Ghana Minister: No Turning Back, We are Adopting GM

Ghana's Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, has stated that Ghana is in the process of adopting genetic modification (GM) technology to improve agricultural production and income for farmers.

Dr. Oteng-Adjei said with the passage of the Biosafety and Biotechnology Law, Ghana had no option but to adopt the GMO innovation to enhance agricultural production through scientific methods. He said various reports by experts had testified that GMO products were safe adding, "there was therefore the need to put in place the necessary infrastructure to begin its (GMO) commercialization in the country." The Minister said this when interacting with staff of the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) at Nyankpala in the Northern Region. The Minister, who was accompanied by his Deputy, Dr. Mohammed Musheibu-Alfa, was on a familiarization visit to the research institute to understand its operations especially in the area of GMO products.

As part of the interaction, a presentation on production of biotech cotton was made after which the Minister and his entourage visited a biotech cowpea farm at Nyankpala in the Tolon District and a biotech cotton farm at Kpalkore in the Mion District.

Dr. Oteng-Adjei said fears being expressed by sections of the public about the safety of GMO were not out of place given it being new, but added that the (fears) could not prevent the country from adopting the technology.

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