Original Story Published by: Staff Writer for Business Ghana
Photo Source: graphic.com.gh
Ghana is now ready to introduce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) food onto the market, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), Dr Amaning Okoree, has announced.
He said the NBA, which is the regulator of the biotechnology industry in Ghana, had put in place the necessary structures to ensure that GMO products that would be released on a commercial basis onto the market were safe for consumption.
"We are ready for any promoter or commercial organisation of biotechnology product that wants to release GMO foods. We have strengthened our capacity to effectively regulate and conduct risk assessment of the product to ensure it is safe for consumption," he added.
Dr Okoree made the announcement when he engaged some agricultural students and other stakeholders at a forum dubbed “#AskAboutGMOs" in Accra yesterday.
The forum was organised by the Alliance for Science Ghana and the NBA.
Two main GMO crops — Nitrogen Use Efficient, Water Use Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) rice and Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) cowpea — are currently being researched into and cultivated under confinement by the CSIR in Ghana.
Dr Okoree, however, cautioned that any commercial entity which did not follow the legal procedures to import or introduce GMOs onto the Ghanaian market would suffer the consequences or be fined between 2,500 and 5,000 penalty units or a prison term of five to 10 years.
To read the full article, visit Business Ghana.
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