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"speaker_name": "Mr. Karaba",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the chance to contribute in support of this Bill which, as you have heard, should have come during the term of the Eighth Parliament and not in the life of the Ninth Parliament, which is about to be dissolved. This Bill is very important and significant in the livelihoods of Kenyans in the sense that once it is passed, it will confirm what other countries have done, the signatories of the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety in the world.The Bill tells us more about the deliberate relief and placing of what we produce and market. We have to import and export some of the products that we either grow here or produce through manufacturing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Kenya is not an island. It is surrounded by some other countries like Ethiopia, Uganda and the Sudan and they are signatories to the same protocol. So, if we do not, therefore, take our country to the global level, we might be singled out as a country which has been ignorant for some time, and which will continue to thrive in ignorance. The Bill, therefore, is going to establish the National Biosafety Authority. As you have heard from various speakers, this Authority is going to safeguard against rumours that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not safe for human consumption. The majority of us should understand that we are not legalising the production of GMOs. We are trying to come up with an authority which will protect what is already here in the country. So, the Bill is relevant to what is happening in other parts of the world. As you might have all heard, the word \"modified\" means to improve on something, which has been there or is there. We have been doing it for the last very many years. We have been able to modify even human beings through evolution. We are told that what we are now is not what we used to be during the Stone Age or the Iron Age; we continue to evolve. This is what we are asking every person in this House to understand. This is what we call evolution. The evolution that we are discussing here is evolution of genetically modified foods and other related organisms that continue to be produced, not only in Kenya but also in other countries in the world. The attempt by this Bill, therefore, is to make sure that what is produced in Kenya, or transported through Kenya is safe, either for our people or for our environment. This is the authority we are seeking to establish through this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it also helps us to understand that Kenya needs, as a October 3, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4323 country, food security. You realise that many a time we have problems with hunger. We hear of some catastrophes which happen. More often than not, there is drought, prolonged rainfall which causes floods, and all these lead to misery for very many people in our country. If we have enough food to be consumed by our people, this is what we are interested in. We cannot increase food production in this country if we have not improved the methods and systems that have been existing for some time. This is what this Bill is seeking to do, to cause a revolution in our food production by improving ecosystems that can support the growth of food crops. We have some areas which would not even produce crops because of inadequate rainfall. Rainfall is not enough leave alone being reliable. So, when farmers take to various crop production, they suffer from drought or unreliable rainfall. This then leads to poor food production. If the Bill is passed, we envisage a situation where more food will be grown through the improvement of the environment, crops and seeds. When this happens, we are going to have drought-resistant crops similar to the Katumani variety maize which has been growing in Ukambani for some time. We have also heard about coffee varieties like Ruiru 11, which is doing well in some arid and semi-arid areas. We also have a tea variety, which is not grown in only highlands. We have tea growing in the lowlands. We also have rice which is growing in highlands and not in lowlands. All this is possible through modification. If this modification is, therefore, going to be supported, it should be enshrined in a legislation. This is what we want to do, because without doing it, we are not going to be partners, or members of, to the Cartagena Protocol. If Parliament passes this Bill, which I know it will do, because the mood shows it will, we are going to benefit a lot from international recognition, support and credit. You hear of various economic unions and markets like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the European Union (EU) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Unless we pass legislation that will enable us to compete favourably with other economic regions, as a country, we are going to lose a lot in the struggle for economic development. So, if we are thinking about economic development, we must also think about evolution in agriculture. The only evolution and revolution that we can have is through the introduction of the GMOs, which are going to be safeguarded by the Biosafety Bill. This Bill, therefore, will protect not only human beings but also animals and the environment, if it is passed. This is going to ensure that we proper, as a country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you have heard of the increase in yields in a number of countries. India has achieved a lot of cotton production. We also have the Philippines, Brazil and Argentina which have produced a lot of soya beans through biotechnology. This is something that Kenya should achieve, particularly in this region, where we are supposed to be seen as the front runner in most of the activities that are undertaken not only in Africa but in the world. This is like having an international airport. It is here that most of the products will be trans-shipped through. If we are not going to have legislation to prohibit and regulate most of what is trans-shipped through Kenya, then our country will be seen as a runway. Without the protection contained in the Bill, we will suffer unfairness. The Bill also ensures publicity of GMOs in the country. It attempts to provide that several media houses will be used to make sure that before something is introduced in this country, people will be made aware of it through various publications and media. This is all contained in the Bill. So, we are trying to assure hon. Members that this is a very useful Bill. Once it is passed, we will become members of the African Union (AU) and, of course, join the market for GMOs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as the Chairman of the relevant Departmental Committee, I would like to say that we shall propose some amendments in the Committee Stage. I can assure you that we have gone through this Bill. We have seen that the Bill, itself, is an asset to 4324 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 3, 2007 this Country. Most of the Members of the Committee, including some hon. Members here, have been to countries that have adopted biotechnology. The Committee visited South Africa and other countries. We have held various in-house meetings and workshops and we have been convinced that we should have passed this Bill yesterday and not now. If we do not do that, we will be sidelined. We will not have economic recovery and growth. It is going to be very bad for our future generation. It should not be seen like a rumour-mongering kind of Bill. It is something which is going to support this country. It is a revolution in terms of industrial development. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we visited India to see how cottage industries are developed. They have developed them using biotechnology cotton. There have very good textile industries. It is based on locally produced BT Cotton. You will realize how important those industries are. They employ many people. So, employment opportunities will be created in this country. We cannot talk about employment without having a workforce that is going to perform certain industrial tasks based on the available raw materials. So, if we do not produce enough raw materials for our industries, we are not going to be an industrialized. We are not going to realise Vision 2030. So, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very important Bill. It seeks to make our country to be the front-runner in Africa. The number of farmers who are going to benefit from the production of those crops is going to increase. They will be economically empowered through the sale of the same. They will make use of idle land. Most of our population is made up of farmers. Therefore, we need to encourage them to grow those crops so that we can have industrial development in this country. We shall establish various cottage industries. So, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the researchers have come up with different varieties. In Kenya, we have very eminent scientists. Our scientists, after they have done a lot of good work, seek greener pastures elsewhere. Sometimes, they are even poached! That is brain drain. That happens when they do not realise much from the research that they have undertaken. We continue to lag behind. The same scientists leave Kenya and go to advance their scientific methods in other counties. In the end, we stand to lose. So, if this Bill is passed, there are various regulations that will govern brain-drain, the use and misuse of biotechnology products and the transfer of the same products through the country. The Bill will show what will be contained in this country. So, this Bill, therefore, is going to be very useful to our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have seen how other countries in the world have benefitted from biotechnology. You have heard from Prof. Olweny how America, India, Germany and other countries have benefitted. So, if those countries have benefitted through biotechnology and they have been industrialized for as many years as, maybe, 200 years, what makes Kenya not be one of them? If we are going to be a member of the same global institution, it means that we are going to benefit a lot from the interaction with other countries. Kenya, therefore, will benefit immensely from the introduction of GMOs. So, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to understand that, without that technology, we are going to lag behind just like the way we lagged behind when computers were introduced. There are some countries that have not adopted Information Technology (IT). To them, IT is a mirage! So, that biotechnology will be a mirage to us if we do not adopt it. That will deny us the developmental advantage. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}