Kenyans to Access EU Markets When Farmers Adopt Biotech, EU Official

Representing the European Union Ambassador, Dominique Davoux, EU Head of Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Section, assured Kenyans that they will have access to the European market should the country start commercializing GM crops. He mentioned this during a press conference held on November 7, 2014 organized as a side event by the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB-Kenya) in partnership with the Kenya University Biotechnology Consortium (KUBICO).

Davoux also said that the EU has no problem with Kenya exporting GM products to EU countries, provided that it meets the EU set guidelines. He elucidated that the EU has authorized the importation of 58 GM products for food and feed, including soya, oilseed, sugar beet and cotton, among others. ‘'The position of EU is that we have a list of GMO products that can be imported into the EU space. If Kenya contributes there, it will have access to the market',' he said.

Kenyan Permanent Secretary ministry of Industrialization, Dr. Wilson Songa said that Kenya should not lose its competitiveness due to ban on GM urging parliamentarians to assist its ministry in lifting the ban. Agreeing with the Permanent Secretary, Honorable Florence Mutua who was leading a delegation of 7 parliamentarians added that lifting GM ban in Kenya will enhance the country's economy, especially in cotton growing areas.

For more information on the event, contact Dr Margaret Karembu, Director ISAAA AfriCenter and Chair, OFAB-Kenya Programming Committee at mkarembu@isaaa.org.