Kenya's GMO maize push sowing trouble for food sector, farmers warn

Samuel Wathome 65, a small-scale farmer inspects his crop at his maize farm where he plants indigenous seeds at Kyeleni village of Machakos, Kenya December 13, 2022. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

MWEA, Kenya (Reuters) - Dick Olela has been growing maize on his four-acre piece of land in the Migori county in western Kenya for the last three decades but fears his livelihood could be undermined by the government's sudden embrace of genetically-modified crops.

With more than 4 million people in Kenya facing acute food shortages after the worst drought in four decades ravaged crops and livestock in East Africa, President William Ruto's new government last month lifted a decade-old ban on cultivation and imports of genetically-modified (GMO) maize.