Speech by Dr. Wilson Songa, The Agriculture Secretary ... - OFAB

we do. Information helps our minds to select between and among conflicting issues and
to file away what it deems to be acceptable which in turn informs who we are today.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It has also been argued that it is not information that shapes us but rather the knowledge
that results from information. This is the process of receiving and processing information
and converting the outcome into knowledge. That is usually an interesting discussion but
one that I would like to reserve for another day.
This is very critical in the area of biotechnology given the controversies surrounding it.
People need to be better informed so that they can make informed choices regarding
adoption and application of the technology.
That is why I am glad that OFAB has come at the right time to play a role in providing
stakeholders with an excellent forum to debate biotechnology issues. In fact right after
this meeting I am going to Chair the BioAWARE meeting which is expected to spearhead
biotechnology awareness creation nationally.
It is my sincere hope that the OFAB will be one of the outreach vehicles for BioAWARE
activities once they are commenced.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am privileged indeed to be the one to unveil to the world newly-created Official OFAB
Website www.ofabafrica.org because I have proof that this will indeed be a credible
source of information for all of us.
Science and scientific information is about fact. Evidence Based results are what inform
scientists and it is what they seek from each other. It is fact that drives science. It is
therefore critical that decisions related to scientific matters are based on the most reliable
information which would be from those who have the facts on the matter and those would
be scientists.
Most of you scientists know that scientific claims are some of the most thoroughly
reviewed and critiqued claims before they are accepted and released as such. We
appreciate this process because it is through it that we earn credibility among our fellow
human beings. It is through it that we can stand in public and defend what we profess to
be the truth.
With this in mind, it therefore becomes very difficult for science to engage in emotive
communications. Issues of advocacy that aim at winning people’s hearts – even if reason
is elusive – are practices that science is unable to participate in. The language that science
knows is fact and evidence.
It is therefore my hope that OFAB and this new site we will launch today, will maintain
that spirit of being factual in its presentation of information for the sake of being a
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