Planting for Food & Jobs Campaign might fail if the GMO issue is not addressed

Transcription

1 Planting for Food & Jobs Campaign might fail if the GMO issue is not addressed The excitement that characterized Operational Feed Yourself (OFY); an agro revolution campaign (popularly referred to as Ghana s first Green Revolution) which was led by Colonel Bernasko as sector commissioner under the Acheampong government in 1972, show signs of resurrection as clearly suggested by the introduction of a new campaign dubbed Planting for food and Jobs. For millennials who may be clueless about this momentous period in Ghana s economic history, this is the time to your hometowns to hear inspiring stories by the fireside, stories of creativity, self-reliance, food security and black pride. Indeed, there are anecdotal reports of Ghana s first lady at the time, Mrs. Faustina Acheampong, keeping a vegetable garden at the Christiansburg Castle, which was the seat of government at the time. Planting for Food and Jobs, if Page 1 of 6

2 properly designed and executed, might just revive that patriotic spirit again to become the lynchpin for the new administration s 1- district 1-factory policy. Though the context and fundamentals were different during the Acheampong era, the same policy tools are available to the current economic managers to achieve similar success. This is why Rural Heights Foundation welcomes the clarion call for a return to Operation Feed Yourself. As an advocacy organization we are committed to encouraging youth participation in agriculture through various programs in ways that will support government policy. This notwithstanding, there are important policy issues that must be addressed as the country gears up to reverse the decline in agriculture over the last decade. One of such issues is the role of biotechnology in achieving productivity growth per acreage. Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) has been vaunted by some section of the scientific community as the answer to low crop yield and nutrition. Unfortunately science has not been successful in persuading skeptics, both in and outside the scientific community, about GMO s long-term impact on the environment and public health safety. The matter became even more disconcerting, when the appointment committee of Ghana s parliament, during the vetting of the minister designate for agriculture, demonstrated a shocking deficit of knowledge on such a contentious policy issue. What is GMO and why is it a major policy issue? According to the World Health Organization, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. Ordinarily technological innovation with bold claims such as GMO would inspire public support if indeed such claims were without contention. For instance, in a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Key et al (2008) reechoes claim that insect-resistant cotton engineered to produce the Bt toxin requires far less pesticide application and produces higher crop yields than the non-gm counterpart, generating savings of up to $500 per hectare for farmers. Unfortunately, Burkina Faso s experience with GM cotton presents a challenge to this claim. In 2009, Inter-professional Cotton Association of Burkina (AICB) began introducing Monsanto's Bollgard II trait into Burkinabe cotton varieties as protection against caterpillar. In April 2016, a Reuters report indicated that Burkina Faso's cotton association was claiming USD million in compensation from U.S. seed company Monsanto, on grounds that the latter s genetically modified cotton led to a drop in quality due to increased levels of short fibers in its cotton, resulting in reduced market value. Also, the claim about improved nutrition/health and zero adverse impact on environment is increasingly being challenged through scientific studies (see for instance, Losey et al., 1999; Quist and Chapela, 2001; Reichman et al, 2006). Even, some advocates of GM crops (Key, Ma and Drake, 2008) admit that adverse effects on the environment through the large-scale growth of GM plants may indirectly affect human health. So really, the controversy that Page 2 of 6

3 erupted recently at the Appointment Committee hearing of Ghana s parliament on GM crops is grounded on legitimate concerns. What is even a bigger policy issue is the potential impact on Ghana s terms of trade going forward. Evidently, Ghana s policy position, officially or not is that we do embrace GMO. How do I know? Simple. Some key actors in our biodiversity regulatory environment such as Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in responding to the question on GMO safety, cites the European Commission, to wit: [ ] Extensive research on GMOs, co-funded by the European Commission over the last two decades, has significantly contributed to being able to identify and characterize possible risks associated with foods/feed derived from GMOs. These activities provide at least equal assurance of the safety of these foods compared to conventional counterparts, provided these GM products have been approved by the EU and the national food safety evaluation procedures. It is interesting to note that as at October 2015, Sustainable Pulse, a global advocacy group, reported that 38 countries (including Algeria and Madagascar in Africa) have banned GMO at the country level. Out of this number twenty-eight (28) are European countries, including Scotland which is the home country of Monsanto s founder, Hugh Grant. Monsanto is the controversial USbased agro-chemical company that is behind this biotechnology. Why is Europe s position important? I can think of two reasons; (1) Europe is a major trade partner, (2) If the tide changes and Nigeria comes on board, Economic Partnership Agreement may hold sway on export quality restrictions. No non-gmo European Union state will accept GM crop exports from a sub-saharan African trade partner, that s for sure. And just how important is the EU to Ghana in terms of trade? Well, between 2011 and 2015 Ghana s export trade with Europe accounted for 36% of world trade, higher than intra-african trade and trade with Asia which were 32% and 27% of our world export trade respectively (See Fig. 1). On the issue of public health safety, Ghana s continuous importation of merchandize from trade partners with significant GMO footprint is a source of concern for many. Indeed, one honorable Member of Parliament, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, MP for Wa West, aptly captured the public fears about the possible infiltration of GM products in Ghana s food supply chain when he commented about Ghana s importation of tomatoes from Burkina Faso. Though Burkina Faso s GM involvement is only with cotton, the concern is still legitimate as Ghana imports enormously from countries with significant GM crop cultivation (see Fig 2). Page 3 of 6

4 Fig. 1 Summary of Policy Issues - With EU increasingly becoming an anti-gmo district the risk to Ghana s export earnings would increase as well. This may all depend on the degree of liberalism adopted by the National Biosafety Authority on GM commercialization. - The socio-political context that contributed largely to the success of Operation Feed Yourself under the Acheampong Regime has radically shifted with the onset of biotechnology which has galvanized public opinion and spurred a movement towards organic agriculture. Getting the youth into agriculture under Planting for food and Jobs campaign requires a positive engagement with such constituent in order to assuage any fears and concerns. Anything less may portend failure for the campaign. Page 4 of 6

5 Fig. 2 Key Recommendations 1. The National Biosafety Authority must be transparent in matters concerning GMOrelated applications and granting of same under Act The debate regarding Ghana s position on genetic modification in agriculture must be opened to civil society organizations and think tanks without undue imposition from regulators and legislators. 3. The success of Ghana s industrialization agenda, to wit, 1-district 1-factory, is dependent, in part, on a well thought-out export strategy. The concerns of the EU market (member states) on GM crops must be accounted for in policy formulation. Page 5 of 6

6 Works Cited Bonkoungou, M. (2016, April 4). Burkina Faso seeks $84 million from Monsanto over GM cotton strain. Retrieved from Digest of International Merchandize Trade, Ghana Statistical Service Key, S., Ma, J.K. & Drake, P.M.W (2008). Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 101(6): doi: /jrsm Losey JE, Rayor LS, Carter ME. Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae. Nature. 1999; 399:214. Quist, D., Chapela, J.H (2001). Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nature. 414: Reichman, J.R., Watrud, L.S., Lee EH, et al (2006). Establishment of GM herbicide-resistance creeping bentgrass (Agrostis Stolonifera L.) in nonagronomic habitats. Mol Ecol. 2006; 15: World Health Organization. Frequently asked questions on genetically modified foods. Retrieved from About Rural Heights Foundation Rural Heights Foundation is a nonprofit organisation that engages in social advocacy and direct intervention in the area of well-being, education and micro enterprise within rural Ghana. In response to the call for youth participation in agriculture, the Foundation is implementing a farmbased internship program in Gomoa West, where volunteers will understudy local farmers to appreciate the rudiments of managing the agriculture value chain. Rural Heights Foundation is looking to partner with the public sector organisations, corporate sponsors and other youth development organizations to support this worthwhile government policy of 1 factory in every district in order to reduce youth unemployment. Page 6 of 6