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{
    "id": 1184369,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1184369/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 404,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "West Mugirango, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Stephen Mogaka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, we have public institutions like the Kenya Seed Company Limited, which previously conducted substantive research that gave us, among others, the Katumani Maize Variety which performs very well in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands like the Ukambani Region. Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia and Gusiiland are known to be the food baskets of this country. How can a Government that purports to have the best interest of farmers at heart approve importation of GMO maize as farmers in the Rift Valley Region, and in other parts of the country harvest a bumper crop of maize? That is economic sabotage! Even if you want to dump foreign maize into the country so that Kenyan farmers do not fetch good prices, that is not the way to do it. Only last week, we debated a possible ban on importation of certain pesticides. Genetically Modified Organisms are sprayed with pesticides left, right and centre. That is what interferes with our water sources and cause cancer. Biosafety concerns are key considerations that informed the Government’s ban on GMOs importations 10 years ago. I take exception to the fact that the Executive could unilaterally lift the ban on GMOs and expose the entire country to such risks when it was so easy for the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, or the Leader of the Majority Party, to bring a Motion to this House so that we debate and agree as a country on whether or not to lift the ban on GMOs. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we deal with patients daily. We raise funds to pay hospital bills because people have contracted diseases that were previously unknown in Africa. Africa has enough land with fertile soil. We also have competent scientists who can conduct research and give us the best possible varieties of food crops for the continent. In any case, Kenya is a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Why are we importing maize from far away when we can get it from our neighbours? Are we a serious member of the East African Community (EAC)? With those remarks, I support the Motion opposing the introduction of GMOs within the borders of the Republic of Kenya."
}