Develop interest in GMO issues

The Executive Secretary of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), Mr Bernard Guri, has called on students and the youth to take keen interest in the ongoing debate on whether or not Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) should be introduced into the country.

That, he said, was because the GMO issue (a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another) had to do with food which was consumed by every member of the society.

Mr Guri made the call in an interview with the Junior Graphic on the sidelines of a day’s workshop for journalists at the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) head office in Accra.

The programme was to sensitise journalists to GMOs and the Plant Breeders (art of creating new plant varieties) Bill, a proposed law to improve seeds for farming being discussed by Parliament for passage into law.

The workshop was organised by the GCGL and CIKOD. 

Mr Guri said it was unfortunate that all the discussions on GMOs had been targeted at adults, leaving out the youth who were in the majority as far as the country’s population was concerned.

“I think it has a lot to do with the youth so they should learn to understand the issue...because food is for everybody and the youth are the people who are going to be most affected if GMO is introduced into the country,” he said.  

He said CIKOD was going to step up its education of Ghanaians on GMOs and the Plant Breeders Bill, adding that the youth would be part of the education.

Mr Guri said clubs would be set up to go to schools to sensitise students so that they could also educate their mates on GMOs.