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You may have noticed many African countries being mentioned in international news outlets as the citizens of several nations are contending with and fighting against government approvals of GMOs.
In this pivotal time, IRT wants to bring attention to the continent of Africa. It’s been a target of the biotech industry for decades. They really want to bring their GMOs to Africa, which could be a disaster. Now is a crucial time.
Watch and listen to Jeffrey speak on GMOs and Africa here.
A number of official reports indicate that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not essential for feeding the world…
Findings of a report by researchers at Cambridge University in the UK indicated that in India, Monsanto has sucked millions from agriculture in recent years via royalties, and farmers have been compelled to spend beyond their means to purchase seeds and chemical inputs. The report also indicated that a combination of debt, economic liberalization and a shift to GMO cash crops such as cotton, has caused hundreds of thousands of farmers to experience economic distress, while corporations have extracted huge profits.
…According to William Engdahl, author of the book ‘Seeds of Destruction’, the science surrounding GMOs is becoming increasingly politicized and bogged down in detailed arguments about whose methodologies, results, conclusions and science show what and why. The bigger picture however is often in danger of being overlooked. GMO is not just about ‘science’. As an issue, GMO and the chemical-industrial model it is linked to is ultimately a geopolitical one driven by power and profit. (Continue reading here on CaptialEthiopia.com)
The citizens of Nigeria, the most populous nation on the continent of Africa, continue their fight against the push of government sanctioned GMOs.
National Conference Demands Outright Ban on GMOs in Nigeria
A National Conference on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and Biosafety in Nigeria has demanded on behalf of the Nigerian people – farmers, researchers, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, academia, women and youth, an outright ban on GMOs and a preservation of Nigeria’s indigenous seeds and food system. The Conference also called for an urgent review of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). (Read on here.)
GM Tela maize controversy a threat to health, environment, sovereignty and food security?
The Federal Government’s decision to introduce GM Tela maize to Nigerian farmers has sparked intense controversy, as concerns about the crop’s impact on human health, environmental sustainability, and the nation’s agricultural future continue to mount. The well-known Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey has called it “unacceptable” that “the country is exposing its citizens to products of risky technologies without adequate, independent and/or long-term assessment on their impacts on human and environmental health… We are also concerned that there is no way to label or inform our farmers that they are planting GMO maize.” (Continue reading here.)
In Ghanaian News:
An industry front group, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), has been at the forefront of facilitating the transfer of GMO crops into Africa. GMO cowpea — just approved as Ghana's first GMO for cultivation — is their latest infiltration. Funders include the Gates Foundation. For more on the AATF as Ghana launches its first homegrown GM crop read on here.
As this transpires, ActionAid Ghana, the General Agricultural Workers Union, the Peasant Farmers Association, and Ghana Journalists for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture are among the diverse organizations that have condemned the commercialization of 14 GMOs – a mix of GM maize and soybean varieties, 13 of them belonging to Bayer/Monsanto and one to Syngenta.
In a press release, ActionAid Ghana said the “decision to lift restrictions on GMOs poses significant risks to food security, biodiversity, and the well-being of vulnerable communities”. The international development group also said the decision “lacked proper consultation, denying Ghanaians the right to voice their opinions on what they consume. We believe that the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), which should act as a neutral regulator, has actively promoted GMOs, compromising its independence and Ghana’s national interest.” (Source: GM Watch)
Stakeholders in the food value-chain have advocated urgent formulation of a national policy to preserve indigenous seeds, instead of promoting hybrid ones and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). They recommended such a policy should target all food crops, including neglected local and indigenous crop varieties, known to be more adaptable to local conditions, which had high nutritional value. More from ActionAid Ghana, a non-governmental organization, in collaboration with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD), a Civil Society Organization, and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) organized the seminar. (Continue reading here.)
Like some other African countries, Zimbabwe has had a long-standing ban on GMOs. But a row has broken out recently over test results allegedly showing a disproportionately high level of GMO content in some Zimbabwean food. In this context, apparently reassuring headlines have popped up, such as Zimbabwe moves to strengthen GMO regulations and Drafting of GMO regulations vital in public health protection. But those reading further down these articles may be surprised to be told that “It is crucial that as regulators we create an enabling environment” and that Zimbabwe “has embraced genome editing and GMO technology”. (Source: The Herald - Breaking news)
Kenya: Blow to government as High Court extends ban on GMOs
Efforts by the Kenyan Government to have the orders barring the importation, distribution and adoption of GMO products in Kenya lifted failed after a Kenyan High Court extended the ban up to October 2024. President William Ruto’s government authorized the import and cultivation of GMOs, banned in Kenya since 2012, in October 2022, just after coming to power. But that authorization has been blocked by legal challenges brought by the Kenyan Peasants League and other civil society groups. (Continue reading here. Source: La Via Campesina via GM Watch)
Kenya: Farmers challenge punitive seed law
The ongoing legal action by Kenyan farmers against the Seed and Plant Varieties Act, which criminalizes the sharing, sale, and exchange of “unregistered” seeds, has its latest hearing scheduled for 24 July in the High Court of Kenya at Machakos. Kenya’s seed law stops smallholder farmers from exchanging indigenous seeds. Those who carry on this age-old tradition can even face a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of up to 1,000,000 Kenyan shillings (approaching 8,000 US dollars). Please show solidarity by signing the Greenpeace Africa petition calling for the abolition of the punitive seed law. For how Kenya’s law is part of a much wider effort to tighten intellectual property laws on farms throughout Africa, so undermining farmer-managed seed economies and forcing farmers into the “value chains” of global agribusiness, see this incisive feature article from September 2023 in The Nation. (Continue reading here, originally sourced from GM Watch)
Stay tuned to the news coming out of Africa on GMOs in these crucial times.
Remember to watch and share this video of Jeffrey speaking on Africa and GMOs.
