GMO Debate Rages in Kenya
THE question about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is one that has stirred great debate among world governments. Currently, the query on whether or not GMO are humanly acceptable has taken center stage to such high levels that politicians, scientists , farmers, civil rights activists, and opinion leaders have taken positions with varying points of argument.
Jeremy Rifkin writing for The Washington Post choed the same belief by pro-GMO teams stating that “genetically modified food is the next great scientific and technological revolution in agriculture and the only efficient and cheap way to feed a growing population in a shrinking world.”
In his article, Rifkin, himself an anti-GMO activist also tried to pen down what could look like a conventional view by progressive scientists in the GMO school of thought. He said that “Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been cast as the villains in this unfolding agricultural drama and often categorized as modern versions of the English Luddites, accused of continually blocking scientific and technological progress because of our opposition to genetically modified food.”
Genetically modified crops are the key to eradicating poverty and hunger in the Third World, says a leading world biotechnology expert and Kenyan scientist Dr. Florence Wambugu.
On July 31 2006, 200 activists in southwestern France destroyed 18 acres of genetically modified corn field as part of their push for a national referendum on whether GM plants should be accepted in the country. The action was, however, heavily condemned by pro-GMO French government, which equated it to an act of "vandalism contrary to the rule of law and the respect of private property”.
In India, an anti-GMO mayor was recently slain by suspected death squad and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was forced to cancel a trip to visit cotton farmers’ homes in an Indian remote village following great show of resistance from local farmers’ leaders who are opposed to progressive global realities in the field of science.
The Kenyan government has continued to carry out GMO trials mainly through Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) under contained laboratory, greenhouse and field open quarantine conditions.
However, civil rights groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been rallying support against the introduction of GM crops in the country.
Civil rights groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been rallying support against the introduction of GM crops in the country by holding seminars and workshops perhaps to pass across a point as to why the technology should be trashed to the doldrums of history.
Indeed a coalition of farmers groups, environmentalists, and development NGOs last year called an international press conference in Nairobi to express their opposition to the draft Bill on National Biosafety which they claimed was “flawed” to the letter. Kenya is the leading nation within the Eastern and Central African region in terms of scientific technology.
But a recent debate on the floor of the National Assembly exposed the naivety on the side of the Members of Parliament as they showed unparalleled lack of knowledge on GMO technology. The lawmakers were contributing to the debate on the draft bill that they eventually shot on floor of the house.
The Bill and the proposed National Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety (NPBB) are a brainchild of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST). The council through the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) oversees the implementation of biosafety guidelines, and regulations that govern the conduct of institutions and individuals involved in Biotechnology research and development.
NBC is comprised of government regulators, academic scientists, ministry representatives, Office of the President (OP), scientists from research institutions, NGOs and agricultural organizations.
Currently, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS), Department of Veterinary Medicine (DVS), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS), National Environment Management Authority NEMA) and Public Health Department are the main implementing arms.
The Bill was drafted following the need to give teeth to bite to the existing GMO guidelines that currently lack a legal backing. The proposed National Biosafety Authority (NBA) will be the implementing authority in the event the bill becomes law.
The Biosafety Bill would have provided the basis for clear policy guidelines and regulations. It will also cover issues such as trade, industry, health, environment and agriculture. It would have enabled the country to acquire the capacity to participate meaningfully in a rapidly changing world of science and technology, especially the biotechnology revolution that is beginning to generate new products and services including vaccines and drugs.
South Africa, the continent’s, most scientifically developed nation, for instance crafted its biosafety policy, regulation and guidelines in early 1990’s. Today, South African GM cotton and maize farmers are on the global map as beneficiaries of this new technology.
But what is Biotechnology? Experts say that the history of Biotechnology can be traced back thousands years. Early mankind used the technology in form of fermentation techniques in the production of cheese, bread, beer; as well as in traditional animal and plant breeding techniques to create better animals and crops.
However, modern scientists now can take a single gene from a plant or animal cell and insert it into another plant or animal cell to give a desired characteristic such as a plant that is resistant to a specific pest or disease. These are what are referred to us GMO, a technology that has now become common with modified crops such as maize, cotton and soybeans. A GM crop is, therefore, any living organism that possesses a combination of genetic materials obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.
Trials are underway in Kenya on Greenhouse evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for resistance to stem borer. Bt is a common soil bacterium that produces a protein toxic to certain harmful insects including the cotton bollworm, the maize stem borers and the Colorado potato, all of which are common plant pests with devastating effects.
Other trials include: trials for Bt cotton to resist cotton bollworm, cassava to resist cassava mosaic virus and sweet potato to resist sweet potato mottle virus.
According to Prof. George King'oria, the Executive Secretary at NSCT, there are potential benefits of biotechnology and that all stakeholders and Kenyans at large should remain patient as the trails are carried out.
King'oria says that Genetic Engineering (GE) could catapult the country to new dimensions in the field of agriculture and medicine. Proponents of GE have time and again argued that the technology has the potential to increase food security, decrease pressure on land use and reduced use of water and agrochemicals in agriculture.
According to a piece in the Toronto Mail in July 2003, Dr. Wambugu was quoted saying that Genetically Modified sweet potato could increase yields from four tonnes per hectare to 10 tonnes compared with a natural crop that yields four tonnes per hectare.
The fear of the unknown could be reason behind the resistance by anti-GMO activists. Activists on the economical front point at the capital needed in carrying out Biotechnological activities saying that it were better if invested in other areas of social development.
Human rights groups on their part have been raising ethical concerns regarding altering the genetic make-up of organisms and patenting of life forms.
Globally, questions have been raised about potential health effects, environmental safety, agronomic and economic impacts, and about the power of multi-nationals to control “what we grow” and “what we eat”.
Due to these “deep uncertainties”, asserts Mr. King'oria the government has been carrying out public consultation with stakeholders and members of the public at large. These concerns among many others are what we are addressing through the biosafety measures, he adds.
Biosafety is defined as a set of measures used for assessing and managing any risks associated with GMOs and policies and procedures adopted to ensure safety to human and environment in application of biotechnology.
Ends...
Jeremy Rifkin writing for The Washington Post choed the same belief by pro-GMO teams stating that “genetically modified food is the next great scientific and technological revolution in agriculture and the only efficient and cheap way to feed a growing population in a shrinking world.”
In his article, Rifkin, himself an anti-GMO activist also tried to pen down what could look like a conventional view by progressive scientists in the GMO school of thought. He said that “Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been cast as the villains in this unfolding agricultural drama and often categorized as modern versions of the English Luddites, accused of continually blocking scientific and technological progress because of our opposition to genetically modified food.”
Genetically modified crops are the key to eradicating poverty and hunger in the Third World, says a leading world biotechnology expert and Kenyan scientist Dr. Florence Wambugu.
On July 31 2006, 200 activists in southwestern France destroyed 18 acres of genetically modified corn field as part of their push for a national referendum on whether GM plants should be accepted in the country. The action was, however, heavily condemned by pro-GMO French government, which equated it to an act of "vandalism contrary to the rule of law and the respect of private property”.
In India, an anti-GMO mayor was recently slain by suspected death squad and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was forced to cancel a trip to visit cotton farmers’ homes in an Indian remote village following great show of resistance from local farmers’ leaders who are opposed to progressive global realities in the field of science.
The Kenyan government has continued to carry out GMO trials mainly through Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) under contained laboratory, greenhouse and field open quarantine conditions.
However, civil rights groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been rallying support against the introduction of GM crops in the country.
Civil rights groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been rallying support against the introduction of GM crops in the country by holding seminars and workshops perhaps to pass across a point as to why the technology should be trashed to the doldrums of history.
Indeed a coalition of farmers groups, environmentalists, and development NGOs last year called an international press conference in Nairobi to express their opposition to the draft Bill on National Biosafety which they claimed was “flawed” to the letter. Kenya is the leading nation within the Eastern and Central African region in terms of scientific technology.
But a recent debate on the floor of the National Assembly exposed the naivety on the side of the Members of Parliament as they showed unparalleled lack of knowledge on GMO technology. The lawmakers were contributing to the debate on the draft bill that they eventually shot on floor of the house.
The Bill and the proposed National Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety (NPBB) are a brainchild of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST). The council through the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) oversees the implementation of biosafety guidelines, and regulations that govern the conduct of institutions and individuals involved in Biotechnology research and development.
NBC is comprised of government regulators, academic scientists, ministry representatives, Office of the President (OP), scientists from research institutions, NGOs and agricultural organizations.
Currently, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS), Department of Veterinary Medicine (DVS), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS), National Environment Management Authority NEMA) and Public Health Department are the main implementing arms.
The Bill was drafted following the need to give teeth to bite to the existing GMO guidelines that currently lack a legal backing. The proposed National Biosafety Authority (NBA) will be the implementing authority in the event the bill becomes law.
The Biosafety Bill would have provided the basis for clear policy guidelines and regulations. It will also cover issues such as trade, industry, health, environment and agriculture. It would have enabled the country to acquire the capacity to participate meaningfully in a rapidly changing world of science and technology, especially the biotechnology revolution that is beginning to generate new products and services including vaccines and drugs.
South Africa, the continent’s, most scientifically developed nation, for instance crafted its biosafety policy, regulation and guidelines in early 1990’s. Today, South African GM cotton and maize farmers are on the global map as beneficiaries of this new technology.
But what is Biotechnology? Experts say that the history of Biotechnology can be traced back thousands years. Early mankind used the technology in form of fermentation techniques in the production of cheese, bread, beer; as well as in traditional animal and plant breeding techniques to create better animals and crops.
However, modern scientists now can take a single gene from a plant or animal cell and insert it into another plant or animal cell to give a desired characteristic such as a plant that is resistant to a specific pest or disease. These are what are referred to us GMO, a technology that has now become common with modified crops such as maize, cotton and soybeans. A GM crop is, therefore, any living organism that possesses a combination of genetic materials obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.
Trials are underway in Kenya on Greenhouse evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for resistance to stem borer. Bt is a common soil bacterium that produces a protein toxic to certain harmful insects including the cotton bollworm, the maize stem borers and the Colorado potato, all of which are common plant pests with devastating effects.
Other trials include: trials for Bt cotton to resist cotton bollworm, cassava to resist cassava mosaic virus and sweet potato to resist sweet potato mottle virus.
According to Prof. George King'oria, the Executive Secretary at NSCT, there are potential benefits of biotechnology and that all stakeholders and Kenyans at large should remain patient as the trails are carried out.
King'oria says that Genetic Engineering (GE) could catapult the country to new dimensions in the field of agriculture and medicine. Proponents of GE have time and again argued that the technology has the potential to increase food security, decrease pressure on land use and reduced use of water and agrochemicals in agriculture.
According to a piece in the Toronto Mail in July 2003, Dr. Wambugu was quoted saying that Genetically Modified sweet potato could increase yields from four tonnes per hectare to 10 tonnes compared with a natural crop that yields four tonnes per hectare.
The fear of the unknown could be reason behind the resistance by anti-GMO activists. Activists on the economical front point at the capital needed in carrying out Biotechnological activities saying that it were better if invested in other areas of social development.
Human rights groups on their part have been raising ethical concerns regarding altering the genetic make-up of organisms and patenting of life forms.
Globally, questions have been raised about potential health effects, environmental safety, agronomic and economic impacts, and about the power of multi-nationals to control “what we grow” and “what we eat”.
Due to these “deep uncertainties”, asserts Mr. King'oria the government has been carrying out public consultation with stakeholders and members of the public at large. These concerns among many others are what we are addressing through the biosafety measures, he adds.
Biosafety is defined as a set of measures used for assessing and managing any risks associated with GMOs and policies and procedures adopted to ensure safety to human and environment in application of biotechnology.
Ends...
posted by Mahathir | 8:28 pm
1 Comments:
It is sad that the govt has approved GMOs in Kenya.These seeds are roundup ready and are harmful.Kenyans should be told the truth about them and about monsato
Post a Comment
<< Home