Farmers from Elgeyo Marakwet have called on the government to reconsider its decision to import Genetically Modified Maize (GMO) saying it will affect their market given that they are harvesting.
Led by Julius Chelang’a, the farmers said the government should have delayed the importation and accord local farmers’ first priority in the purchase of maize.
They said the cost of production in the last season was quite high given the high cost of inputs and therefore it will be quite unfortunate if farmers will have to compete for the local market with GMO’s.
Addressing the media in Iten, the farmers called on the Kenya Kwanza government to fulfill the pledges they made to farmers of improving agriculture instead of looking for the cheaper option of importing maize.
The farmers said with the right support from the government, farmers in the country were capable of growing enough food for the country.
They added that the government had not assured Kenyans that the food was fit for human consumption saying as of now Kenyans still have their doubts on the safety of GMOs saying even in the Western countries they are not popular.
“As a country we need to ask ourselves, why do the Western countries insist on organic food when exporting any agricultural produce from Africa,” he posed.
The farmers said the importation of food was a great disservice not only to the local farmers but also to the economy of the country since when we import food we promote foreign farmers instead of our own.
They called on all elected leaders and especially those in the national assembly to reject the move saying it spells doom for local farmers.
By Alice Wanjiru
