Ghana recently approved the commercialization of 14 new genetically modified organisms (GMOs), signaling a significant shift in the nation’s approach to food security and agricultural productivity.
Details
This move includes the introduction of eight maize and six soybean varieties. The decision follows the successful environmental release of GM cowpea, engineered to resist the Maruca pod borer, a pest notorious for decimating over half of the cowpea pods in the absence of control measures.
This previous milestone set the stage for the current expansion of GMOs, which promises to reduce reliance on chemical treatments and enhance crop resilience.
Pushback
However, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has condemned the Government of Ghana’s interest in approving the commercialization of 14 GMOs.
In a statement issued by the President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Wepia Addo Awal Adugwala stated that contrary to assertions that, these crops require minimum chemical treatments, evidence from other parts of the world (USA, Argentina, and South Africa among others) indicate that farmers will be saddled with the increased cost of seeds.
What They’re Saying
“The consequences of this approval are dire and marks the beginning of the loss of Ghana’s control of our own indigenous agricultural system, leaving it at the hands and control of powerful multinationals, who can decide and dictate the pace of our food system.
The experiences of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine crises on food nationalism and protectionism should have given our leaders a hint of not sacrificing the control of a country’s production system, particularly seeds, into the hands of multi-nationals. We will gradually lose our own indigenous foods and seed varieties, whiles comprising our public health, through the production and consumption of these “deadly” foods,” they stated.
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