Tanzania Embracing Genetic Engineering

Tanzania's Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives has started using genetic engineering to ‘modify' seeds and control diseases that inhibit crop growth. This announcement was made by the Ministry's Permanent Secretary Mohamed Muya at a news conference in Dar es Salaam. Studies by various scholars and institutions are increasingly giving evidence that genetic engineering has led to an increase in crop yields in countries already using the technology..

"The ministry believes that the use of genetic engineering could help in combating the agricultural challenges caused by climate change such as drought, infection and harmful pets which among other things need insecticides to control them…" he said.

The government, through the ministry, will continue to improve research and further adopt new technology to employ genetic engineering. Permanent Secretary Muya acknowledged that there are as he put it ‘misled and misinformed and even at times sheer speculative notions' as to the side effects of the technology and in recognition of the fact announced that the government will embark on a sensitizing and information campaign.

This news is adapted from Checkbiotech.com - http://greenbio.checkbiotech.org/news/tanzania_embracing_genetic_engineering