The promotion of genetically modified crops (GMCs) as a solution to decreasing harvests and climate change effects on agriculture has been ongoing for years, but Ugandan farmers are still not ready to accept the growing of GMCs.

Farmers meeting at a workshop in Mbale Resort Hotel on Biotechnology said they are not ready to embrace any genetically modified crops.

farmers picking cotton in Gulu northern Uganda

Arthur Makara the Executive Director of the Science Foundation for Livelihoods and Development (Scifode) tried hard to convince farmers to grow GMC which he says will provide better resistance to pests and drought.

But farmers under their JENGA Community development association said their soils are still good enough for them to carry out successful conventional and organic farming.

Anthony Namunane, one of the farmers at the meeting insisted that the government and other people who want to help Uganda farmers should be finding solutions to pests and decreasing soil fertility without resorting to genetically modified crops.

He says since genetically modified crops alter the nature of crops, they generate a lot of hazards for farmers and consumers, the reason they are not ready to embrace them.

Other farmers claimed that GMCs are being promoted by foreign companies like Monsanto who want to colonise the food in Africa through their genetically modified crops that Africans have no knowledge about.

But Makara said Uganda is currently a regional leader in agricultural biotech research and better crops are being developed locally to provide better yields and resistance to pests and extreme weather.

He says scientists are using GM technology at Namulonge Agriculture research centre to develop varieties that are resistant to pests and disease that affect farmers farm output.
Some farmers however complained that the new crop varieties developed locally are not marketable locally and international, citing poor taste and unclear safety concerns from consumers.

Ultimate Media