New Vision (Kampala)

NEWS

September 29, 2004

Posted to the web September 29, 2004

By Anne Mugisa and Gerald Tenywa

Kampala

As the debate on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) rages on, policy makers, government researchers and civil society groups on Monday clashed over GMO importation and application.

At the opening of a three-day public hearing on GMOs, officials from civil society groups said multi-national companies were only profit-driven without any concern for public interests.

Scientists and members of the civil society attacked American multi-national companies like MOSANTO, which they said were trying to colonise the seeds, with the backing of their government.

Scientists advised the Government to look for ways of improving indigenous seeds instead of allowing in the GMOs.

The Speaker of Parli-ament, Edward Ssekandi, who opened the public hearing at the Interna-tional Conference Centre, said the Government was formulating national regulations and a policy to regulate GMOs.

Ssekandi said the policy would address risk assessment mechanisms, public information disclosure, public education and participation.

The head of Kawanda Research Centre, Prof. Otim Nape, advised Ugandans to scrutinise both the negative and positive aspects of the GMOs, to come up with a policy suitable for the country.

Researchers said not all GMOs were bad.

allafrica.com