Uganda Gov't Upbeat on Passing GM Crops Legislation

"Together with conducive and harmonized regulations, crop biotechnology innovations can help increase food production to address the needs of the growing global population, especially those in the developing countries like Uganda," said the Minister of State for Agriculture—Hon. Christopher Kibazanga. This was at the launch of the 2016 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops report on July 6, 2017 at Hotel Africana, in Kampala Uganda.

The ISAAA report highlights the trends of adoption of GM crops since their first commercialization in 1996, the global economic impact of GM crops, progress of GM crops research and commercialization, as well as prospects for the future of biotech crops in Africa and beyond.

Hon. Kibazanga reiterated the government's commitment to pass the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill into law, in order to facilitate safe development and application of biotechnology in Uganda. The Minister engaged the Members of Parliament to speed up the process of passing the National Biotech and Biosafety law so that farmers can access products of regulated biotechnology. "Any resistance against science in any field means that you are only telling your people to remain poor," Hon. Kibazanga said.

The event was attended by media, scientists, and policy makers. The launch happened at a time when the country is still dealing with a precarious food security situation due to unpredictable rain patterns and an unprecedented refugee crisis from neighboring South Sudan.

For more details, contact the UBIC Coordinator: ubic.nacrri@gmail.com.