FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND GMOs: WHY GMOs, WHY GHANAIAN YOUTH

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND GMOS: WHY GMOs, WHY GHANAIAN YOUTH 

The Law, from the Biosafety Act, 831, 2011 allows the application of biotechnology in food crop production involving Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to enter food production.

In April 2012, Ghana’s Parliament passed a Biosafety Bill and signing was into law. The bill establishes a legal framework to provide the machinery for regulating biotechnology and biosafety including genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

GMOs are food crops that have been injected with genomes or genes from other living organisms to make them resistant to pests, grow in some environments or produce high yields, through the scientific process known as biotechnology.

GM corn or maize now makes about 81% of the trade in crops globally and 89% of the soybean supplied between 2009 and 2010 was from GM corn countries, despite concerns about their safety both to humans and the environment

Under the Biosafety law, Government of Ghana will established the National Biosafety Authority (NBA-Ghana), functions clearly spelt out in the Act and the makeup of the governing body to follow and make decisions based on scientific conclusions to determine what can be sold and what can’t be sold and guarantee international agribusiness organizations to buy and sell GM seeds for cultivation in Ghana 

My fear is that giving the right to biotechnology companies to sell their seeds and agriculture products will lead Ghana to losing it food sovereignty, knowing the Influences from the international agribusiness companies. This issue is just as important as any other development issue.   

Before you make any decision that affects Ghanaian farmers imagine the eyes of seven generations of children in the future looking at you, and asking … Why?”

We will never give up, because it is our future at risk.

 Onbehalf of Abibiman Foundation, Global Green Environmental Network, AYICC –Ghana, GCAP-Ghana and IDAY-Ghana, We remind political leaders of their promise and their responsibility to the future generations

Kenneth Nana Amoateng 

Chief Executive Officer 

Abibimman Foundation   www.abibimmanfoundation.org /Email:amoatengken@gmail.com/kamoateng@iday.org/ 0244023651