Association of Farmers and Fishermen join suit on row over GMOs

The case against the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the National Biosafety Committee to stop the release and commercialisation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country took a different twist yesterday when the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF) joined the suit as a co-defendant.

The GNAFF thus becomes the fifth defendant in the trial which has already attracted the National Biosafety Authority and the Attorney General as the other defendants.

A civil society organisation, Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), filed for an injunction at the Human Rights Court to stop  MoFA and the National Biosafety Committee from releasing and commercialising the sale of GM rice and cowpeas in Ghana.

The organisation claims that MoFA did not have the authority to commercialise those products.

It also argued that the government could not go ahead to implement the process for GM food, since it had failed to comply with the provisions of the main Biosafety Act.

Besides, the government had also failed to consult and engage the public to create awareness of GMOs.

Opposition

At yesterday’s hearing, a member of the GNAFF’s legal team, Mr Eric A. Okoree, told the court that the association had already filed an application to join the suit.

However, counsel for FSG, Mr George Tetteh Wayo, told the court that any group reserved the right to join as defendant but that the civil society organisation would oppose vehemently groups whose overriding interests were already protected by MoFA, also a defendant.

He informed the court, presided over by Mr Justice Essel Mensah, that while the GNAFF filed its application at the court on April 28, 2015, he was only served on April 30, 2015 and was yet to study it.

He told the court that the hearing of the case was keenly being monitored by the international community and that any decision that the court would arrive at would be critically scrutinised.

The court adjourned hearing to May 11, 2015. 

CPP to join plaintiffs

Meanwhile, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) yesterday expressed its readiness to join the suit against MoFA and the other four defendants on the next adjourned hearing.

After the adjournment of the hearing, the Chairperson of the CPP, Ms Samia Nkrumah, said the legal team of the party had been given the mandate to join FSG in the case.