GMOs in Africa: Presentations to the public hearings of the Commission on the Future of Agriculture and Agrifoods in Québec
In March 2007, an African delegation came to Canada to raise awareness among decision-makers about the pressures on Africa to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its agricultural sectors. The delegation from COPAGEN (Coalition pour la protection du patrimoine génétique africain, or the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage) included scientists, agronomists, and leaders working with peasant networks in nine countries. They criticized the enormous pressures African countries are facing to open their doors to GMOs, whether from Western trade missions, from international development projects, or from the World Bank. These interviews make clear that food security in Africa is tied primarily to political and economic issues, not to technological advances in agriculture; because of this, COPAGEN believes that GMOs will worsen hunger, not resolve it.
Ibrahim Ouédraogo from INADES-Formation (l'Institut Africain pour le Développement Economique et Social – Formation, the African Institue for Economic and Social Development - Training) in Côte d'Ivoire, Assétou Founè Samaké from Burkina-Faso, and Mamadou Göita from IRPAD (l'Institut de recherche et de promotion des alternatives en développement, the Institute for Research and Promotion of Development Alternatives) in Mali explain the risks that GMO bring to Africa. You can view their interviews (in French only) by clicking here:
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| Reviewed February 24, 2009 |  |
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