Support farmers to save their indigenous seeds from GMOs

Food is a basic human right and people’s recognition, protection and realisation of this right is very critical. As stakeholders look for solutions to the current food crisis, there is need to keep in mind the voices of those who are at the centre of, and charged with growing and producing this food-the farmers. Traditional food crops/plants have always ensured food security at the household level, and contributed to people’s livelihoods.

I am concerned that genetic engineering of crops is being presented as the best and only alternative method of resolving the food crisis in Africa and particularly in Uganda, ignoring indigenous and sustainable systems of food production that are best known, affordable and controlled by the local people.

Currently, Uganda is one of five African countries promoting GMOs. The other countries include Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. It is unfortunate that the Government of Uganda seems to be fully embracing the introduction of genetically modified crops in Uganda without adequate sensitisation of its citizens on the existing implications and risks to the agricultural sector.

Biotechnology has for decades been used in activities such as fermentation and preservation of food, baking and brewing beer. While I appreciate the new technologies being generated by research, farmers face far more challenges that, if solved, can help improve food security in the country. Such problems include the coffee wilt, banana bacterial wilt and the cassava brown streak disease.

Yes, Uganda has a National Biosafety Policy (2008) in place and is also in the process of formulating a law to officially introduce GMOs in the country. Surprisingly, the absence of the biosafety law has not stopped laboratory and field testing for GMO crops such as GM bananas in Kawanda, BT cotton in Serere, GM maize in Kasese (under Water Efficient Maize for Africa -WEMA project), and cassava, rice and sweet potatoes at Namulonge research institute.

Government and some scientists argue that GMOs are the way to go to eradicate hunger in Uganda, reasoning that GMOs are drought-resistant, have high water retention qualities and are fast growing thus would increase food production for the growing population, reduce agricultural chemical and pesticide use, resulting in increased yields and enhanced or better nutrition.

Ugandans should note that introduction of GMOs is likely to quicken the distortion of Uganda’s rich biodiversity and cause farmers to be dependent on external inputs for their livelihoods. Traditional farmers’ practices of saving and multiplying indigenous seeds will also suffer extinction, forcing farmers to buy fresh supply of seeds for every planting season from the private sector.

Basing on what has happened to small-scale farmers living in countries where GMOs have been adopted, Ugandan small-scale farmers will have to sign licensing agreements with stipulations that ban re-use, re-sell, saving, supplying or transfer of seeds to any person because seeds will be patented. In this way, multinational companies will have absolute monopoly over production and distribution of seeds thereby undermining and compromising Uganda’s food sovereignty.

I therefore recommend that government should be seen to strongly support farmers to save their indigenous seeds to protect agricultural biodiversity for the future generation. This is very important because farmers need seeds that are suitable for their local ecosystems, taste and climate.

Through the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, government should increase the budgetary allocation to agriculture to 10 per cent as stipulated in the Maputo Declaration and exploit the possibility of establishing an agricultural bank that will explicitly focus on farmers’ credit needs and hedge against risks like crop failures.

Mr Mugisha is a campaign and advocacy officer- PELUM Uganda