Can India Take Cues From Kenya's GMO Ban Lift to Meet Climate Change Challenge?

In early October 2022, Kenya lifted a decade-long ban on importing Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs as a source of food and feed. This follows Kenya's approval to GM cotton in response to the ongoing drought conditions.

Parts of Africa are experiencing unprecendented drought and nearly four million people in Kenya are facing hunger issues. Kenya’s move to adopt GMOs to improve food security comes on the recommendation of a task force which was set up to examine the safety and viability of using GMOs.  

While this move may mitigate some of Kenya’s food concerns, the shift to GMOs in the middle of an ongoing disaster will take time and effort. With this backdrop, it is time for India to also revisit its de facto ban on GMOs and invest in this technology now.

GMO: let's take a balanced view

At least 12 farmers have been booked in Maharashtra for planting banned genetically modified (GM) cotton and brinjal seeds. Undeterred by this, farmers have been protesting the blockade of new technologies that could aid farming. This movement has elicited mixed responses from farmer groups — some support the idea; others oppose the introduction of GM technologies in Indian agriculture.The anti-GMO argument rests on three pillars: first, that GMOs are controlled by large companies and are essentially anti-farmer; second, they are harmful to biological diversity and third, they are harmful to human health. They also argue that the Maharashtra farmers have been paid by large companies to pressure the government into accepting the technology.On the other hand, pro-GMO groups such as the Shetkari Sanghtana backing the Maharashtra protest argue that farmers need to adopt more GMOs to get better yields and more income. This is by no means a new argument. In 2001, farmers were accused of illegally planting GM cotton, much prior to India permitting the commercialisation of Monsanto’s Bt cotton. So, as these two groups tussle it out, who will blink first? Read more