The public should rest assured about GMO in Uganda
Sep 26, 2002
SIR— I am concerned about the picture in the article, “UN report hails GM for African <br>survivalâ€, which appeared in The New Vision of September 11, under the farming column, page 23.
SIR— I am concerned about the picture in the article, “UN report hails GM for African
survivalâ€, which appeared in The New Vision of September 11, under the farming column, page 23.
Much as the information given in the article was highly valuable, the picture in
the article was misleading.
It is true that the banana shown in the picture is a NARO improved variety (FHIA17 released as Kabana 03).
Its improvement, however, was not achieved by genetic transformation and is not a genetically modified (GM) banana.
We have a series of FHIA hybrids and other improved bananas, all of which were developed by ordinary plant breeding.
There are no GM bananas in the country.
The public should be assured that a Uganda National Biosafety Committee is already in place and no
genetically modified organism (GMO) will be released for use in the country without approval by
the committee.
Such approval will be given only after the Uganda National Biosafety Committee is convinced beyond reasonable doubt, through a series of rigorous evaluation tests under highly restricted conditions, that the GMO is risk-free.
Dr Josephine Namaganda
National Banana Research Programme
Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute
survivalâ€, which appeared in The New Vision of September 11, under the farming column, page 23.
Much as the information given in the article was highly valuable, the picture in
the article was misleading.
It is true that the banana shown in the picture is a NARO improved variety (FHIA17 released as Kabana 03).
Its improvement, however, was not achieved by genetic transformation and is not a genetically modified (GM) banana.
We have a series of FHIA hybrids and other improved bananas, all of which were developed by ordinary plant breeding.
There are no GM bananas in the country.
The public should be assured that a Uganda National Biosafety Committee is already in place and no
genetically modified organism (GMO) will be released for use in the country without approval by
the committee.
Such approval will be given only after the Uganda National Biosafety Committee is convinced beyond reasonable doubt, through a series of rigorous evaluation tests under highly restricted conditions, that the GMO is risk-free.
Dr Josephine Namaganda
National Banana Research Programme
Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute