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Kenyan Court Refutes Lawsuit Aiming to Block GM Crops

© AFP 2023 YASUYOSHI CHIBAfarming fields near a swarm of desert locusts are reported in Meru, Kenya.
farming fields near a swarm of desert locusts are reported in Meru, Kenya.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 13.10.2023
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The severe drought in 2022 reportedly forced the Kenya to lift a 10-year ban on genetically modified (GM) crops to increase the maize yield. In January, this decision was challenged by the Law Society of Kenya on the grounds that there had been no public consultation, media noted.
Kenyan Environment and Land Court dismiss the claim, challenging the importation and cultivation of GM crops, noting that appropriate actions were taken by the authorities to control their use, media reported.
There is genetic material in a GM crop that is not characteristic of natural plants. The additional substances are included in the crop to better protect them from diseases. Although the safety of these modified crops for human health and the environment is questioned by some critics, there are countries like the United States, for instance, that widely use them, the media said.
According to the court's judge, Oscar Angote, the detrimental effect of GM crops on nature or human health have not been proved by the government agencies that regulate GM foods, the outlet noted.

"As a country, we need to trust the institutions we have in place and call them to order when they break the law," Oscar Angote was quoted by the media as saying.

He reportedly added that it is necessary to "be sure that our health is in good hands."
The distribution of subsidized fertilizer started in Makueni County, Kenya, ahead of the upcoming short rains. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 05.08.2023
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Following the lifting of the ban on GM crops in 2022 in Kenya, the country's farmers' groups condemned the move, saying that it was "hasty" and urging to "reinstate" the ban, the outlet revealed.
Moreover, according to the media, farmers feared that the use of GM crops would make the country dependent on the seeds from foreign corporations that own patents to them.
As for the reason behind the exceptional drought that prompted lifting of the ban, a recent study published by the World Weather Attribution, an academic collaboration that studies the impact of climate change on weather, revealed that the drought has been exacerbated by human-induced climate change.
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