Tanzania steps up surveillance over Kenya’s GMO plan
Tanzania steps up surveillance against entry of genetically modified (GMO) crops following Kenya’s review on GMOs.
According to reports, Tanzanian agriculture officials have increased their vigilance against the importation or illegal entry of genetically modified (GM) crops from neighboring Kenya, which has lifted a 10-year ban on biotechnology use in agriculture.
Hussein Bashe, the minister of agriculture for Tanzania, stated on Wednesday that “we are not receptive to such GM technology.”
It happened as a result of worries expressed by several stakeholders in agriculture, including consumers, over the prospective importation of such products from neighboring Kenya.
“The government is vigilant. We will put in place extra measures so as to make sure there aren’t any GM-related seeds that enter the country,” Mr. Bashe told The Citizen website.
The minister said Tanzania was closely monitoring the development, adding that Kenya’s move “has no effect on us”.
He further said Tanzania had canceled GM trials, and its position was still unchanged.
President William Ruto on Monday said that the cabinet had approved the importation and cultivation of GM crops as part of its efforts to alleviate food insecurity in the country.
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However, Ruto’s plan to reintroduce GMO crops has raised controversy among experts warning of increased cases of cancer.
The reintroduction is concerning, according to Anne Maina, the national coordinator of the Biosafety and Biodiversity Association, given the health issues associated with GMO consumption in other nations.
She added that the exorbitant cost of treating cancer and other ailments tied to what she claimed was poisonous food will make Kenya vulnerable to destabilization as a result of GMOs.
“There have been very many concerns in the US, there are over 30,000 cases where people that produce these products have been sued because people have developed cancer,” she stated.
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