After four years of debate, Ghana has approved four crops–rice, sweet potato, cotton and cowpea–to undergo confined field trials of genetically modified crops. Ghana joints Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Togo as the only countries in the sub-region that have biosafety legislations for commercial release of GMO crops.
The Guardian quotes anti-GMO campaigners, led by Food Sovereignty Ghana and other African organizations, as accusing the US and other foreign donors of promoting GM foods to west African countries, and tying aid to implementation.
“We are deeply worried about what seems like an imposition of genetically modified foods on the good people of Ghana without any meaningful public discourse, compounded by attempts to stifle any opposition,” said Duke Tagoe of Food Sovereignty Ghana. They provided no details to back up their accusations.
Protestors accuse the United States of being heavily involved in drafting Ghana’s 2011 Biosafety Act, which provided a framework for the introduction of GM foods. They cite a leaked cable released by Wikileaks that critics say suggests the US government was involved. However, the cited cable is a request for $13,700 to fund the visit of an expert speaker on biotechnology.
Read full, original article here: GM crops: campaigners in Ghana accuse US of pushing modified food
Additional Resources:
- “Ghana approves first crops to undergo GMO confined field trials”, Ghana Business News
- “We Don’t Want GMO Crops, But We’ll Export Them to Africa”, Care2
- “Should Ghana go for GM crops to feed 25 million people?”, Ghana Business News
