Kate Nkansa-Dwamena>>> In the discussions following my last posts about the Plant Breeders Bill/GMOs, there were a lot of comments, including some by me, about how so many individuals and organizations had remained silent on the issue. I, for one, find it quite surprising that people who have a position on every issue of national importance have gotten extremely silent on this issue. It is not by chance at all. The Gates foundation (owned by Bill and Melinda Gates), which is involved in numerous development and philanthropic initiatives across the globe, has agricultural development as a major strategic initiative. Their stated goal is to reduce hunger and poverty for millions of farming families in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia by increasing agricultural productivity in a sustainable way (Source: gates foundation.org). Research and development is a major anchor of reaching this goal, and the Gates Foundations goal in this area is to support research to develop more productive and nutritious varieties of the staple crops grown and consumed by farming families. These include varieties adapted to local conditions that deliver specific benefits farmers seek, such as increased yields, better nutrition, and tolerance to drought, flood, and pests. We fund research to discover ways to better manage soil and water resources and reduce crop loss due to spoilage, weeds, pests, disease, and other threats (Source: gates foundation.org). I guess you can call it a modern day green revolution. This all sounds noble until you begin to peel the leaves. One of the ways in which they aim to accomplish this is through the use of genetically engineered seeds. In 2012 the Gates Foundation gave a $10 million grant to the John Innes Centre to develop genetically modified crops for use in sub-Saharan Africa. Ignoring the science for a minute, the question of ownership becomes pertinent. Will the seeds be given to our farmers for free? Can our farmers save and re-use the food? Or will they have to buy these seeds that promise improved yields? Or is Bill Gates in it purely as a business venture, hoping that we get the anticipated benefits as a by product? This seems to be the case when you consider the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations investments in Monsanto and Cargill. Farmers will have to buy GM seeds from Monsanto and the herbicides required for those seeds from Cargill. The Foundation teamed up with Cargill on a soy project in Mozambique. I will bet my bottom cedi that a lot of the Foundations senior agricultural staff are ex-employees of these companies. These two companies arent the only two stakeholders. The Gates Foundation is huge, and there are many individuals/organizations that in Ghana that benefit financially from them, have business affiliations with the parent company, and are involved in their initiatives on our continent. Given that GMOs are a major Gates Foundation initiative, it isnt surprising that so many individuals/organizations have remained silent on the Plant Breeders Bill, or have come out in support of GMOs. We have been owned by foreigners before, and some of us will do our part for us not to fall into economic slavery. There is too much at stake. If GMOs will give us all the touted benefits, then our government should pay the John Innes Centre to develop our own seeds for us. If you want to dislike us for caring about our country, then so be it. OR If my crime is caring about my country and its people, I can soundly sleep at night.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:56:43 +0000
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