Kenya has allowed GMOs in its territory although a court case stands in the way of implementation of the policy.
The East African Community partner states have failed to strike consensus on the growing and use of genetically modified crops, with only Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda vouching for the use of GM technology to boost food security and industrial development.
In the last meeting of the EAC Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources, Tanzania, South Sudan and Burundi declared their opposition of GMOs in the region.
The latter entrants, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, have tended towards opposition, leaving the Secretariat pushing dialogue in a bid to find a common position.
A report by the committee seen by The EastAfrican shows disagreements among the partners on the benefits and risks associated with GMOs, with the team therefore sending the ball to the court of the legislature to come up with policies and laws on the technology.
“This calls for further research and public awareness to enable the Community to reach a common position,” the team said.
“The Committee directs the EAC Secretariat to spearhead dialogue among partner states to discuss all issues relating to GMO for the purpose of reaching a common position that will lead to harmonized policies and laws in the EAC.”
Kenya has allowed GMOs in its territory although a court case stands in the way of implementation of the policy.
On October 3, 2022, Nairobi allowed the cultivation and importation of GM maize for mass consumption, a decision that exposed the incoherent policies on GM technology in the region.
Kenya was ready to adopt BT maize, but this was stopped by the court awaiting determination of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya challenging the policy. The High Court imposed a ban till October 31, 2024.
The EAC report says the partner states resolved to allow dialogue.
Burundi argues that its food production is 100 percent based on conventional crop production. It is party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, an international agreement that aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity.
Tanzania argues that it produces more than enough food, therefore it does not need GMOs.
South Sudan, on its part, argues that although it does not produce enough food, people are still hesitant to adopt GMOs foods because of the risks associated with them.
“The people of South Sudan prefer to utilise their arable land and animals to have food sufficiency without GMOs,” the report says.
But for Uganda and Rwanda, there is a window for GMOs. In 2003, the government of Uganda approved the importation and use of processed food products (including nutrient-rich preparations) from GMOs.
Kampla has National Guidelines for Containment: for Regulation of Research with Genetically Modified Organisms and Microbes. But Ugandans themselves are divided on the matter.
In Rwanda, the administration sees the need to adopt GMOs food products “to ensure food security and for industrial development subject to their strong control mechanisms,” the report indicates.
Rwanda enacted a law governing biosafety in December 2023 and gazetted on February 21,2024.
Kigali has the RiboNucleic Acid interference (RNAi) virus-resistant cassava varieties project and has since secured a permit and is looking for resources to start trials on potato resistant to late blight (Phytophthora infestans).
There are other research projects undertaken in agriculture and livestock using other biotechnology methods apart from GMOs.
But while more research is required in the use of GMOs in the region, the EAC directed that partner states disseminate correct, reliable and understandable information to all stakeholders on GMOs, taking into account interests and fears of stakeholders, including small- and large-scale farmers, seed companies, traders and consumers.
But still fears over the use of GMO have raised concerns from the civil society who are supportive of the EAC’s decision that the region is not yet ready for GMOs.
Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute in Uganda, said there is no country that is ready for GMOs.
“The reason that they are giving in is because we are hungry. But we are hungry because of climate change, lack of rain, our farmers are not getting the right seeds, and their soils are degraded.”
She said one region might have a bumper harvest while in others, such as in the Karamoja, people are starving, “but that cannot be resolved by the introduction of GMOs.”
“We need to agree as a region and fix the challenges in food production without falling back to GMOs, certainly because we know our problems,” Ms Nalunga told The EastAfrican.
But Dr Tim Njagi, a senior researcher at the Tegemeo Institute of Technology, argues that misinformation is to blame for the current impasse on GM technology and products.
“We are in a regional market and basically that means that we cannot do something in isolation. If we have food coming from one region, it must move to other regions,” he said. “For us to be food secure, we must produce enough, and it has to be affordable.”