- High cost of feeds have adversely affected production
- Situation has been worsened by the recent drought
Image: George Murage
The Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers now says that the cost of livestock feed could come down by over 30 per cent if the ban on GMO products is lifted.
According to the association, the high cost of the feed remained one of the biggest challenges in livestock production in the country.
With the court set to make a ruling on the GMO ban in October, it emerged that the country was importing over 60 per cent of raw materials used to manufacture the feeds and hence the high prices.
According to the association chairman Joe Karuri, the court ruling would chart the path and determine the future cost of livestock feed for thousands of farmers.
Karuri said lifting the ban will allow local feed manufacturers to import highly nutritious, quality and high-yielding GMO products that will help lower the cost of local feeds by 30 per cent.
He said lifting the ban would see Kenya import key feed manufacturing ingredients such as soybean meal and yellow maize that had protein-rich feeds thus increasing productivity.
“Over 60 per cent of materials used to manufacture feeds for the local markets is imported, leading to increased cost of production and high cost of feeds and livestock products,” he said.
Karuri said the country produces 2.5 million tonnes of feed every year for the local market and the capacity could be accelerated by availing required raw materials year-round.
Speaking in Naivasha, he added that due to the devastating effects of prolonged drought two years ago, the cost of feed had skyrocketed by almost 50 per cent for a 70kg bag.
Karuri said although the government intervened by allowing duty-free importation of GMO-free maize from Ukraine, the move had been hampered by the war with Russia.
National Biosafety Authority CEO Roy Mugira said the agency had adopted a raft of regulations and laws to guarantee the safety of all approved GMO products in the country.
Mugira said the authority was ready to release into the market adopted GMO products once the ongoing case opposing the lifting of the ban was heard and determined.
“We are done with research on maize, cassava and potatoes which are disease and weather tolerant and we shall release them into the market once the court case is done,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Kenya requires 55 million tonnes of feed annually but only produces 40 per cent leaving a huge deficit of 33 million tonnes.