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"id": 201675,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/201675/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Prof. Olweny",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Patrick Ayiecho Olweny",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, do not eat on my time by interrupting me! It is all these things that brought us the word \"Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)\" that is scaring very many people. However, let us look at what GMOs have done to the rest of the world today, not in Kenya yet, because we are only testing one or two items. Bt cotton is being tested in Kenya and a few maize plants at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Kabete. Today, major economies, like the USA, have adopted the GMOs. Let us see how many hectares are planted under genetically modified maize, soya beans, cotton, carrola and papaya. In the USA, 55 million hectares is being used to grow GMOs. In fact, it could be more than that. If you go to Canada, you will find that 6.1 million hectares is under genetically modified canola, soya beans and maize. In Mexico, 100,000 hectares are under soya beans and cotton. In Spain, there is 100,000 hectares under genetically modified maize. They eat it and sell it. They are not throwing it away. In Germany, there is 50,000 hectares under genetically modified maize. Bulgaria has 30,000 hectares under the same maize. China has 3.5 million hectares under genetically modified cotton. That is Bt cotton which is being tested here in Mwea Tebere, Kenya, today, yet we are still scared, if it will kill us. Most of us today are wearing cotton shirts made of genetically modified cotton fabric. In India, more than 3.5 million hectares of land are under genetically modified cotton. South Africa has more than 1.5 million hectares under genetically modified maize, soya beans and cotton. I visited South Africa last year and I ate their maize. In fact, I chewed it raw! That was genetically modified maize that was being tested. I have not changed today. There are large tracts of land of genetically modified crops that are being grown across the world, including the one being tested in Kenya today; the Bt cotton, that is being tested today. Of course, it is like any other cotton. It will help our farmers when it is released with regard to control of ballworms. It will be a high-yielding material. Farmers will spend less money to spray it. So, they will have a higher marginal return from that material. I have just talked about various countries that are growing GM crops. Similarly, a lot of trade is already being undertaken using biotech crops. Those biotech crops include the GM crops. By the year 2005 - I do not want to go through so many years but I just want to pick on one - the world trade in biotech crops was US$5,000 billion. That includes the GM crops. As I have said, just like any other technologies, the GMO technology may have its own problems. It may have its dangers. That is the reason why we have this Bill to ensure that the technology will be safe for us, so that whatever is developed from GMO technology is safe for human beings, animals and for our environment. I do not think that I would have anything to add to this Bill. Any fears that people may have will be addressed by Clause 7 of this Bill. That clause is good enough. It will take care of any fears that someone may have. Clause 3 of the Bill talks about application for approval and risk assessment. That is where anybody who may have fears about GMO technology may refer to. Clauses 18 and 19 talk about applications to introduce into the environment--- What would be introduced into the environment? 4322 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 3, 2007 Is it being adequately taken care of? If you look at Clauses 20 and 21, all the way down--- I am convinced that this Bill takes care of any fear that any individual may have. However, just like any other law that has been enacted in this country, if it is not implemented effectively, then we will have problems. It is up to those who will be implementing it to do it safely. That is what has caused problems. I read in some articles someone saying that the proposis, the \"Mathenge\" tree, which is causing a problem in the North Rift today is a GMO. Some people also say that the water hyacinth is a GMO. Those are not GMOs. Those are just natural plants that some people introduced. As one of my colleagues said a few minutes ago, they were introduced the wrong way. When any plant material or any animal is being introduced into this country, it must pass through the quarantine stages. It must also be assessed by our scientists to determine whether it is the right material to be introduced in our environment. Those materials were introduced in the wrong environment. They are more aggressive than other organisms that live with them. That is why they are colonising the places where they were introduced. They are now creating problems. Someone simply took the seeds of the Mathenge tree there, I do not know what for, without passing them through the right channels and planted them there. That is a very aggressive plant and it is causing problems. It is up to the person who was supposed to implement the law against the introduction of the Mathenge plant and water hyacinth into this country to--- With those comments, I highly and strongly support this Bill."
}