GMO |
Experts meeting in
Addis Ababa with media practitioners from across the continent are
concerned that crop farming has been left in the hands of older members
of the society while the young generation seeks white collar jobs.
This practice, they
said, is dangerous as the cycle is broken once the elderly die leaving
fertile agricultural lands to go to waste.
This was said at a
meeting with media practitioners on Biotechnology and Biosafety hosted
by Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), Alliance for
commodity trade in east and southern Africa (ACTESA) and International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)
Africentre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"We need to
increase agriculture productivity... one of the solutions lies in
employing advanced technologies such as biotechnology," said Mr Kare
Chawicha, Ethiopian minister for forest and climate change.
"We need to make
crop production friendly for people of all ages and both genders by
using technological advancements. We need to bring the youth back to
cultivation," said Mrs Margaret Karembu, Director ISAAA Africentre.
While the debate on
adoption of biotechnology and biosafety continues in Kenya, Uganda,
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, with issues of concern including food safety,
socio-economic impact and environmental safety, scientists say they are
keen on ensuring natural resources are not tampered with.
'We must ensure
that as we increase productivity using the modern forms of technology in
crop production, we do not compromise our environment. It has to be
safe," added Mrs Karembu.
While the effects
of drought continue to rage on in most parts of Kenya, the decision on
whether or not to lift the ban on importation of GMO or to encourage
local production of the same still lies with the government.
Already, eight
countries in the region have conducted while some are still in the
process on key food crops such as cassava, banana, sweet potato, maize
and rice. Currently Burkina Faso, Egypt, Sudan and South Africa allow the cultivation of GMO crops.
In Kenya, the
National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has been criticised for
declining to issue a permit for GMO field trials to the Kenya
Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro).
Meanwhile, enhanced
relationship between scientists and media practitioners was emphasised
to shape public opinion on biotechnology/biosafety issues especially in
Africa and to encourage technology adoption.
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