Farmers in Lamu County have been encouraged to embrace genetically modified (GMO) crops as a way of boosting yields, cutting costs and reducing losses in crops brought about by pests and diseases. The warning was given on Thursday, September 24, in Mpeketoni, where farmers were educated by the National Biosafety Authority (NBA). NBA Director Dr Anne Karimi urged them not to be concerned about GMO crops and said the technology that has gone through the approval process for field testing is thoroughly checked before it goes for cultivation and is allowed on the market.

“I want to assure the people of Kenya that they should not be concerned and not be afraid that maybe the government wants to cause them harm. It cannot. We look at the technology very carefully,” Karimi said.

She noted that before a technology is approved for commercial use, it goes through a lengthy approval process as regulators and scientists scrutinise the proposed technology for it to be declared safe for commercial use. Karimi highlighted the rising resistance to pesticide sprays and said some genetically modified (GM) crops are engineered to combat insects that destroy certain crops and plants.

“We have to be food secure. So we have to embrace new technology,” she said.

Farmers, she said, needed to be constantly informed about the technology as they adopted it in their respective fields.

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) is a government agency charged with responsibility for regulating and controlling the transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms in Kenya. The Authority was appointed under the Biosafety Act, 2009, and is responsible for the implementation and administration of the Act. The NBA oversees the application for permission to carry out confined field trials, environmental release and placing on the market of genetically modified organisms. It also covers all aspects of risk assessment and inspection of facilities handling genetically modified organisms.

In July, the Authority announced that confined field trials require strict biosafety measures to ensure that no risks are posed to people, animals and the environment. Karimi said at the time, the NBA would continue to monitor approved confined field trials before any of them could be authorised for commercial cultivation. Commercial cultivation of Bt cotton has been approved in Kenya, while other GM crops are yet to go through the various stages of research and regulatory processes. The NBA reported that as of July 2026, there had been no adverse effect of Bt cotton from its monitoring system.

For the farmers in Lamu, the latest agriculture awareness campaign is set to inform them on agricultural biotechnology and its potential benefits, which is critical to the county as it seeks to overcome challenges facing food production. The debate on GMO crops is, however, hinged on the type of crop, technology and regulatory approvals. Farmers must have access to information on approved crops, their use, and the regulatory frameworks governing their use before they can adopt them.