[ad_1]
<! –
->
Daniel Okae-Anti, professor at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), says that the application of GMO technology to food production can help reduce the use of chemicals on farms farm.
He says that there is a lot of misinformation about the technology that is fueling public perception about it, but GMOs are actually not dangerous to humans or harmful to humans. ;environment.
"When we talk about GMOs, most people think that it's all about chemicals, but that GMO-based products have the goal of reducing agrochemical projections." "said Professor Okae-Anti of UCC's Department of Soil Sciences.
He was speaking at a round table on the topic "GMOs: a human killer or a hunger killer?" And screened the science film Food Evolution on the campus of UCC.
The event organized by Alliance for Science Ghana and the International Association of Agricultural and Allied Science Students (IAAS) – UCC aimed to educate students about emerging technologies that govern agricultural production around the world and that can be used to meet the challenges of food production.
He noted that farming practices are changing daily, making production difficult, but "fortunately, scientific innovations, including agricultural biotechnology (GMOs), will help us meet these challenges."
The project manager at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) of Ghana, Enoch Ilori, said there was no evidence that GMOs had caused deaths anywhere in the world and that Ghanaians do not have the same knowledge. So had nothing to fear from its introduction in the country.
He expressed his concern at the vast misunderstandings and ignorance generated by GMOs, which raise fears of efforts to encourage the use of improved technologies to ensure food security in the country.
Ghanaian scientists have completed trials of the country's first GMO crop (cowpea Bt) with inherent resistance to destructive pests of the worm capsule, and are expected to soon be released commercially and environmental.
But some civil society groups have launched a campaign urging the government to ban GMOs and some have even sued the state for justice to block approval processes.
Ilori badured that Ghanaian scientists working on GM crops at the local level would not introduce any products that could harm their fellow citizens.
"Ghanaian scientists do not shop in different markets, but they do not want to kill themselves if they are unsure of the safety of genetically modified foods," Ilori said.
He called for more education on technology so that the public understands it properly.
A researcher from the Atomic Energy and Biotechnology Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Daniel Ofosu, encouraged farmers and consumers to be open to the public. mind when it comes to discussing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
He added that GMOs were the solution to the major problems of the agricultural sector and that the technology had repeatedly proven safe.
Professor JP Tetteh, plant breeder at UCC's Department of Culture Sciences, told attendees to reduce food and nutrition insecurity that the Ministry of Agriculture was to modernize the program. agriculture by improving productivity, mechanization, irrigation and water management.
Vegetable producer, Albert Thompson, in an interview with the media after the screening and roundtable expressed concern over ignorance and a misconception about cutting-edge technology destroying the agricultural sector.
He said that fear has been largely badociated with GMOs because of their ignorance. He expressed concern about why some anti-technology civil society groups had sought to thwart the efforts of scientists to help improve agriculture through innovation.
Mr Dennis Baffour Awuah, of the Alliance for Science Ghana, the organization that planned the event, expressed confidence that the screening of the film Food Evolution and the round table that followed will contribute to open the spirit of Ghanaians to technology.
The film explores the brutally polarized debate that the introduction of GMOs into the global food chain has generated over the years.
It addresses the critical role of science and innovation in building a safe, nutritious and sustainable food supply for all, as the global population is expected to reach nine billion by 2050.
[ad_2]
Source link
