Court halts production and sale of GMOs in Ghana

A Fast Track High Court has ordered the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to halt the production and sale of Genetically Modified products in the country.

This comes after  civil society group, Food Sovereignty Ghana  sued  the Ministry seeking an injunction to prevent it from commercialising the sale of Genetically Modified (GM) foods in the country.  

They claim the Ministry does not have the authority to commercialise such products because it has failed to comply with the provisions of the main Biosafety Act.

Ghana is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which in part requires parties to promote public awareness and education regarding the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms. The agreement also requires parties to consult the public on decisions regarding food biosafety.

Genetic modification refers to techniques used to manipulate the genetic composition of an organism by adding specific genes. These genes could make crops high-yielding, disease resistant or drought-resistant.

The court in its ruling, upheld Food Sovereignty’s plea.

GBC