Sylvia Mwichuli, a director at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, said Kenya should not be in a hurry to introduce GM crops because current means of food production are under-utilised

EXCERPT: Mwichuli noted that farmers in Kenya and other parts of the continent face numerous problems that cannot be solved by GM crops. “Millions of farmers in Kenya cannot access markets and get best prices. We should first start by making agriculture well-paying. Let us empower farmers to get quality inputs on time, engage in best farming practices, access extension services and credit before we introduce GM,” she said.

Kenya told to defer introduction of GM crops

coastweek.com, 29 Nov 2014
http://www.coastweek.com/3747-agriculture-05.htm

Kenya has been asked to delay introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops and boost the use of conventional means of food production.

Sylvia Mwichuli, a director at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, said the East African nation should not be in a hurry to introduce GM crops because the current means of food production are under-utilised.

“We should fully exploit the science that we have before introducing new technologies that we cannot fully handle,” she said on Tuesday.

Mwichuli noted that Kenya’s farmers barely know innovative methods of food production available in the country, the reason why they do not use them.

“Introducing GM to them would be jumping the gun. The technology is not the panacea to food insecurity. There are many more beneficial technologies in Kenya that have not been spread to farmers. That is where we should start with,” she said.

Mwichuli observed that there are hundreds of scientists, including crop breeders in Kenya, who are coming up with quality seeds that can be more beneficial to farmers before GM is introduced.

“What these breeders are coming up with is not reaching farmers. These are the seeds we should take to farmers for them to boost their yields,” said Mwichuli, adding that Kenya has no capacity to fully deal with GM technology.

Farmers in Kenya are currently not producing optimally from their farms. For instance, many maize farmers in Kenya harvest a tonne or less from an acre, yet they can get up to three tonnes.

“We should ask ourselves what we can do to boost their productivity, because we have the technology and the inputs. If they use low quality seeds, let us supply them with good ones and teach them the best farming practices. GM is not the magic bullet. “

Kenya developed a bio-safety legislation in 2006 to provide a framework for bio-technological applications in the country.

However, Kenya banned the commercialisation of genetically modified crops in 2012, following the linking of the foods to various diseases, including cancer.

Small-scale farmers and anti-GM technology organisations have over the years lobbied the government to enact laws to protect them against the crops.

The ban remains in force though crusaders of the technology have piled pressure on the government to lift it.

One of the crops that is being propagated in Kenya through the use of GM is the Insect Resistant Cotton (BT cotton), which is resistance to boll worms.

Mwichuli noted that farmers in Kenya and other parts of the continent face numerous problems that cannot be solved by GM crops.

“Millions of farmers in Kenya cannot access markets and get best prices. We should first start by making agriculture well- paying. Let us empower farmers to get quality inputs on time, engage in best farming practices, access extension services and credit before we introduce GM,” she said.

Mwichuli noted that countries that have introduced GM crops have empowered their farmers to produce enough using conventional technologies.