The activists raised concerns about the potential for GMOs to lead to the appropriation of seed rights by corporations, harming farmers’ traditional rights.
Activists from Nigeria and Ghana defending food sovereignty have rejected the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in agriculture and called for the Precautionary Principle in biosafety matters.
The Legal activists emerged from a brainstorming session organized by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), hosted by Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), in collaboration with Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoE) and the GMO Free Alliance. During the meeting held at the LA Villa Boutique Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on Sunday, December 15, 2024, they called for a complete ban on GMOs.
The activists concurred that Africa’s fertile land is key to ensuring food sovereignty and security for their nations. They emphasized that hunger stems from poor governance, inadequate infrastructure for food processing, preservation, and distribution, as well as insufficient support for smallholder farmers, who make up over 70% of the farming population in Nigeria and Ghana. Consequently, they strongly urged their governments to prioritize investments in agriculture, particularly in agroecology.
They noted that the existing Biosafety Laws in both nations threaten their ecosystems and food cultures; emphasizing that the enactment process lacked public input, which could have led to the rejection of these laws. Furthermore, the laws do not offer adequate legal protections for people’s rights.
According to them, the Nigerian and Ghanaian Biosafety Laws prioritize the introduction of GMOs on a large scale, potentially violating the precautionary principle and expressed concern about the potential negative socio-economic, cultural, and ethical impacts of GMOs, especially on smallholder farmers.
They emphasized the importance of promoting traditional practices, community well-being, and food security. The experts also highlighted the UN’s recognition of socio-economic considerations in biosafety decisions and called for immediate assessments of GMO risks. Additionally, they raised concerns about the potential for GMOs to lead to the appropriation of seed rights by corporations, harming farmers’ traditional rights.
The group highlighted the extensive propaganda promoting GMOs for food security while little attention is given to their risks, including biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, land grabbing, communal conflicts, and health issues. They stressed the urgency of presenting a balanced perspective to Nigerians and Ghanaians and criticized industrial agriculture for its lack of sustainability, labelling it part of a corporate agenda exploiting Africa as a resource hub and market.
Rejecting GMOs as harmful to ecosystems, they urged policymakers to learn from countries like Burkina Faso that have rejected GMOs and to prioritize agroecology and support for smallholder farmers to ensure true food sovereignty.
The legal activists recommend that Nigeria and Ghana should reject the GMO-driven food system, prioritize food sovereignty, and fulfill their human rights obligations. They demand public policies that support farmers’ seed systems, agroecology, and access to land. The experts emphasize the importance of farmers’ role in agricultural development and pledge to promote and defend agroecology and farmers’ seeds.
Story: Kwabena Kyekyeku
