The president said US President George W. Bush had urged him to embrace GMOs during his recent visit to the East African country. But Museveni said he told Bush that he needed to study them more before taking a stand.
president Museveni, who was speaking publicly about the GMOs for the first time, said studies and debate on the subject should go ahead.
Experts, he exhorted, should isolate characters from wild plants through biotechnology (manipulation of genes) to make crops with high yields and disease resistance.
He cited clonal coffee, which gives five times as much yield as the traditional coffee, as a breakthrough, which has increased production and farmers’ incomes.
The Ugandan leader said: “The future is bright for our scientists and researchers and their products.
“Biotechnology is the new weapon which we can ill-afford afford to abandon in the hands of foreigners. We must use it wisely to empower our people and in turn give them economic independence.”
He outlined his government’s vision for a new biotechnology policy aimed at improving the country’s food security. To show his support for the technology’s role in the agricultural development of Uganda, Museveni said local scientists needed to be supported in their endeavours.
He therefore directed that Ugandan scientists and researchers be properly remunerated and funded to carry out their work for what he termed “their sterling contribution in the push for a sustainable food policy.”
But he also challenged the researchers and scientists to fully harness the advantages being offered by biotechnology in ensuring that food production is given a new impetus.
The opening of the new biotechnology facility was made possible through the collaboration of various partners, including USAID and IPGRI. The project has won the support of other organisations like CITR, the University of Pretoria and the local
Catholic University.
The president said a cabinet decision had been taken to lend financial support to the facility as a show of the government’s commitment to innovations at the centre. He said direct budgetary allocations would be made available after an initial period of eight months before the private sector gets involved.
“We have already taken this decision to fund the centre directly, and what we are waiting for is to see whether the private sector can come on board. The government is very committed,” he said. Museveni said support for researchers and scientists would come through the commercialisation of traditional technologies which, he noted, had failed to offer viable solutions to Uganda’s food problem. Uganda had reached a critical stage and farmers needed to be empowered economically, he added.
Outlining his support for biotechnological changes in the country’s agricultural sector, the president said Ugandans owed much to their small number of scientists whose efforts in improving food production had been tireless. He said the government.recognised their role and would offer them support at all levels. ‘We ask you (scientists) to remain patriotic and ensure that you stay here to contribute to national development. Don’t be lured away by money,” he said.
He said the new gains already being made through the efforts of the lab in controlling diseases and increasing yields in crops like bananas, cassava, beans and maize, had put Uganda on the right path.
The results from the laboratories on the new technology were encouraging and this was likely to assist in tackling poverty among Ugandans, the president noted. He urged scientists and researchers to concentrate their efforts in improving yields in traditional crops, poultry and dairy products. He said extending services from the laboratory to other areas of the agricultural sector would assist many Ugandans who depend on agriculture.
“Biotechnology is the new method of solving the old problem of inadequate yields and poor remuneration for farmers”, he said, and added that extending biotechnology to commercial crops like coffee would also assist the country to more foreign exchange.
Research on disease resistance in crops and animals is likely to gain a new direction following the introduction of the laboratory facility, he noted.
Before commissioning the centre, the president interacted freely with many of Uganda’s young scientists, who gave him a glimpse of how research had been carried out on crops and animals.
The scientists outlined to the president research on new diseases affecting crops like bananas, cassava and beans. He was also shown some of the new products, which had been developed, including banana juice and cassava cakes.
The Ugandan leader was also
introduced to various research methods being pursued in controlling emerging crop diseases. Research on bananas and cassava had been able to identify a new breed of virus, which had effectively been controlled. The research team based at NARO has consequently developed a new insecticide to fight the cassava mosaic, a new crop disease.
The president was told that researchers at the laboratory had also been able to pass some of the new findings to the farmers, while new crop breeds developed through cross-pollination had boosted yields.
He lauded NARO for developing over 600 crop varieties, including sorghum, which had replaced barley in the making of beer. But he warned against the abuse of biotechnology, saying his government was against GMOs becoming an issue.
Other methods on display during the tour included genetic transformation of crops, cross-breeding and the introduction of conventional methods for prevention of bacteria in plants.
The scientists told the president that they had achieved a 50 per cent success rate in fighting diseases and pests.
During the tour, Museveni challenged the researchers to introduce a breed of eucalyptus that could grow on hills. He said this would be of economic importance to the people.
Speaking at the same function, Kisamba Mugerwa, the minister of agriculture, said biotechnology would enhance food security, especially in the poor countries, he added. He said there was a misconceived notion that biotechnology applications had potential threats to biodiversity.
Mugerwa said the government was formulating a policy to regulate biotechnology and address biosafety concerns. Quoting Maxwell Mauder, a researcher, he said genetically modified crops, which cover 52.6 million hectares of land globally, were fast becoming a major component of agriculture.
“The reality is that biotechnology cannot be wished away or ignored,” he said.