By Faith Kutere
Kenya’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has approved 73 biotechnology projects across three major categories: 46 contained-use and laboratory projects, 18 confined field trials and nine genome-editing projects, according to data presented by the regulator.
The figures point to a growing and increasingly complex biotechnology sector, from laboratory research to field trials and environmental release, as the Authority reviews the Biosafety Act enacted in 2009.
Speaking at a roundtable meeting held in Nairobi, the NBA Board Chairman David Wamatsi Omusotsi said the review was necessary because some of the technologies now emerging were not anticipated when the law was introduced.
“Science is moving rapidly. Genome editing and other emerging technologies will continue to create new opportunities as well as new regulatory questions,” Omusotsi said.
The data shows that research is concentrated in a few institutions. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is associated with about 38 of the 46 contained-use projects, or roughly 83 percent, covering research on crops, livestock and vaccines. Other projects involve Kenyatta University and the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).
Genome editing is also accelerating with four of the nine projects in this category being approved in 2026, representing about 44 percent of the total. The projects involve the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Kenyatta University, Pivot Bio/Agritech, Accelgen and Ohalo Genetics, with research covering maize, sorghum, rice, wheat, bananas, cattle and potatoes.
The figures also show that only a fraction of projects move beyond the research stage. Of the 46 contained-use projects, 18 have progressed to confined field trials, while the NBA lists five projects at the environmental-release stage, including Bt cotton, Bt maize, virus-resistant cassava and late blight-resistant potatoes.
Approval, however, does not always mean a clear path to commercialization. Bt maize MON 810, involving KALRO and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), was approved for commercialization in 2022, and three varieties were released in 2025. The NBA’s summary also notes a court injunction, although the document does not explain its current status.
At the Nairobi engagement, Dr. Ann Karimi, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Biosafety Authority, and the Board met researchers and Institutional Biosafety Committees to discuss challenges in implementing approved projects. Omusotsi said the Authority wanted feedback on whether its requirements were clear and practical.
“Our role is not to stop innovation. Our role is to ensure that innovation takes place safely and responsibly,” he said.
The available data provides detailed information on approvals, but less in the documents presented about aggregate inspections, compliance levels and post-approval outcomes. That does not mean monitoring is not taking place, but as Kenya’s biotechnology pipeline expands, those measures could become increasingly important in assessing the effectiveness and transparency of the country’s biosafety system.
As the Biosafety Act comes under review, the challenge will be to balance scientific innovation with effective oversight. The key question will not only be how many new technologies Kenya approves, but how effectively the country tracks what happens after approval.
