crop varieties pending court decisions. CEO Dr. Roy Mugiira notes maize, cassava, and potatoes are ready for release. Legal hurdles delay market entry post-lifting 10-year GMO import ban. Bt cotton faces seed shortage. Expert opinions affirm GMO safety for consumption. Awareness campaigns address public misconceptions on GMOs. Mugiira emphasizes hybrid seeds for quality produce. Kenyatta University supports GMO safety claims. Vivian Iraki advocates for informed GMO discourse.
The National Biosafety Authority is working on 42 varieties of GMO crops with a view of introducing them to the market once a petition pending in court is determined.
Of the number, the authority has fully developed maize, cassava and potato varieties and it is ready to roll them out once the legal hurdle is addressed.
The authority said of the four petitions challenging the lift on importation of GMO products in court, it had won one and three were pending.
Authority CEO Dr Roy Mugiira said the introduction of the new varieties of crops would help the country address food security and reduce food imports while increasing exports.
He spoke in Naivasha during the authority’s 12th AGM.
Mugiira said they were working on 42 crops ahead of introduction into the market.
He said the court cases had delayed the release of the new crops into the market a year after the government lifted the 10-year ban on importation of GMO products.
“We are done with research on maize, cassava and potatoes, which are disease and weather tolerant and we shall release them into the market once the court case is done,” Mugiira said.
The CEO said they had developed other GM crops, including bananas and Irish potatoes as part of their research.
On Bt cotton, which is the only GMO crop grown in the country, Mugiira admitted there was a shortage of seeds after farmers failed to procure them in time.
He said replanting the crops seeds would lower the quality and quantity of the produce, hence the need to go for the hybrid GMO seeds.
“The farmers got the certified seeds from the government free of charge and many of them did not invest in restocking, hence the shortage which has since been addressed,” Mugiira said.
Prof Richard Odour from Kenyatta University said GMO products are fit for human consumption.
Expert Vivian Iraki said lack of information among members of the public on GMOs was to blame for the fallacies around GMOs.
“We are working with stakeholders in dissemination of information around GMO products so that we can end all the myths,” she said.
Source Link : https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2024-05-29-gmo-maize-potatoes-ready-for-market-says-agency/
