Which countries in Africa ban GMOs?

Expert response from Daniel Kamanga

Director of Communication & Public Acceptance for Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International

Monday, 29/02/2016 20:09

Which countries in Africa have banned GMOs?

In Africa, only Kenya has banned the importation of food containing GMOs. The process of the ban was flawed and occurred during the previous administration. The current administration put in place a mechanism to resolve and remove the ban. This included a public engagement process to advise the government on a way forward. Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, is on record for having said that the Government would lift the ban, which you can read about here.

For the first time, the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) recently approved open field trials of Bt maize which you can learn about here. This is the clearest signal that the country is moving forward with a scientific-based regulatory system.  There are on-going confined field trials (CFTs) for maize, sorghum, cassava and other crops.