A Kenyan court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to permit the importation and cultivation of genetically modified crops as part of its strategy to address the food crisis.
In October of the previous year, the government lifted a ten-year-old ban on genetically modified (GM) crops in response to declining food security brought about by the most severe drought to hit the Horn of Africa region in 40 years.
Kenyan lawyer Paul Mwangi promptly initiated a legal challenge, contending that the decision was unconstitutional due to concerns about the safety of the genetically modified crops.
However, Judge Oscar Angote of the environmental court declared on Thursday that there was no evidence indicating any harm to the environment or human health.
“As a country, we need to trust the institutions that we have in place and call them to order when they breach the law,” Angote said, making reference to government bodies that regulate GM foods.
“We should be confident that our health is in good hands.”
There was no immediate reaction to the ruling from Mwangi, a lawyer with close ties to the opposition.
Kenya, along with numerous other African nations, instituted a ban on genetically modified (GM) crops due to apprehensions regarding health and safety, as well as to safeguard smallholder farms, which constitute the majority of rural agricultural producers in the country.
Nonetheless, the East African nation received criticism for its ban, including from the United States, a major producer of genetically modified (GM) crops.
Activists and agricultural advocacy groups have voiced their opposition to the ban being lifted, asserting that it exposed the market to US farmers employing advanced technologies and heavily subsidized farming practices, which posed a threat to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.
According to government statistics, agriculture stands as the largest individual contributor to Kenya’s economy, accounting for over 21 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the previous year.
In Kenya, the agricultural sector employs approximately 12 percent of the country’s 19 million workers, trailing behind the education sector and manufacturing in terms of employment.
