toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 57 – GM Crops: Campaigners inGhana accuse US of Pushing Modified Food"We are deeply worried about what seems like animposition of genetically modified foods on the goodpeople of Ghana without any meaningful publicdiscourse, compounded by attempts to stifle anyopposition."Food Sovereignty Ghana and other domesticorganisations accuse the US and other foreign donors ofpromoting GM foods to west African countries, andtying aid to implementation.According to a leaked cable, the US government washeavily involved in drafting Ghana's 2011 Biosafety Act,which provided a framework for the introduction of GMfoods. The US aid department provided technicalassistance and some funding.The cable said biotech products were being sold inGhana and GM seeds from neighbouring countries werelikely to have migrated over its borders. US companieshave begun requesting permission to conduct trials.The US embassy in Accra declined to respond to arequest by the Guardian to comment on its stance on GMfood in Ghana, but claims about the arrival of GM aresupported by public officials.Duke Tagoe of Food Sovereignty Ghana. Photograph: JoyNews TV"GM foods are used in agriculture. This is somethingyou cannot wish away because it has come and it is inpractice," said John Odame Darkwa, acting chiefexecutive officer of Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority(FDA). "We ensure that any food imported into thecountry is safe."But campaigners say trials of GM foods, which the FDAadmits have been carried out in Ghana, are a violation ofthe law, which states trials require the written approvalof a new body, the National Biosafety Authority. Theproblem, they say, is that this authority does not existyet."Trials are being conducted, but there isn't anyframework in place," said Kweku Dadzie, from FoodSovereignty Ghana. "We are calling for a ban on theimportation, cultivation, consumption and sale ofgenetically modified foods and crops, until the people ofGhana are satisfied that such an important andirrevocable decision is a sound and proper one to make."Dadzie points to a lack of public debate surrounding thepassing of the Biosafety Act. Maxwell Kofi Jumah, MPfor Asokwa, recently admitted on local radio thatministers lacked understanding of the issues.Many opponents of GM crops have pointed to the role ofmultinational companies that sell GM "hybrid" seeds thatdo not self-pollinate, compelling farmers to buy newseeds from the same companies each year, as well as theirpesticides and herbicides.Tagoe said: "Farmers in Ghana have had their own wayof keeping seeds year after year. If these policies areallowed to manifest, Ghanaian farmers will have tochange money into foreign [currency] in order topurchase seeds from overseas firms. The economicimpact on the lives of the farmers will be disastrous. Theorigin of food is seed. Whoever controls the seed controlsthe entire food chain. These seeds are not owned by anyAfrican entity, they are owned by American companies."However, experts say there are advantages to thetechnology. The chief executive of CGIAR Consortiumon agricultural research, Dr Frank Rijsberman, said:"Private companies could develop self-pollinating seedsthat also provide higher yields, but they don't because it'snot profitable."But at the same time, the quality of seeds that pollinatethemselves is often not that great. It can be difficult forfarmers to select the best seeds. The job of seedcompanies is to select seeds that will have a biggeryields. The best hybrid rice, for example, produce about20% better yields than the best self-pollinating seeds."Some say that, instead of looking at yield increasesthrough GM, the focus should be on improving access tomarkets for the crops that are already being grown bygreater investment in extension services and lowtechnologyimprovements in farming."There is huge potential to increase yields using low-costand existing technologies," said Kanayo Nwanze,president of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment, speaking at the Africa Agricultural ScienceWeek in Accra last week. "In Africa, only about 6% ofthe total cultivated land is irrigated … It is estimated thatirrigation alone could increase output by up to 50% inAfrica. Continued on page 5958-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013