The Burundi government has indicated that it will not allow the importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the country despite some East African Community member states opening up for the products.
“GMO is not allowed in Burundi, not even importing them; they are totally prohibited. It’s only the hybrids and even [for] the hybrids, you have to get an authorisation to import,” the director-general of mobilisation for self-development and agriculture extension Clement Ndikumasabo told The EastAfrican.
With Burundian law prohibiting the importation of genetically modified products, experts have warned that lack of proper equipment may see GMOs imported into the country.
Mr Willy Irakoze, a research director at the Burundi Institute of Agronomic Science (ISABU), decried the absence of equipment capable of detecting the entrance of GMOs into the country, calling for better ways to protect the lives of Burundians and the environment.
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“The GMO is not eligible in Burundi but what is worrying is that at the border or at the airport, we do not have equipment and personnel capable of detecting if it is the GMO that is entering or not. So, it is difficult to say that there are no GMOs in Burundi,” he said.
