Approval of GMOs in Ghana will destroy the agricultural sector as Ghanaian farmers will now depend on multinationals for seeds
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana expresses our disappointment and condemns the Government of Ghana’s interest in promoting the agenda of multinational seed companies through their agents in Ghana for recently approving the commercialization of 14 novel Genetically Modified (GM) products, comprising eight (8) maize and six (6) soya bean products (https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-approves-commercialization-of-14-new-gmos.html) through the National Biosafety Authority (NBA). This comes on the back of the release of the GM cowpea in 2022, that was also done at the blind side of farmers and Ghanaian consumers. Whiles we find this development disturbing, we are not particularly surprised, as we predicted that neglecting the resistance of key stakeholders against the passage of the Plant Variety Protection Act, 2020, which was just a leeway and a canopy to allow the commercialization of GMO products which are meant to promote the interest of four multinational seed companies; Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and Group Limagrain that controls over 50% of the seed sector globally (https://www.grida.no/resources; https://www.foodandpower.net/gmos-seeds)
The decision by the government to go ahead with the commercialization of GM crops is particularly shocking and contrary to the promise made by government on January 14th 2020, through the then Minister for Food and Agriculture, who promised farmers that “the nation has capable scientists who could use traditional breeding methods to produce high yielding varieties and disease resistance plants for cultivation by farmers and hence no need for GMOs in the next 100 years in Ghana” (https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghananews-ghana-does-not-need-gmo-to-ensure-food-sufficiency.html).
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