This country must not lose its organic market for GM foods

Before we know it, GM crops will be in the farmers’ fields and on the market. Just like what happened in the US and India, many farmers will be hoodwinked into adopting GM varieties based on deceitful claims of better yield.

The government of Uganda is in final stages of introducing Genetically Modified (GM) crops in the country as a quick fix to the declining food production. The country already invests close to Shs1 billion annually in developing GM crops. GM crops are produced through use of suppressive techniques to artificially transfer genetic material from one organism to another to create a different variant.

In stark contrast, last week, the Kenyan government, after being the fourth African country to allow the importation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), after South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso, halted the importation of GM foods because they were uncertain of their health and environmental effects.

Uganda’s move puts the country at risk of losing its niche as a leading exporter of African organic products to Europe and other markets where GM contaminated foods are either not allowed or are highly restricted.

Several scientific studies have warned that eating GM foods could pose unique health risks to humans. For example, in 1998, Scottish scientists found that when rats were fed on GM potatoes, all their internal organs, including their livers, became damaged. Rats are used in such tests because their genetic and biological characteristics closely resemble those of humans; and any scientist who tells us not to worry about GMOs is either ignorant of the history of science or is deliberately lying.

The backlash of GM foods could be confirmed after several decades just as it happened with tobacco, asbestos, and DDT that were originally declared safe by scientists. At a livelihood level, growing GM crops will threaten farmers’ rights to save, and exchange seeds if they have to sign ‘use agreements’ with GM seed suppliers and will be locked into market dependency for seed and other inputs.

Despite all these facts, some Ugandan scientists are determined to go ahead and implement the development of GM crops to apparently “save our agriculture”. Of course, they are acting under pressure from the multinational biotechnology companies and seed merchants, trying to find markets for their patented genes and chemicals.

However, several questions must be honestly answered by our government, scientists, and politicians.

a) Do GM crops perform better than non GM crops? All existing evidence suggests that despite the hype, GM crops do not yield any better under the same conditions with conventionally-bred crops. It is known that only two GM traits have ever made it to market: herbicide resistance and BT toxin expression. In fact, it is the mono-cropping and extensive use of fertilisers and other chemicals that make the difference. For example, in 2004, the Kenyan government admitted that Monsanto’s GM sweet potatoes were no more resistant to feathery mottle virus than ordinary strains, and in fact, it produced lower yields.

b) Have we done a comprehensive and unbiased cost-benefit analysis to weigh the risks of taking on GM crops? If we did, have the findings been made public? Have we prepared the farmers and the Ugandan consumers for this technology?

We all know how strangely things happen in this country. Until now, GM work is going on without an operational policy on biotechnology. What is guiding our intervention in GM? Have we put in place the required legal framework? And who will be held responsible if things went wrong? Of course, policy makers are busy putting the cart before the horse to fit the interests of those pushing for the technology. As expected, they are ‘acting from a full stomach’, and do not have to contend with the spectre of 34 million Ugandans.

Before we know it, GM crops will be in the farmers’ fields and on the market. Just like what happened in the US and India, many farmers will be hoodwinked into adopting GM varieties based on deceitful claims of better yield.

What was once a sustainable agricultural system with natural food crops will morph into a system of unsustainable high external input market dependency. The organic market will be lost and we shall feed on unhealthy foods contaminated with GM. Are we ready for this?
An inclusive national conversation must be held on this!

Mr Kawooya is the programme coordinator, Sustainable Livelihoods - ActionAid Uganda. Fredrick.

Kawooya@actionaid.org