Posted on December, 10, 2018 at 10:42 am
By Michael J. Ssali
Last week Parliament passed the Genetic Engineering Regulatory Bill 2018 after a long struggle.
Since 2008 when Uganda got the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy there has been a need to get a law to guide the implementation of that policy.
Finally the law is available and, despite some sections of it that might require amendment in future, we have some good ground from which to proceed.
It is an international obligation (Cartagena Protocol) that all countries using genetic engineering (biotechnology) must have such a law.
India, South Africa, Sudan, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, USA, Brazil, and several others across the globe have a regulatory law and are growing GE crops.
The law should be received with optimism since it will guide technologies and innovations that will transform agriculture as has happened in other countries.
The impact of extreme weather conditions and incurable crop diseases due to climate change has led to declines in agricultural production and made it harder to reduce food insecurity and poverty.
We cannot, therefore, continue farming ‘business- as-usual.’ Uganda cannot teach science and technology in its universities and fail to take advantage of the knowledge and skills of the young people graduating from such institutions to seek solutions to its agricultural problems.
Through genetic engineering (GE) Ugandan scientists under Naro have found some solutions to pests and diseases affecting such crops as Irish potatoes, bananas, maize, cotton, and cassava, but due to absence of a regulatory law it has not been possible to pass on the improved crop varieties to farmers for planting.
When finally farmers begin growing GE crops we expect less use of pesticides, higher yields, and bigger profits.
We could even revive our cotton sector which is on the brink of collapse due to high production costs.
We expect Irish potato farmers to reduce expenditure on pesticides since GE Irish potatoes are resistant to late blight which they control using expensive pesticides.
We also expect to increase banana production and to improve nutrition when farmers grow GE bananas because they will be resistant to nematodes and weevils and richer in vitamins.
Source: Daily Monitor