Ugandans don't need GMOs

By Richard Mugisha

Currently, the Parliament, under the Committee of Science and Technology, is concluding public consultations on the Biosafety and Biotechnology Bill 2012, a bill intended to promote the introduction and commercialisation of GMOs in Uganda.

In 2008, the government approved the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy, and is now in advanced stages of passing the law to enforce this policy.

What is surprising is that; despite the absence of the law, there are on-going GMO field trials at Kawanda and Namulonge Research Institutes for example; trials in GM Banana, cassava, rice, maize and many other varieties.

 I have noted that the push for GMO’s is unfortunately using the route of seeds. Seed is life and our lives in Africa are totally dependent on seeds.

I think abandoning our perennial crops for GMOs will put Uganda to a level of dependency syndrome and, therefore, more imports of seeds. GMOs with regard to Agriculture will bring high costs to farmers because; the seeds are patented by the corporations that sell them. 

Patented seeds mean that seed saving is forbidden and farmers must buy new seeds each season.  Consequently, Ugandan farmers, especially small-scale farmers, will not be able to bear the additional cost of buying expensive patented seeds each season they want plant.

I want to inform Ugandans that in other countries such as Canada and the US, farmers have been sued by the corporations for saving their GM seed, even when the garden has been accidentally contaminated with GM genes through cross-pollination; the farmer will still be made to pay.

So what will Ugandan farmers do if such a thing happens? I am also afraid that contamination of our agricultural systems with GMO seeds will mean the loss of export markets to countries that have already rejected GM foods.

Consequently; this will lead to the perpetual enslavement of small scale farmers by corporations, by controlling all the seed and forcing farmers to buy on their terms.

Some GMOs have had genes from different species put into them.  They are new and potentially unsafe. There could be unknown health risks associated with inserting genes from different species into our food.

Therefore, there is a risk of contamination of our indigenous crops from fields planted with GMOs, through the likely event of cross-pollination and probably they will opt out of farming. Would you want to see such happen to a Ugandan famer??

I would like to Biblically remind pushers of GMOs and our leadership that in Habakkuk chapter 2:17, God warns against destroying nature and wildlife. The Bible also stresses that nature reflects God’s glory and greatness, asserting that humans have been given a special responsibility to protect and care for the natural environment.

And when God reviewed the entire creation, He declared it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Remember our motto ‘for God and My Country’!

I wish to appeal to the government to stand on the side of precaution and ban GMOs until further independent studies show that there is no risk to human life, animals or the environment. I would also like to say that, even the current GMO trials at Kawanda and Namulonge Research Institutes are illegal and should be prohibited immediately.

The Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill 2012 holds no respect for the rights of the farmers and it should be dropped. Biotechnology development especially in agriculture should not be done at the expense of the farmers and general public in Uganda.

I call upon the Government to respect farmers’ rights, food security, seed diversity and traditional cultures.

Ugandans are not ready to go into GMOs!.

The writer is a Program Officer, Advocacy Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM-Uganda)