Some farmers and advocacy organisations are opposed to Kenya’s plans to commercialise genetically modified crops because they are concerned about their safety.
Since the government recently lifted a 10-year prohibition on the crops, many Kenyan farmers will start using GM maize seeds early next year, which worries her.
According to the nation’s agriculture authorities, the seeds will be planted on 500,000 acres and will be drought tolerant, reducing shortages brought on by the lack of rain.
But according to Richard Oduor, a biotechnology professor at Kenyatta University, there is nothing to worry about when it comes to ingesting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the human body.
“There is no science-based evidence linking biotech to cancer. I find it to be a convenient debate because why are we comfortable taking genetically modified insulin but can’t take GM foods because of imaginary effects? The claims are baseless,” he told the reporters.
In any event, he asserts, GMOs are carefully watched following their introduction. In the midst of one of the worst droughts the East African area has experienced in four decades, Kenya is currently experiencing a serious water scarcity brought on by four consecutive failed rainy seasons. This prevents crops from growing, which has led to famine predictions.
Some people have a more favorable opinion than Ms. Wanjiru since GM seeds have been genetically modified to create properties that are viewed as desirable, such as drought and pest tolerance.
They claim that the true necessity to secure food security and to protect the environment led to the relaxation of the GMO prohibition.
“Climate change, the severity of drought and the emergence of new pests such as fall armyworms and maize stalk borer, and diseases such as maize lethal necrosis pose a real threat to food, [cattle] feed and nutritional security,” said Dr Eliud Kireger, director general of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation.
The maize crop is destroyed by these maladies and pests. For instance, autumn armyworms consume the majority of the foliage as they pass through crops.
Additionally, because it would increase production, food scientists claim that the technology will lessen the continent’s reliance on food imports.
“We should embrace technology and see it as a part solution to the challenges we are facing more than what are the concerns”, said Dr Murenga Mwimali, from the Alliance for Science at Cornell University in the US.