MWEA, (Kenya): 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 in October lifted a decade-old ban on cultivation and imports of genetically-modified (GMO) maize.

Kenya struggles to feed its population of 55 million and has consistently had an annual deficit of 10 million bags of the maize staple. Imports fill the gap but supply has come under unprecedented pressure in recent years from urbanisation and sky-rocketing prices of inputs like fertiliser.