By Hope Mafaranga
Now that we have a law in place, drought and diseases will
become history as we will be able to apply modern technology backed by research
for better yields, this is the kind of excitement Joseph Katushabe a farmer in
Ibanda district in western Uganda had to say upon hearing that Parliament passed
the National Biotechnology and Biosafety (NBB) Bill, 2012.
The controversial Bill, which was passed at the beginning of
October 2017, has been on and off the shelves since 2012, leaving both
politicians and scientists divided.
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| Joseph Katushabe in his gardern of Tomatoes in Ibanda district |
Among the clauses that were controversial included transporting
of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for export or import without the
approval of a competent authority will become criminal in Uganda.
Defaulters risked paying a fine of 2.4 million Uganda
shillings or be jailed for five years.
Katushabe, other farmers and scientists will be able to use
technology in farming, after the Bill that is now awaiting the President Yoweri
Museveni’s signature to become law without any legal fear.
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| President Yoweri Museveni is to sign the Bill into Law |
Biotechnology is a technique that uses living organisms or
substances from living organisms to have or modify a product, improve plants,
animal breeds or micro-organisms for specific purposes. Biosafety means safe
development, transfer, application and utilisation of biotechnology and its
products. While presenting the report of science and technology
committee that studied the Bill, the
chairperson, Kafeero Ssekitoleko said Uganda
has no specific law regulating the development and use of modern biotechnology,
it had, on the other hand, ratified a number of international treaties, such as
the convention on biological diversity in 1993 and the Cartagena Protocol
Biosafety of 2001.
“Our scientists are working for Uganda to own its patents and
technology so that we are not obliged to foreigners,” Sekitoleko said.
The Bill gave a green light to the Uganda National Council
for Science and Technology (UNSCT) as the competent authority for biotechnology
and biosafety that will approve the development, testing and use of GMOs.
Dr. Peter Ndemere also Executive Secretary of UNCST said
biotechnology is very critical with many exciting products being developed
especially in agriculture in trying to address food security, climate change
and nutritional needs.
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| The members of parliament passed the Bill |
Dr. Ndemere also said GMOs have been used in Uganda for many
years by several industries to process wine and beer, cheese and yoghurt, bread,
extraction of cobalt and welcome it a positive thing to enhance food security
and fight crop diseases and pests.
“With law in place,
our food insecurity worries and climate change challenges are solved. We are
proud that the policy that started in 2008 transformed into a Bill in 2012 is
finally becoming a law,” he said.
The UNSCT will work alongside the Ministry for Water and Environment
which will act as the national focal point for the purposes of the Cartagena
Protocol, the registrar of biotechnology and biosafety and institutional
biosafety committees.
The advocates of the
Bill note that GMOs have the potential to boost food, fuel and fiber
production, which will accelerate economic growth and foreign exchange
earnings, like in South Africa and Burkina Faso.
Dr. Barbara Zawedde Mugwanga, the co-coordinator of the
Uganda Biosciences Information Centre said the passing of the Bill means that
the country can regulate what is coming in.
“We can now also choose what we want to use in modern biotechnology
in agriculture, medicine, environment management and medicine,” she said.
Dr. Godfrey Asea, the director of National Crops Resources
Research Institute, Namulonge in Wakiso district congratulated Parliament for
passing the Bill.
“I am happy that we have
a legal framework to conduct research outside the institutes,” he said.
The Bill was passed a few after the Agri-Biotechnology and
Biosafety Communications (ABBC) (2017 Africa Symposium) held in Uganda
recently.
The symposium that was organised by a consortium of partners
led by the Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise in partnership with UNCST,
Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC), and the International Service for
the acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and the Programme for
Biosafety Systems (PBS) had called upon parliament to pass it to give a better
working environment to scientists.
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| Dr. Karembu say the law will enhance food security |
Dr. Margaret Karembu the director ISAAA said agriculture
continues to remain the backbone of many African economies which is facing
several constraints including climate change, pests and diseases.
“Adoption of new technologies like genetically engineered
crops will offer an opportunity for advancement an addressing these challenges,”
she said
Dr. ELlioda Tumwesigye minister of science, technology and
innovation said Uganda boasts of having
the best research scientists on the continent especially in the areas of
agriculture in general and biotechnology in particular.
He further noted that the Government of Uganda is aware of
this fact hence continues to create enabling environment for scientist and
innovators to excel in order to have a vibrant technology and science driven
society.
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| Dr. Tumwesigye asked Ugandan to embrace science |
Prof. Yaye Gassama, the former Minister and Vice-chair Senegal
Academy of Science said biotech has set deep roots in lives of people, causing
new paradigms.
“We need to capture this favorable momentum to communicate
the benefits of biotech,” she noted. Christopher Kibazanga the state minister of agriculture, said the sector plays a central role in in
economic growth, development and poverty alleviation in Uganda which is key to
why ‘Vision 2040’ and the National Development Plan.
Kibazanga stated that the majority of the Ugandan population
depends directly or indirectly on agriculture which has a huge potential to
transform Uganda’s economy.
Describing the country’s biotech research capacity, the
minister said institutions like National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)
and Makerere University among others are producing important novel technologies
to improve farm productivity.
He said such technologies should be promoted adding that
ignoring such research and innovations would mean nullifying the efforts of the
country’s scientists.
Citing some of the ag-biotech research on-going in the
country especially on key food security crops such as cassava, banana and
maize, Kibazanga said there was evidence from research conducted by NARO
showing that modern biotechnology can be used to address some of the most
difficult constraints in crop and animal agriculture.
End
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