Part 2: GMOs in Kenya: Letter to President Ruto
Part 2: GMOs in Kenya: Letter to President Ruto
Dear Mr. President, the odds are stacked against you. A changing world, inhospitable climate, diminishing natural resources. You are playing catch-up.
Dear Mr. President, that late September evening when you spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, I was streaming the speech live on Twitter. Everyone talked of how euphoric the speech was, some calling your oratory skills as great as Obama’s.
I also heard your passionate plea for multilateralism. Alluded to it at least seventeen times during the speech. Multilateralism and globalization were always big ideas, vehicles to take us to the 22nd century. But that was 20 years ago.
Changing global order and the rise of nationalism
Dear President, global politics are shifting. It is in the election of strongmen in the United States, Brazil, India, and a dozen other countries. How Presidents in China and elsewhere have extended their terms to rule longer. The calls for nationalism in France and the United Kingdom. The *redacted*-measuring contest in the Korean Peninsula. The Russia-Ukraine war. More recently, a U.S decision has almost decimated the semiconductor industry in China – experts are calling it a “massive escalation.”
I cannot say I understand the nuances of global affairs or foreign policy. But there is definitely smoke over the horizon. Are you and other African leaders observing these small shifts and events with concern about Africa’s political and economic future?
The threat of climate change
Dear President, I know you understand that climate change is right here and now. It is the drought that has claimed millions of livestock. A farmer hacked to death by cattle herders in Kitui and the consequent displacement of hundreds of others. The death of police officers at the hand of cattle rustlers in Marsabit and more people shot dead over pasture resources in Isiolo. In Kenya and most African countries, climate change is not just global warming and the melting of ice caps. It is the drought, famine, and conflict over resources, something I am worried could birth a new wave of ethnic clashes.
Mr. President, water scarcity is soon going to be a big problem in the country. Let me guess, the water flowing in the taps in State House is groundwater from a borehole sunk nearby. That is the same case for many other Kenyans, in and around Nairobi, and Kajiado County especially. Groundwater is supposed to be our last defense when our waters dry up, but we are using it even for irrigation of export crops.
It seems the rainy season is here. How many areas are harvesting the water for future use? How many areas can? Pavements and cabro all over the city. A sign of modernity they say, a break from the muddy village roads we grew up in. Our roads flood and the water wants to go somewhere – underground to recharge the aquifers, but we will not let it.
Yes, I know you want to plant trees and construct dams to capture water for irrigation. But on which rivers, Mr. President? Half of the rivers are drying up, the other half have eucalyptus growing on the river banks. Yes to trees, but that’s a 30-50 year plan. What about now? What about five years from now?
Fertilizers and Agriculture
Mr. President, I know you are working on a plan for fertilizer production. But let me let you in on a secret – the raw materials are diminishing around the world. See, fertilizer is made of three main components – Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium. The nitrogen component is made from atmospheric nitrogen in an energy-intensive process that requires natural gas, which we do not have.
Phosphorous and potassium are mined from rock deposits, which few countries have. In fact, very few countries have all three. Some of these countries are limiting the sale of these fertilizers to stock up for their own use. From here, access to such resources will be weaponized making it more difficult to just trade them for money. The owners want something else on top to sell.
Potassium and phosphorous deposits may soon become depleted in the world. They say eighty years until phosphorous is completely depleted. But Mr. President, do you know what else is rich in phosphorous? Human waste. Pig excrement. Fish fecal matter.
GMOs and Biotechnology
Mr. President, you and I have one thing in common – we are scientists. Often, we tend to look at genetic modification and agriculture biotechnology as a science issues only. It is not. When you hear of protests against GM technology, please be aware that it is not the science in question- but the rest of it. Who is producing the technology? Who owns it? What does it mean for our food?
I cannot deny that our agriculture and food security problems require innovation and biotechnology. Our indigenous seeds, rich and diverse as they are, are performing worse every year. They have not had a chance to improve themselves naturally to withstand extreme weather patterns. We must employ biotechnology to improve them fast enough. But whose technology, where, how, and when matters too.
Whatever new technologies we want to develop, let our people have a say. Let our young people develop it. Let our farmers offer their land for trials. Science and technology that excludes people is oppression. Bringing products of technology from elsewhere is colonization.
What can you do?
Dear Mr. President, the odds are stacked against you. A changing world, inhospitable climate, diminishing natural resources, and vested interests everywhere. You are playing catch-up. I do not know what you should do. But perhaps, I can offer three words of advice –
1. Guard against vested interests. Be wary of the merchants from the East and West who give with one hand and take more with the other hand. Former Chief Justice, Willy Mutunga describes them as “people who seem to be following the wisdom of our peasants who understand that to slaughter chickens you must be generous will the grains you pour into their midst.” Whatever you do, remember, most likely there is a local solution waiting to be explored.
2. Think ahead. By 2050, there will be almost 100 million Kenyans, 69 million by the end of your ten-year term. That’s 13 million more people than when you took the oath of office. What will these people eat? Where will they work? Will there be enough water for them? Housing? Dignifying jobs? Work back from then to now. What can you do now to secure the future of the almost 70 million people?
3. Protect EAC community at all costs. Kenya by itself cannot afford the resources to address the challenges presented here, conduct the required research and get markets particularly for agricultural commodities. But guess who can? The East African Community (EAC).
As Willy Mutunga explains, the EAC community and its survival are much more important to us than any trade agreement with the US. Or any other country. When you talk of multilateralism as a solution, you are right, but wrong on which countries. It is not the East or West, but Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the DRC, Sudan, possibly Ethiopia, and Somalia.
EAC unity, collaboration, and success are of great importance and consequence to us, our country, and the entire region. Protect it at whatever cost.
Brilliant, succinct. You are 200% correct. But given the election deals signed with the ravenous west who are treating this regime is their 'get China out of Kenya' plan, none of these key points will register anywhere until it is too late. We have a broker government, invested only in making the western empire happy. Our interests as Kenyans do not apply. Everything now points to this sad reality. Maybe only devolved Agriculture will save parts of this country.
Interesting conversation