Is GM food an option for Ghana?
There is an increasing pressure from the West for Ghana to go into Genetically Modified (GM) crop production for the reason that, it will help feed the growing population. I agree that Ghana has her own challenges when it comes to agricultural growth in relation to food security. These challenges that confront the growth of our agricultural industry are not hidden.
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The quest to improve upon our agriculture in order to be self-sufficient as a nation, in terms of our nutritional requirements, has undoubtedly proved difficult. Over the past three decades, successive governments have, therefore, identified measures to help achieve our goals in this regard; embarking on GM food production has, however, not been on the agenda.
Need for self-efficiency
I admit that the onus of being self-sufficient rests entirely on a nation but for the nations whose hearts, and perhaps lungs, exude benevolence, it will be ethical to support our goals rather than imposing their aspirations on us.
I will not want to delve into the intricacies of the merits of GM food against non GM food and whether it is safe or otherwise. What is important is that we should look at it in the context of our circumstance as a nation and not to take any myopic view in the light of the increasing pressure from the West.
It is a common fact that Ghana, in recent years, exports over 40 per cent of her non- traditional products to the EU and other developed countries. The repercussions of engaging in GM crop production on the economy, therefore, would be very debilitating.
Why do they want us to engage in GM crop production? They certainly must have a reason; an objective to achieve. What is their interest now and in the future? Is it because they want to help us boost food production? If the answer is in the affirmative, then I am afraid the path chosen is not the best of alternatives available to us.
Safety or otherwise of GM food
The opportunity cost of choosing GM crop production over the other alternatives is so huge that I shudder to talk about it. It is a common knowledge that most developed countries are opposed to GM foods and rather embrace non GM food. Demand for organic food is, therefore, on the ascendancy, thereby placing a high premium on it.
If GM food was as good as professed by the advocates, why are the majority of people protesting from within? It is on record that FAO and WHO have not done any comprehensive assessments to ascertain the safety or otherwise of GM foods. All such assessments have been carried out by the donors of GM foods themselves.
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Is it not intriguing that FAO and WHO, looking at the controversies surrounding the use of GM foods and its consequences on the welfare of humanity, have not carried out any assessments on their own? Is it because of funding issues? Clearly, something is amiss and there is the need to ask questions.
Factors militating against the success of Ghana’s plan to boost agricultural production must be given the attention that it deserves. Agriculture is not like sports, where in hurdles, the obstacles are jumped over. Here, the obstacles must be cleared and not overlooked. Food must be produced economically, efficiently while keeping the environment safe.
The only way to achieve this is to clear the hurdles in our way. Post-harvest losses alone decimate national targets of production of various crops by a very significant figure. Why should we not tackle this menace to help boost our food production rather than resorting to GM crop production at the peril of our economy and safety.
Merits or biotechnology
Let us not be misled that we are opposed to biotechnology which is the general term for the use of biological technology scientifically to produce crops with traits desirable to us. Ghana has successfully employed the technique and it has been invaluable to the success of the agricultural industry.
What we are opposed to is Genetically Modified biotechnology; the transfers of genes from an insect, for instance, into a plant.
Agricultural research often has broad scope and as such the range of contents in which it is conducted is extremely varied. This is attributable to the heterogeneous nature of the environment in which farm management takes place. And indeed solutions in the west cannot be transferred to Ghana because of the difference in human behaviour due to cultural norms, style of living and not to mention the diversity of physical environment - weather, climate etc.
This makes research in agriculture very unique. Motor cars and refrigerators can be shipped to almost any country with reasonable assurance that they will perform satisfactorily. But it is often overlooked that agricultural practices, methods, varieties and breeds of livestock cannot be exported with equal confidence.
That is not to say that agricultural research is different from place to place; it is essentially the same in principle but the application of a solution to a problem is not universal. The west has conducted a research and they think that GM crop production is the way forward for them.
What premised the research to go into GM crop production? Was it because they had no other way to achieve their objection (increased food production) underlying their research? Our needs are different from theirs and so we must focus on ours.
I believe that in the past, the west did not jump the gun in addressing their food security issues as a nation. They improved their farming methods, researched into better varieties and breeds of crops and animals respectively. I also know that accesses to their farms are without hindrance. Post-harvest losses have been tackled to the lowest level.
In a nutshell, these are the issues, among other issues, which have direct impact on food production, confronting Ghana and eliminating them to a tolerant level must be our focus. Ghana has not exhausted these avenues in solving our food security issues and so it is premature to resort to GM food production.
Resisting GM food
Our potential in food production has not been maximised in any way. Let us resist this temptation and focus on our medium and long term plans of attaining food security status and not to be enticed with abstract promises by detractors.
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If in the unlikely event that we exhaust all avenues and deem it fit to consider GM food production, we will, as a nation, take the decision.
When it comes to organic food, which majority of people worldwide are increasingly patronising its consumption, Africa, and for that matter Ghana, stands tall among the producers.
Ghana, our beloved country, has comparative advantage over the developed world when it comes to organic food production; perhaps, the only trade immunity we have now and in the coming future. Let us protect it!
In conclusion, permit me to give this article a religious flavour by quoting from Matthew 5: 13, “You are like the salt for the whole human race. But if the salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it.”
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• The writer is an agriculturalist
Email: kwakubonsu@gmail.com