Kenya feed shortages spur push for GM-sourced raw materials to ease crisis
Experts are urging the government to embrace genetically modified maize and soybeans to reduce feed costs and stabilise supply.
KENYA – Kenya’s animal feed industry is in crisis, with soaring prices, poor-quality feeds, and dwindling raw material supplies threatening the country’s food security and farmers’ livelihoods.
Industry stakeholders and experts are now calling for the inclusion of genetically modified (GMO) crops in feed production to stabilise supply and lower costs.
For years, farmers across Kenya have complained that livestock feed has become increasingly expensive and less effective, weakening their animals and reducing productivity, especially in the dairy and poultry sectors.
“The result of all these challenges is unaffordable feed and loss of livelihoods that have affected the national food security,” said Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) chairperson Joseph Karuri.
Feed costs escalate amid raw material shortages
Kenya produces about 2.5 million tonnes of animal feed annually, but 80 percent of the raw materials are imported from neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. The dependency has left the sector vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations.
Prices of maize and soybeans, key ingredients in livestock feed, rose by about 30 percent last year alone, forcing many small and medium-sized milling plants to close. The situation has been compounded by erratic weather patterns affecting crop yields both locally and regionally.
“Out of the 2.5 million tonnes produced annually, 0.5 million tonnes are made by informal producers and home mixing,” Karuri explained.
“Large-scale farmers produce about 100,000 tonnes annually while middle-class producers make between 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes, and small-scale producers 50,000 tonnes and below.”
Animal feed accounts for more than 70 percent of the total cost of production for dairy and poultry farmers. With 41 percent of manufactured feed consumed by poultry farmers and 39 percent by dairy producers, the sector’s instability has ripple effects on Kenya’s milk and egg supply.
Experts urge GMO adoption and policy reforms
AKEFEMA and agricultural experts are urging the government to embrace genetically modified maize and soybeans to reduce feed costs and stabilise supply.
Karuri noted that over 90 percent of maize and soybeans grown globally are genetically modified, making them cheaper and of higher quality than non-GMO alternatives.
“Most food-secure countries with competitive livestock sectors have embraced GMO maize and soybean meals in production of feed,” he said, adding that the National Biosafety Authority has confirmed Kenya’s capacity to regulate GMO imports safely.
Agriculture and food systems expert Allan Liavoga echoed the call, saying Kenya is lagging behind while 72 countries have already approved and regulated GMO products according to their national needs.
“These concerns have been there despite scientific evidence confirming that they are safe,” Liavoga said. “Compositional changes in foods may arise from any method of genetic modification and must be assessed to ensure there’s a reasonable degree of safety.”
He added that misinformation and fear spread through social media have hampered the adoption of GMO technology, despite clear international safety standards and extensive testing on toxicity, allergenic effects, and nutritional characteristics.
Path forward for feed sector stability
The feed industry is now proposing a combination of policy reforms and local interventions to stabilise production.
Key recommendations include duty waivers on imported raw materials, reduction of county and national levies, and promotion of local cultivation of yellow maize, sunflower, and soybeans.
Stakeholders are also advocating for contract farming between millers and farmers and the use of GMO industrial residues for animal feed production.
Without urgent action, experts warn, the continued strain on feed availability and quality could further undermine Kenya’s livestock productivity, and by extension, its food security.
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