By EDWIN MUTAIMore by this AuthorParliament has called for approval of field trials of genetically modified maize because the ban on GMO imports did not apply to controlled growing tests as well. The National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee wants the government to facilitate local researchers to conduct field trials of biotechnology maize as long as they are not for cultivation or commercial use. This comes weeks after Health secretary Cleopa Mailu has rejected the planned trial of genetically modified maize in Kenya, arguing that the Cabinet in 2012 imposed a ban on the importation and consumption of GMO food. The National Environment Management Authority stopped the testing of seeds from Kenya Livestock and Research Organisation and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation last October, after the National Bio-safety Authority allowed them to conduct controlled tests. Kenyan scientists want a permit to conduct field trials of biotechnology maize developed locally using genetic engineering for resistance to a common stalk borer.

Source: Daily Nation June 25, 2017 18:56 UTC