How GMO and Hybrid Seeds Impact Farmers’ Mental and Physical Health: An Interview With Susan Owiti of the Kenyan Peasants League

Kenyan farmers won a significant legal battle on the 7th of March 2025 when they secured a conservatory order from the Court of Appeal in their case against the government’s decision to lift the ban on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The court ruled that the Kenyan government cannot begin to import GMOs as planned while the appeal is ongoing.

In this interview, peasant feminist activist Susan Owiti from the Kenyan Peasants League (KPL), one of the organisations that filed the court case, talks about the dangers that GMO and hybrid seeds pose to the mental and physical health of farmers – and particularly women farmers. Loans taken out to buy patented seeds lead to cycles of debt, depression, physical violence and even suicide. The antidotes: organising peasants through the practices of agroecology, the nurturing of indigenous seed sovereignty, and denouncing GMO and hybrid seeds.

Why is the Kenyan Peasants League challenging the government on GMOs?

“GMOs are false solutions. Multinational companies are telling farmers that GMOs will solve their problems by helping them adapt to climate change and by increasing their income. But this is a lie. When you plant GMOs, you must use chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. These products lead to losses in soil health and biodiversity. Fertilisers further contribute to climate change because of the fossil fuels used in their production.