Ghana: GM foods can wait

*Nii Armah Kweifio-Okai

A week ago, Bernard Buachi of Focus FM reported a public lecture at KNUST Agriculture faculty that urged Parliament to accept genetically modified foods in Ghana. ( http://news.peacefmonline.com/news/ 201008/75736.php )

A year ago, William Nyarko alerted Ghanaweb readers to joint US-Ghana efforts to legislate GM foods into Ghana (GM Foods: Will Parliament Yield to US Pressure? http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/ NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=167861 )

John Amponsah has elaborated on the carefully orchestrated efforts to prepare the public mind to accept GM foods without scrutiny. ( http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php? ID=163659 ; http://sil.ghanaweb.com/r.php?id=4584114&thread=4579711 )

I comment on concerns about GM foods in Ghana.

1. Precedent surprises on unsuspecting consumers

For considerable time, US Patent and Trademark Office held the doctrine that life forms were not patentable, hence no GM foods in the US. After the doctrine was reversed to allow patency to all living things, Biotech and agribusiness took only 3 years, 1997 to 1999, to introduce GM ingredients into almost 70% of all US processed foods. The massive rush in introducing GM ingredients within the shortest possible time was strategic - to present US consumers with a fait accompli and to set precedent for other countries. Good for business!

Under various agricultural/trade agreements, other countries suddenly found themselves in the GM food market, consuming foods about which they had no knowledge on how genetically modified. In Africa, Burkina Faso [West Africa], Egypt [North Africa] and South Africa [Southern Africa] have taken lead in GM food production and consumption and are strategically placed to spread GM food consumption throughout Africa, as some key southern African countries attest. According to William Nyarko, in the 2009 article referenced above: “some imported products made from GM crops, including rice, soya oil, and tinned tomatoes are already on the Ghanaian market” and “FoE-Ghana confirmed, 27th November 2006, the existence of LLRice 601 contamination in six different brands of American long grain rice found in Ghana as revealed by the laboratory results.”

Ghana must avoid further surprises ahead of full evaluation of the impact of GM foods in Ghana.

2. Lack of transparency on hazards of GM foods

The first reported termination of GM crop research for proven deleterious effects was on GM protein-enhanced soy product that caused allergic reactions in humans. In the second, five years ago November 2005, CSIRO scientists in Australia abandoned a then decade- long GM crop project on peas, genetically modified to resist pea weevil and fungus, because researchers from Australia’s John Curtin School of Medical Research found mice fed the GM peas developed inflamed lung tissue.

The above are among the handful that GM industry researchers have admitted. However non-GM industry research scientists continue to draw attention to various concerns including, in humans, deaths or near deaths, food allergies, cancer, degenerative/infectious diseases, birth deformities; damage/contamination of aquaspheres/ lithospheres; narrowing of plant gene pools and emergence of plant diseases and super weeds.

GM industry spokespersons including NGOs, quasi-Government organizations and policy think thanks keep telling us about public awareness campaigns (see references above) without telling us what actual work has been done to evaluate impact of GM foods in our own conditions. Hence in the Nyarko article, Prof. Walter S. Alhassan, described as “a supporter of GM foods and biotechnology and a consultant to the NGO, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa” was quoted thus:

- “there is no scientific evidence after 13 years of commercial GM crop production globally that GM crops pose specific risks to the environment and human health. The strict regulatory regime accompanying GM crop production makes these even safer than conventional crops.”

- “the CSIR would trigger a series of national awareness campaigns on biotechnology and particularly GM crops towards arriving at a national consensus on deployment”.

And as though mission accomplished, Bernard Buachi reported Dr Richard Ankomah saying at the KNUST lecture last week that: “sufficient education on the issue of biotechnology and genetically modified foods had been provided for the country’s legislators to enable them accept the concept of biotechnology and its use in the country’.

3. Ghana’s regulatory regime is weak.

Given our socioeconomic situation, not dissimilar to other highly dependent economies, our regulatory bodies are weak. The weakness is seen across the board - in policing of building codes, food and drug standards, environmental effects of industry including mining, deforestation, salination, sanitation as well as air and soil pollution.

We lack the critical mass of public interest groups to keep our regulatory bodies on their toes. And those in existence are not resourceful enough to prosecute concerns against powerful international forces in collusion with a helpless or conniving political class.

We lack the critical mass of scientists in the relevant and incredibly diverse spheres of expertise to provide back up for our regulatory bodies in GM monitoring. Significantly, such monitoring is not short term but over time, as is the nature of the effects of gene manipulations.

Under our circumstances, and while we look on with helpless anxiety over our unspecified readiness to deal with any adverse environmental consequences of oil production, we cannot be convinced with certainty that our regulatory bodies would detect, monitor and police any deleterious fallout from the mass introduction of GM foods following legislative consent.

4. Distortion of nation’s agricultural economic lifeline.

We are at a critical period in our development when exploding population of mouths to feed and idle hands to engage in fruitful work, dictate an agricultural expansion the like of which we have not seen. With the expectation of additional revenue from oil production, this is the time to give the agricultural sector a massive boost in funding and support.

- The revival of the Ayiveme rice project is realistically expected to contribute significantly to domestic rice consumption. And if, as optimistically predicted, rice from other parts of Ghana especially the Northern regions, could make up for the rest of the nation’s rice consumption, then we could realistically expect to wipe off the billion or so dollar rice import bill. This can be achieved without introduction of GM rice

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority charged with accelerating agricultural development in the Northern regions might be interested in a disaster report in the Ghanaian Times two weeks ago that may well provide opportunity for accelerated agriculture in the North. Under the banner “Spill of Burkina Faso Dams Confirmed” , the Times reported thus: “The authorities of Burkina Faso have now confirmed that spillage of the Bagre and Compienga Dams will commence on tomorrow, August 20, at 9:30 am - because the waters of the two dams have now reached their maximum operating levels due to continuous heavy downpour in the country.” (http:// www.newtimes.com.gh/story/2176 )

The Times did not say what Ghana intended to do about the disruption, worse devastation, from the overflows, except to warn potential victims out of harm’s way. But a respondent to the Times article at their website summed up what practical use could be put to what may be expected to be periodic overflows from the BF dams thus: “I think the government of Ghana need to utilize the excess spillage of the water from Burkina Faso for other irrigation farms as well as channel into other areas for dry areas in the north for farming purposes and again generating other sources of hydro power instead of wasting the water resources. Critical thinking should be in place instead looking at destruction at it best”. [Busha T, August 19, 2010 at 8:56 PM]. The significance of Busha’s suggestion lies in the extent of the expected flooding, with the Times including “the catchment areas of the White and Black Volta in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions”

- What Ghana lacks most is food preservation and storage, lack thermostatically controlled environments for storing foods prior to and during distribution to markets, and at markets and before consumption. The Government can assist in establishment of centers of food storage and in healthy food processing to increase shelf-life, so as to eliminate wastage, currently up to 30 per cent in some food categories, between harvest and consumption. That should take precedence over introduction of GM crops/foods.

- Government must resource CSIR and universities, commensurate with the anticipated agricultural expansion, to mechanize Agriculture and to improve seed quality through the traditional ways they have always done so well in the past and that have so well served the sector to date.

- Introduction of GM foods, and for that matter food imports in general, distort agricultural priorities, displace local producers, create unemployment and social dislocation and add to the economic burden of the state. A discussant on Okyeame has assured us that the current Government has restored tariffs to 2006 levels with imports falling and domestic production going up, with the Ministry of Agriculture having started a rice buffer stock program for farmers and businessmen.

If a minimum of the above measures is fully realized, we would be addressing the anomalous situation whereby 80% of Ghanaians live on Agriculture but the sector receives only 10% of the national budget. In the process we stabilize employment in the sector and secure control of our food supply.

Nii Armah Kweifio-Okai

*The author is a native of Ghana, resident in Melbourne, Australia.