It is seldom superstitiously said that death always comes in threes, same as trouble. The last couple of years have been some of the most difficult in our country’s recent history. In addition to the changes and reforms at the political helm of power, followed by tensions that often resulted in violence and in thousands of people being displaced, Ethiopia and the greater horn of Africa region were put to test by the invasion of biblical sized swarms of locusts that destroyed the crops of already vulnerable farming and pastoralist communities in Somali, Oromiya, Tigrai and other regions, putting millions in need of humanitarian assistance.
Just as the government and concerned aid organizations and institutional donors were scrambling to deliver much needed aid, the globe was hit by COVID-19 that resulted in compounding the already existent problems by derailing locust control efforts, delivery of lifesaving food and medicine. Amidst of all of this, about a couple of weeks ago, after news surfaced from the US Department of Agriculture, announcing it’s pleased with Ethiopia’s acceptance of GMO’s for commercial use, in a clear departure from long standing policies, the decades old debate among firm believers in the introduction of GMO’s and equally staunch opponents got reignited, especially on social media.
Almost immediately the “internet police” took to Facebook and twitter to express rage and disdain to what they believed is government’s submission to pressure from the corporate greed and American economic imperialism represented by “Monsanto” and other institutions that are in their eyes, trying to enslave farmers in the developing nations through creating dependence on the GMO seeds.
Others, members of the usually highly educated and better-off urbanite group, obsessed with health fads and diets, who like their Teff without fertilizer and are willing to go much lengths to get it, argued that these GMO crops cause significant harm to the health of consumers and that they could potentially cause cancers and other related diseases. On the other hand however, some, including the few experts and researchers of the field, voiced differing opinions explaining that this was a necessary and long awaited move that could potentially decrease the periodic hungers that millions of Ethiopians have suffered from over decades and that could potentially help cut down the nation’s dependence on foreign aid as GMO seeds have been consistently shown to increase crop yields and resist drought and diseases.
Amidst this, Tesfaye Disasa (PhD), director of Agricultural Biotechnology at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), in an interview given to the Capital newspaper, after correctly pointing out that GMO commercialization was started after the amendment of biosafety proclamation in 2015 (Proclamation No.896/2015) and that the only GMO at commercial stage is Bt-cotton which was approved for commercialization in 2018, stated that there are crops that are still under contained laboratory and confined field trial.
Tesfaye, further stated that “we have been consuming GMO products since discovery but there is no tangible report on the side effects on human, animals and environment” he further added that the ongoing argument between supporters and opponents is outdated and unnecessary as science and technology are extremely important to enhance efforts towards improving the livelihood of many in the ever more resources deprived world we are living in.
I personally fully endorse and share the above statement as it goes to show that technology and science are tools we can use to bring about optimization of resources and harmony with nature by efficiently using existing natural resources instead of further degrading the sadly limited untouched natural spaces left in the world in our race to meet the growing demand of a growing population and consumption trend. A correct use of GMO’s can help us feed the hungry and help us get break the hunger cycle.
This affirmation does not in any way mean that people should not express whatever opinion they may hold regarding this or any other issue for that matter, however in the golden era of instantaneous, unlimited access to data and information, as conscientious citizens it’s imperative that we educate ourselves and have the humility to opine our positions only after thorough research and comprehension, as public opinion remains an important factor in government policy making. Thankfully we live in an era where our opinions matter to a degree and we could potentially impact the future of entire generations for better or for worse.
The Ethiopian Herald May 19/2020
BY DAWIT TESFAYE
