Nairobi — A new set of policies governing commercial production and trade in genetically modified agricultural produce is set to come into force in East and Southern Africa.
The process of formulating the guidelines, which will also be applied for emergency food aid containing genetically modified organisms that enters the region, are being spearheaded by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) through a specialised agency responsible for trade in agricultural commodities, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (Actesa).
Already, a team of experts from the region have developed draft policies that are awaiting endorsement by the Comesa council of ministers and heads of state summit.
Actesa chief executive Dr Cris Muyunda, said that the new rules would accelerate the adoption of genetic engineering in the region in a bid to facilitate trade in agricultural commodities.
Presently, the value of intra-regional trade stands at $15 billion, out of which agricultural produce takes only 40 per cent.
Dr Muyunda said that was very low compared with the amount of food imports brought into the region estimated at $20 billion.
"We are not supposed to import food, we have enough land to grow our own. The potential for increasing trade in agricultural products is very high," he stated, adding that poor productivity had contributed to the current state of affairs.
The director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications Dr Margaret Karembu said that this had resulted in Africa being the most burdened in terms of global hunger distribution.
Food security
Experts have stated that genetic modification provides an avenue through which agricultural productivity can be boosted to improve food security as well as trade in agricultural produce.
African countries are currently at different levels of adopting modern biotechnology, and so far, only three countries have embarked on commercial production: South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt. Out of these, only Egypt falls within the Comesa region.
Dr Michael Waithaka, a programme manager in charge of policy analysis and advocacy at the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (Asareca), said that a roadmap would be developed towards promoting commercial production of genetically modified organisms.
Low adoption
However, adoption of the technology has remained slow over the years, a trend that has been attributed to concerns over the technology's effects on the environment and human health.
This is despite biotechnology being recommended in important fora due to its potential to improve agricultural production in Africa.
Comesa panel of experts on biotechnology chairman Dr Abbas Kodjo said that heads of African states and governments under the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) have in the past recommended it for development.
Dr Kodjo added that the United Nations general assembly has also passed two resolutions calling for strengthening of biotechnology.
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It is unbelievable that Abbas Kodjo will express dissatisfaction on the slow rate of adoption of GMOs despite the global words of caution from eminent scientists, Think Thanks, and agricultural institutions on the need for us to depeen our understanding of these issues before jumping in with both feet.
Again, most African countries are still working toward enacting national biosafety legislation to provide the necessary protection for their people. This requires time as consultations need to be had with rural communities, farmer groups, etc.. so they can make INFORMED decisions on whether to go for GMO or not. Neither COMESA nor any national government should impose GMOs on people without going through this process.
Finally, the use of GMO seeds, for example, comes with dependency on complementary inputs such as fertilier, pesticides, and other capital-intensive inputs. Is COMESA also considering how to make these available to people in such a manner as to avoid indebtedness which we know in countries like India has led to increasing incidence of farmer suicides.
So yes, let our governments exercise caution until the above issues are addressed!
Sulemana