Kenya to Allow GM Maize Imports
July 8, 2011| |
The Kenyan government anticipates a shortage in the supply of maize of about 14.8 million 90-kg bags in the 2011/12 season due to drought. Thus, it decided to allow imports of maize from the major suppliers in South Africa.
"With the prevailing circumstances we are looking to expedite the publication of regulations on genetically modified (GM) crops that will spell out guidelines on the importation of GM," said Roy Mugiira, head of Kenyan National Biosafety Authority (NBA). "We are targeting to publish the regulation by next week and it is a first for the country," he added.
The maize deficit caused the closure of six major plants of millers. Another 28 major millers in Kenya stopped operations due to lack of maize.
"Biotech is the way we should go and ... it will help us to overcome our perpetual shortage of maize," said Diamond Lalji, chairman of Cereals Millers Association, which comprises 28 major millers in Kenya. "GM maize is cheaper by about 30 percent compared with non-GM and that is expected to bring down the cost of the final product," he added.
Read the article at http://allafrica.com/stories/201107060142.html for more information.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Global Seed Market Valued at $37 B
- $170 Million Expanded Global Maize Research Program
- IFPRI Discusses Trade Effects of Strict Info Requirements for GM Commodities
- Kenya to Allow GM Maize Imports
- Scientist Reviews Adoption of Biotech Crops in Africa
- Gene Flow May Help Plants Adapt to Climate Change
- General Mills Grant Will Help Vanilla Farmers and Tropical Forests
- Beachy: GM Approval Process Must be Reviewed
- HT Soybean Highest Adopted Biotech Crop in the U.S.
- USDA Awards Grants to Mitigate Climate Change Effects
- BIO's Strategic Initiative to Speed Scientific Breakthroughs
- China Establishes National Lab for Super Grain
- CAS Scientist Reports Advances in Dev't of GM Herbicide Resistant Hybrid Rice in China
- New Crops for the Future Research Centre Planned in Malaysia
- First Biotech Park in Punjab
- China's MoA Updates "GMO Trainers"
- EU Parliament Paves Way for GMO Crop Bans
- EU Policy-making Should be on Scientific Evidence of GM Crops
- GM Maize MIR162 Approved for Food in Russia and the Customs Union
- French ‘Green Biotechnology' to Serve the Plants of Tomorrow
-
Research Highlights
- Scientists Identify Maize Proteins Causing Aflatoxin Production
- Genes from Chickweed Increase Resistance to Fungi
- Engineering Broad-spectrum Resistance Against RNA Viruses in Potato
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Termites' Digestive System Could Act as Biofuel Refinery
-
Announcements
- Coexistence Workshop in Washington DC
- Sustainable Use of Pesticides and Integrated Pest Management in East-Central Europe and the Baltics
- Sixth International Congress on Legume Genetics and Genomics 2012, Hyderabad
- Biosafety Brazilian Congress
- ABIC Conference in South Africa
-
Resources
- The Food Security Policy Context in Brazil
- GAIN-FAS Report on Biotechnology in Italy, 2011
- China's MoA Issues Q&A About GMOs
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 17, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 10, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet