19
Mar
Kenya Court Rules Against GMO Corn Imports, Major Win for Food Sovereignty
![In a major win for small-scale food farmers in Kenya, “the Kenya Court of Appeal blocked the Kenyan government from importing [GMOs] into the country."](https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/wp-content/uploads/cache/2025/03/DN-3_19_25/461333318.png "In a major win for small-scale food farmers in Kenya, “the Kenya Court of Appeal blocked the Kenyan government from importing [GMOs] into the country.")
(Beyond Pesticides, March 19, 2025) In a major win for small-scale food producers and peasant farmers in Kenya, “the Kenya Court of Appeal blocked the Kenyan government from importing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the country[,]” according to a press release by Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)—an alliance of organizations and movements across the continent advocating for agroecology and food sovereignty.
“We celebrate this ruling as a major victory for small-scale farmers across Kenya,” said David Otieno, a small-scale farmer and member of the Kenyan Peasants League, a social movement consisting of consumers, farmers, pastoralists, and fishers rallying against the multinational corporate takeover of food systems in Kenya. Mr. Otieno continued: “GMOs are not the solution to food insecurity in our country. Instead, they deepen dependency on multinational agribusinesses, threaten biodiversity, and compromise farmers’ ability to control their food systems.”
Genetically engineered seeds are designed to be resistant to commonly used pesticides, including the weedkiller glyphosate, which locks farmers into dependence on multinational corporations rather than their own ability to practice seed saving and enhance their food sovereignty.
This battle for control over the ownership of land and seeds in Kenya resonates with the growing movement of consumers, farmers, land stewards, and public health professionals in the United States facing similar industry-fed arguments about the necessity for pesticide use in agriculture as a matter of food insecurity and national security. Despite industry and government claims of increased productivity and reduced pest control costs, GMO cropping systems have led to a dramatic increase in the use of herbicides and the fast development of weed and insect resistance.
History
“The ruling comes in response to an appeal by the Kenya Peasants League, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA) and 18 other parties, which challenged the government’s October 2022 decision to lift its [10-year GMO] ban,” according to the press release.
The press release continues, “Following this ruling, all government actions related to the introduction and promotion of GMOs in Kenya must cease immediately. The case will proceed to a full hearing, where the Court of Appeal will determine whether the lifting of the GMO ban was lawful and in the best interests of the country.”
“President William Ruto had on October 3, 2024, announced that the government had lifted the ban on GMO foods after a Cabinet meeting to boost the country’s food security following [a] prolonged drought,” according to reporting by The Standard.
Political leaders continue to rely on the food security argument to rationalize deregulation and continuous use of genetically engineered foods, despite mounting evidence from peasant farmers across the globe that this is a false choice. A 2024 report, Food From Somewhere: Building food security and resilience through territorial markets, found that relying on pesticide-free food systems rooted in agroecological and organic principles “in many cases help[s] to provide market outlets for farmers using natural fertilizers and pesticides that work with nature, rather than the fossil-fuel based synthetic inputs associated with corporate value chains.” (See full Daily News here.) An analysis published in the International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews found that Kenyan farmers who included the integration of cover crops and legumes, which is otherwise undermined by introducing genetically modified seeds into ecosystems, into their farming systems found that these organic practices “not only enhances soil fertility through nitrogen fixation but also contributes to improved food security by providing multiple harvests throughout the year.” (See full Daily News here.) On the topic of food security, for decades, scientists have raised alarm about the implications of mass pollinator die-off for food supply chain resilience and economic security. A two-year study commissioned by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that roughly $235 to $577 billion in annual value of global crop production is directly impacted by pollinators.
This court decision arrives as some policymakers in Kenya continue to protect their sovereignty from industry interference. In early 2024, the Kenyan parliament introduced a resolution to ban hazardous pesticides including glyphosate-based herbicide products such as Roundup® Ready sold by Bayer/Monsanto, leading to a fiery debate on the state of agricultural uses moving forward. Hon. Gladys Boss, Deputy Speaker for the National Assembly, speaks to the rationale for introducing the petition:
“The issue of carcinogenic pesticides and Round-Up herbicides is of significant concern to our country. This challenge is known in all levels of Government. The ‘Pesticide Atlas,’ a document developed by 20 scientists from the University of Nairobi, confirms that 267 pesticides banned in Europe and America are still in use in Kenya.”
See the full Daily News, Countries in Global South Lead and Face Challenges in Human Rights, Health, and Environmental Protections, for additional context.
In 2024, the Kenyan government, alongside six other Global South nations, launched the Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) Programme—a $379 million initiative that “will realign financial incentives to prevent the use of harmful inputs in food production.” This international cohort aims to phase out the use of “toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—chemicals which don’t break down in the environment and contaminate air, water, and food.” While it remains to be seen the impact of this initiative as of today’s publication, it departs significantly from the status quo of increasing synthetic and pesticide use. (See Daily News here.)
The impacts of business-as-usual pesticide use have had devastating impacts on human and ecological health in Kenya, as covered previously. As a result of rampant glyphosate and malathion usage, farmers have gone pesticide-free and instead use toothbrushes and sponges as a substitute for pollinators who suffered the consequences. (See Daily News here.) According to a Scientific Reports-published study conducted by Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Kenya-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), pesticide run-off from nearby farmland indirectly increased the rate of the tropical disease schistosomiasis, which infected over 280 million people in 2018. (See Daily News here.)
There are examples, however, of ecologically grounded solutions that have yielded very positive results. For instance, Lake Victoria—a body of water shared by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—suffered from a water hyacinth infestation in the 1990s. Scientists collaborated and responded in turn by introducing two species of weevils, which are natural predators of the hyacinth: Neochetina bruchi and Neochetina eichhorniae. The initiative was so successful that it resulted in a 90 percent decrease in hyacinth cover; consequently, this nature-based strategy continues to serve as the blueprint for many other African countries facing similar dilemmas. (See previous Daily News here.)
Call to Action
Advocates across the globe continue to push for a world beyond the use of toxic petrochemical-based pesticides and fertilizers, leaning into the importance of Indigenous food systems based in agroecology and autonomy rather than reliance on multinational corporations.
One of the first steps advocates can take to fight for a pesticide-free future is arming themselves with the facts. Consider reviewing the robust selection of peer-reviewed, independent scientific literature at the Pesticide-Induced Disease Database. This resource provides the public with free and easy access to learn more about the linkages between cumulative and individual pesticide exposure and biodiversity loss, chronic illness, and climate catastrophe. It is a powerful tool when advocating that communities move away from using toxic land management practices in parks and on playing fields and schoolyards, replacing them with organic practices. See Parks for a Sustainable Future.
It was Nelson Mandela who said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Consider applying your knowledge for the greater good by signing up for Action of the Week to apply this new-found knowledge into action!
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
