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"id": 178234,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/178234/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife",
"speaker": {
"id": 209,
"legal_name": "Noah Mahalang'ang'a Wekesa",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to second this very important Bill. You know very well that this Bill should have gone through last year and as the able Minister has said, it was just by bad luck that it did not go through. I remember that in the last Session, practically all the hon. Members then who contributed to this Bill supported it. That, in itself, goes to show that Kenyans have been waiting for this Bill for a long time. We live in a technological world and it is technology that is now moving everything that is November 25, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3555 around us. This Bill is a science-based law, aimed at regulating biotechnology research development and trade in a safe and responsible manner. The law is meant to comply with the provisions that the Minister touched on, that is the Catergena Protocol. In fact, Kenya was one of the first countries to sign the Convention. The Protocol requires that every country should have a biosafety law to facilitate and regulate its modern biotechnological activities. The policy was passed in 2006 and, therefore, it is now up to this House to make sure that we pass this law. Having a framework of biotechnology ensures that we can deal with food security. Many people do not realise that the population in the world is increasing everyday, and farming through the old methods has not proved to be sufficient to provide food for the huge population that we have today. Therefore, biotechnology is one of the ways by which we can effectively produce enough food for this increasing population. Through biotechnological ways, it has been proved that we can produce more food. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as people talk about biosafety; they focus on the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as if this law that we want to pass is all about GMOs. It is a much bigger issue than just GMOs. If I may talk about food security, many countries today are producing food through biotechnological methods, and it has been going on for a long time, in fact, for over 20 years. Many countries are now producing biotech foods, or what we call GMO food. When you look at Europe, countries like Spain have been at it for over 25 years. Many countries in South America, Brazil, Argentina and India have recognized the importance of using biotechnological means of producing food. The acreage that is involved in growing biotech food is in millions. Well, over 22 countries are producing food this way. Indeed, half of the countries that are producing biotech food are developed countries. I want to share with you that even in Africa, Uganda which is our neighbour, did put a Biosafety Bill in place a number of years ago. Tanzania and Zambia have this law domesticated. Therefore, we are at the tail end of it, and I urge my colleagues that we cannot run away from biotechnology. It is here to stay and we have to go by it. Those who oppose the Biosafety Bill talk about the dangers of GMO food. May I recall that in all the countries that have been growing technological food, there has been no scientific basis to establish the fact that there are dangers in GMO foods. Therefore, we cannot just talk without backing our reasoning with scientific facts. Those countries that have continuously produced soya beans, cotton seed cake and biotechnologically produced maize have not reported any dangers, whatsoever. Therefore, it is without any basis at all for people to go talking about the dangers of biotech foods. Even if I talk about my own Ministry, the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, because we do not have a biosafety law, we have been hampered in many ways. In our national parks, we have fauna and plants that scientists from abroad come, use and take to their own countries for research purposes. Indeed, because we do not have a law, it has been impossible for us to control the people who want to do research. Therefore, by having this law, it will be better for Kenya to make sure that our fauna and food, both exports and imports, are controlled. The Authority that the Minister wants to put in place will really regulate trans-boundary movement of food and even plants. Therefore, it is very important! Another issue, Mr. Speaker, Sir, is if you look across the world, in those countries that have embraced the biosafety law, many trade issues have emerged. Many biotechnological companies have emerged and they are doing roaring business. It is only proper for us in Kenya to domesticate this proposed law, so that our own scientists can benefit by creating companies that will deal in biotech products. It is important because in Kenya we are lucky that we have scientists in various fields, who play a major role in expanding research in biotechnology. Two years ago, I was in Geneva, and was very surprised that our own scientists, who used to work at Muguga Kenya Agricultural Research 3556 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 25,2008 Institute (KARI) station--- Since we do not have the law to protect our biodiversity, they found it necessary to go out there and work for countries in Europe. Once we pass this law, I want to assure this House that we are going to attract quite a number of scientists who are working out there because we do not have enabling environment for our scientists. I want to share with you that the dry land wheat that one of our scientists developed in Muguga is now a basis for planting this variety all over the world, yet the research was actually done at Muguga. Now, our scientists who did that have had to leave the country and work out there. Therefore, I am appealing that once we pass this Bill, there will be a lot of interest in our scientists. We have talked for many years about our scientists in the diaspora. These people will be able to come back home and create employment. In the health sector, nuclear energy is used. Even today, the Minister for Medical Services was trying to describe some of the equipment that is used at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Now, nuclear energy is one of the issues that are important in bio-technology. Unless we have a law regulating the use of nuclear energy, again, you will find that hospitals will suffer. This is because some of the diagnosis within our hospitals depends on nuclear energy. So, while we talk about this Biosafety Bill, I want to impress upon my colleagues and tell them not to listen to what people are saying in the streets. Let us look at the Biosafety Bill in a broader way. Let us look at food security and creating more jobs for our own sons and daughters. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to second."
}