With animal feed and food prices soaring across Africa, Kenya relaxes GMO import ban

Credit: Britannica
Credit: Britannica

The persistent high cost of animal feeds and supply chain difficulties will continue to make eggs and milk expensive, manufacturers have said.

This, as delays on approval of GMO raw material imports play out.

The government last month announced its move to relax conditions on importation of genetically modified organisms (GMO) materials for animal feed manufacture.

Livestock [Principal Secretary] Harry Kimtai said the Ministry of Agriculture had decided to review the framework on importation of yellow maize by lowering the requirement to 99.1 per cent GMO free from 100 per cent.

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This meant that imports would be allowed to have traces of genetically modified organisms in bid to resolve the shortage of feeds.

However, the ministry is yet to publish the notice that would make the review operational.

Consequently, manufacturers have refused to import the produce under the current total GMO purity requirement for fear that the shipments will be confiscated by Kenyan authorities since it is difficult to find stocks that are free from genetic modification.

The Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) has said the sector is facing a myriad of challenges that are impacting negatively on the industry.

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