Kenya - US Trade Negotiations On Agriculture Termed As 'Dangerous'

 

Econews Executive Director Edgar Odari ddressing journalists.

By Cecilia Mbuvi

Econews Africa and the Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum have voiced their strong opposition to the ongoing trade negotiations between Kenya and the United States for a

Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) whose next round of talks is set to happen in Nairobi from Monday, April 17, 2023.

While terming the negotiations “dangerous”, Econews Executive Director Edgar Odari urged the government to suspend the talks until a stakeholders consultation is done to determine what should go into the final agreement.

“The negotiation is a dangerous state of affairs for it will kill local agriculture for there will be much consumption from the US,” said Mr. Odari.

He pointed out that American stakeholders have given extensive comments to the U.S Trade Representative (USTR), while the Kenyan negotiators have yet to make any attempt to consult widely before embarking on the negotiations.

“We are particularly concerned with six key chapters being negotiated, including agriculture, digital trade, anti-corruption, good regulatory practices, environment, climate action and the chapter on protecting worker’s rights and protection.”

“On the part of agriculture, we recommend that Kenya assess the cost of agricultural trade liberalization for Kenya and Kenyan farmers before negotiating the chapter,” he added.

Kenya Small Scale Farmers chairman, Lavi Mwololo said, “We also note that the government has legalized Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which we find very troublesome. While we remain opposed to GMOs and all forms of biotechnology, we note that the Government is giving away its policy leverage even before it commences negotiations.”

He added: “We urge the government to rethink the negotiation objectives and remove agriculture from the talk’s altogether.”

In agriculture, the agreement between a developing country like Kenya and a country that is one of the top agricultural exporters in the world is likely to have a significant impact on the country.

In 2019, U.S agricultural exports reached USD 136.7 billion, up from USD 46.1 billion in 1994.

Studies on the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the agricultural sector in Mexico show that NAFTA destroyed Mexico’s agricultural industry, flooded Mexico with cheap agricultural imports and displaced 2 million farmers.

“We also note that while NAFTA liberalized trade in food and agricultural products, it did not curb farm subsidies in the US and Canada. The result is an uneven playing field that leaves poor farmers in poorer countries worse off while large agribusinesses reap the benefits of agricultural trade liberalization," added Kenya Small Scale Farmers chairman, Lavi Mwololo.