Thirteen organisations are urging the state to conduct public participation on GMO ban lifting.
They say the state should commission an independent and impartial scientific study.
The organisations rooting for indigenous seeds and food spoke in a joint statement on Friday.
They said the state should also constitute a taskforce to undertake public participation and public education and awareness creation before the implementation of GMOs.
“We demand that the government shares the report of the taskforce used to lift the ban on Genetically Modified Organisms," they said.
"Also establishment of GMO-free zones before implementation of the lifting of the GMO ban. GMOs are a threat to our indigenous seeds due to the risk of contamination.”
The demands come a few days after the state lifted a 10-year ban on GMOs.
President William Ruto recently lifted the ban on genetically modified crops that were imposed in 2012.
Ruto said the ban has been lifted in accordance with the recommendation of the taskforce formed to review matters relating to genetically modified foods and food safety.
The ban was imposed on November 8, 2012 through a Cabinet memo by the then Health CS Beth Mugo.
It prohibited the open cultivation of genetically modified crops and the importation of food crops and animal feeds.
The organisations include the National Museums of Kenya, the African Biodiversity Network, the Biodiversity Association Kenya, the Pelum Association and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.
Others are BIBA Kenya, Inter-Sectoral Forum on Agro-biodiversity and Agro-ecology and Seed Savers Network, Action Aid, Hivos, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service.
The organisations made the resolution during the first indigenous seeds and food culture harvest fair held at the National Museums of Kenya from October 12 to 14, 2022.
The first National Indigenous Seeds and Food Culture Harvest Fair recognised that food production is an economic and socio-ecological system that links people with nature.
The organisations said indigenous seeds and food will assure the country's food and nutrition security.
Such seed and food, they said, will help build resilience and maintain a common heritage that connects the past, present and future generations.
Based on the discussions over the last three days, stakeholders from government, CSOs, private sector, farmers, indigenous people and the general public came up with a call to action.
On the conservation of agro-biodiversity including pollinators, the organisations urged the government to execute programmes aimed at training farmers.
Also, creating awareness to the general citizenry on how to conserve, protect pollinators, and educate them on the role of pollinators in seed and food production.
They also call on the state to support the National Museums of Kenya to map the pollinators’ diversity and identify where they are.
Further, incorporation of pollination ecology in the curriculum at all levels as it is currently not elaborated in Kenya.
The organisations urged the state to promote, support, and adopt innovations and appropriate technologies that can be used to monitor the pollinators.
Also, urgently invest in agro-biodiversity and agro-ecological practices, promoting diverse indigenous seeds and local food systems for a healthy population and climate resilience.
They further called for the withdrawal of harmful agrochemicals, which have been banned elsewhere yet they are still finding their way into the Kenyan market.
The organisations also urged the state to recognise and protect indigenous seeds and associated traditional knowledge.
"We urge the government to review local seed policies and regulations, which curtail farmers' freedom and rights to save, exchange, share and sell their indigenous seeds as envisaged in 11(3) (b)," they said.
"This is to ensure they are favourable to the small-scale farmers and the Farmer Managed Seed System,” they said.
The organisations said the state should introduce separate certification and quality assurance systems for indigenous seeds.
They also want farmer managed seed system to allocate adequate resources to support indigenous seeds, including through support to community seed banks at both national and county levels.
The organisations said the state should also strengthen the Genetic Resources Research Institute through adequate budgetary allocation and institutional independence.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
