The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), a coalition of organisations and movements across the continent advocating for agroecology and food sovereignty, has welcomed the recent Court of Appeal decision to block the government from importing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the country.
AFSA stated that the ruling marks a significant step in protecting the rights of small-scale farmers and consumers while safeguarding Kenya’s biodiversity and ecological balance.
The decision comes in response to an appeal by the Kenya Peasants League, the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA), and 18 other parties, who challenged the government’s October 2022 decision to lift the ban on GMOs.
The alliance noted that the court acknowledged the serious risks GMOs pose to local agricultural systems, public health, and the environment.
“We celebrate this ruling as a major victory for small-scale farmers across Kenya,” said David Otieno, a representative of the Kenya Peasants League. “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.”
AFSA highlighted that the Court of Appeal, in its judgment, stressed that maintaining the ban is in the public interest while legal and policy concerns surrounding GMOs are fully addressed. The alliance further emphasised the need for a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to assess the potential adverse health, environmental, and socio-economic impacts of GMOs before any policy shifts are implemented.
In the wake of the ruling, Kenyan farmers and food sovereignty advocates are urging the government to prioritise agroecology as a sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture.
“A key milestone was achieved in November 2024 when the Ministry of Agriculture launched the Kenya National Agroecology Strategy for Food Systems Transformation,” said Anne Maina, the National Coordinator of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya.
“We urge the government to invest in smallholder farmers, indigenous seed systems, and agroecological farming practices rather than pushing harmful technologies that serve corporate interests,” added Million Belay, General Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.
AFSA is now calling on the government to immediately cease all actions related to the introduction and promotion of GMOs in Kenya. 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.
