Modified crops are suitable

An article in a Kenyan weekly Newspaper recently suggested that genetically modified foods are not good for Kenyans.
The article further said that countries like Mexico are averse to GM technology. And that one is forced to question genetic modifications because the secrets of nature have not been fully understood, even by scientists.
The writer went on to say that this boils down to the fact that we can only fool around with nature expecting negative dividends. By only looking at the negative side of GM crops, the writer got it all wrong because GM crops have been accepted throughout the world. And Kenya’s precarious ability to feed her people lies in the development and production of genetically modified foods.
GM crops require little water. They are also resistant to pests and diseases, and yield more. Thus the introduction of GM foods in Kenya and other African countries was a blessing to the thousands who are starving.
Internationally even the West seems to prefer and accept GM crops. France, a country associated with strong anti-biotech lobbies, now says that it is safe to grow GM sugar beet on a wider scale because it poses minimal risk when consumed and also it does not contaminate other crops.
However, French Government panel also says that extra caution is needed when dealing with rapeseeds because the pollens may spread to other plants. The GM sugar beet, which tolerates certain herbicides, poses very little risk of contaminating conventional crops provided adequate biosafety measures f are undertaken. GM sugar beet is also safe for consumption.
In Britain, the country’s think tank scientific elite, the Royal Society, says they have looked at all of the available research, and found nothing to suggest that the process of genetic modification makes potential foodstuffs inherently unsafe.
However, they fully support the public’s right to know, says the working group Chairman Professor Jim Smith. The Royal Society concludes that GM crops pose “negligible” risk to health. But there should still be tighter regulations to reassure consumers.
This observation is quite appropriate for both pro and anti-biotech groups. And it charts the way forward for biotech revolution. For Kenya it means better facilities and more skilled manpower to cope with practical aspects of biosafety regulations.
Apart from scientific prowess, the success or acceptance of other agricultural biotechnology products and services very much depends on providing the public with credible information be it positive or negative.
This realization has resulted in the creation of Agricultural biotechnology Council launched in London in the first week of February by leading biotech firms, such as Monsanto, Aventis, Dow Agro Sciences, Duport Co. and Syngenta Alo. These firms pledged more openness.
In Kenya, tests are being done on GM maize by researchers at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institution (kari). Kari is working with CIMMYT, a maize and wheat research centre in Mexico. Many crops are grown throughout the world using GM technology. They are maize, soybean, potatoes, cotton and others. And this is expected to boost food/maize production in Kenya. Kenya should not be skeptical about GM foods while they are accepted worldwide.
(IPS)
Many African countries are currently growing GM crops, including the technicologically-advanced South Africa.