AN MP has called on the government to block the importation of GMO maize from South Africa. Naivasha MP John Mututho, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on agriculture, yesterday claimed a consignment of the cereal will arrive in a week.

He said the license to import was issued to politically-connected traders although Kenyan farmers enjoyed a bumper harvest last year. "This GMO maize is due to arrive in the country in a few weeks and it' is being imported by one company called Louis Dreyfus Kenya Limited," he said. Mututho said Louis Dreyfus should not import the maize because farmers harvested enough to feed Kenya for a year.

"The government should buy the surplus maize from the fanners. We have maize rotting in farms in Ukambani region and it is a shame that some people are already importing maize" he said. He said the ministries of Agriculture, Finance and Special Programmers should stop the importation of the maize claiming GMO maize can cause impotence and cancer. Louis Dreyfus is a telecoms, shipping and real estate company. The company has reportedly already imported 40,000 metric tonnes, the equivalent of 500,000 bags.

"There is a law that there must be adequate research before any GMO foods are imported and the Kenyan government has done no research," Mututho said. "As the Parliamentary Select Committee chairman on agriculture, I will lead a protest and the people who are importing the maize should take back this maize. The government should come clear and clean and put a human face in the import. They should tell us who is behind the import."