GMOs are key to commercial agriculture
THERE are many products and processes of biotechnology such as brewing of beer, in-vitro (or in test tube) fertilisation, plant tissue culture, among others, that have been developed and applied for many years to the benefit of mankind without much controversy.
Mutebi Kityo
THERE are many products and processes of biotechnology such as brewing of beer, in-vitro (or in test tube) fertilisation, plant tissue culture, among others, that have been developed and applied for many years to the benefit of mankind without much controversy.
However Genetic Modification Technology has caused controversy despite the fact that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which are products of products of biotechnology, have been commercialised in more than 40 countries with significant benefits.
In Uganda, no GMO crop has been commercialised but the potential is enormous. Scientists are already doing a good job at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories Institute (NARLI) at Kawanda.
Uganda can not afford to miss out on the biotechnology revolution as a means of improvement of crop productivity, curtailing the spread of crop diseases such as Black Sigatoka and bananas and coffee wilt diseases. For instance, work on addressing the Black Sigatoka and banana wilt has already started at NARLI.
Biotechnology is also important in the production of human medicines and vaccines. For instance, insulin that is used for treatment of diabetes is a product of genetic modification. Before this method was discovered, insulin was derived from pig and bovine liver and many patient were allergic to this impure product. In addition, not sufficient quantities could be derived from animals to cater for increasing number of diabetics. Today large quantities of insulin are produced using biotechnology. This saves millions of lives annually.
In Africa, more than 40,000 people die every day from hunger-related causes, millions of tonnes of good soils are eroded by water and wind every day, and man has put a lot of pressure on the environment in search for food, water, shelter and fuel.
Any scientific discovery geared towards addressing any of these challenges ought to be embraced. However, for this to happen, we need to have an explicit policy in place.
Kenya for instance has already done confined field trials of a number of genetically engineered crops including cotton, maize, cassava and sweet potatoes. Given that our boarders are porous, we need a policy under whose framework we shall enact a biosafety law that will help us handle challenges of commercialisation of biotechnology.
The writer is a member of the National Biosafety Committee
THERE are many products and processes of biotechnology such as brewing of beer, in-vitro (or in test tube) fertilisation, plant tissue culture, among others, that have been developed and applied for many years to the benefit of mankind without much controversy.
However Genetic Modification Technology has caused controversy despite the fact that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which are products of products of biotechnology, have been commercialised in more than 40 countries with significant benefits.
In Uganda, no GMO crop has been commercialised but the potential is enormous. Scientists are already doing a good job at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories Institute (NARLI) at Kawanda.
Uganda can not afford to miss out on the biotechnology revolution as a means of improvement of crop productivity, curtailing the spread of crop diseases such as Black Sigatoka and bananas and coffee wilt diseases. For instance, work on addressing the Black Sigatoka and banana wilt has already started at NARLI.
Biotechnology is also important in the production of human medicines and vaccines. For instance, insulin that is used for treatment of diabetes is a product of genetic modification. Before this method was discovered, insulin was derived from pig and bovine liver and many patient were allergic to this impure product. In addition, not sufficient quantities could be derived from animals to cater for increasing number of diabetics. Today large quantities of insulin are produced using biotechnology. This saves millions of lives annually.
In Africa, more than 40,000 people die every day from hunger-related causes, millions of tonnes of good soils are eroded by water and wind every day, and man has put a lot of pressure on the environment in search for food, water, shelter and fuel.
Any scientific discovery geared towards addressing any of these challenges ought to be embraced. However, for this to happen, we need to have an explicit policy in place.
Kenya for instance has already done confined field trials of a number of genetically engineered crops including cotton, maize, cassava and sweet potatoes. Given that our boarders are porous, we need a policy under whose framework we shall enact a biosafety law that will help us handle challenges of commercialisation of biotechnology.
The writer is a member of the National Biosafety Committee