ONLY South Africa and Egypt have potential to handle cultivation and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMO), experts from Kofi Annan's Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa have said.
A special advisor to former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, Dr Tesfai Tecle and Nairobi based AGRA president, Dr Namanga Ngongi said in Dar es Salaam recently that GMOs are a complicated family of crops hence sophisticated to regulate which makes it impossible for countries like Tanzania to adopt.
Dr Tesfai said AGRA's position on GMOs is clear by encouraging production of local high breed seeds through agriculture research institutions and private companies based in the countries where the alliance operates.
"AGRA's position is that we don't support genetically engineered seeds," Dr Tesfai noted, allaying fears that the alliance which started in 2006 with funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, supports Frankenstein crops cultivation and consumption.
Advocates of GMO consumption argue that Tanzania has failed to benefit from the Frankenstein foods which are touted as panacea for Africa's hunger blamed on low yields, droughts and pests attack, due to a rigid regulatory framework.
But critics warn that GMOs are products of multinational corporations such as Monsanto of the United States and Syngenta of Switzerland which are keen at maximizing profits hence they don't allow farmers to keep stock of seeds from previous harvest as is customary in the country.
Critics also warn that GMO seeds are invasive and prey of tradition seeds which wipe them out from the face of the earth gradually. Dr Ngongi said AGRA's position is to support improvement of traditional seeds in countries where the alliance operates.
"AGRA simply helps to improve and upscale the technology that is already on the ground while GMOs are new technologies being introduced," Dr Ngongi noted.
Tanzania is one of the 14 African countries where AGRA has invested heavily since 2007 to help farmers raise incomes, attain food security and conserve the environment in line with United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
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Dr Tesfai says "AGRA's position is that we don't support genetically engineered seeds". This is not true. According to AGRA's FAQs, "AGRA does not fund the development of GMOs". This may not even be true either, but it doesn't preclude using GMOs. Perhaps people like Dr Tesfai could try to be a little clearer, otherwise people might suspect him of dishonesty.