The National Bio-safety Authority (NBA) is ready to release into the market three more varieties of GMO crops once a pending court case is heard and determined.
According to the authority, it had fully developed maize, cassava and potato varieties as part of the 42 GMO projects that it was currently undertaking.
This came as the authority said that of the four petitions challenging the lift on importation of GMO products in court, it had won one with three pending.
NBA CEO Dr Roy Mugiira noted that the introduction of the new varieties of crops would help the country address food security, reduce food imports while increasing exports.
Speaking in Sawela Lodge in Naivasha during the authority’s 12th AGM, Mugiira said that they were currently working on 42 crops ahead of introduction into the market.
He said that 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,” he said.
Addressing the press on the sidelines of the meeting, the CEO said that they had developed other GM crops including bananas and Irish as part of their research.
On BT Cotton which is the only GMO crop grown in the country, he admitted that there was a shortage of seeds after farmers failed to procure them in time.
He noted that replanting the crops seeds would lower the quality and quantity of the produce and 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 and hence the shortage which has since been addressed,” he said.
On his part, Professor Richard Odour from Kenyatta University termed GMO products as fit for human consumption adding that the ongoing myths were based on misinformation.
“As we embrace technology from other quarters including motor vehicles, we should accept the same in food production as there are so many misconceptions about GMO products,” she said.
This was echoed by an expert Vivian Iraki who noted that 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.
