The Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Food Sovereignty Ghana embarked on a protest march on Saturday to demand the withdrawal of the Plant Breeders Bill from Parliament.
The two groups argue that the passage of the bill into law will negatively impact on the growth of agriculture in Ghana.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LrgW8DckYKK1CaCpJNh0LaQZkkpXMhrS”]The protestors marched from the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) in Accra and ended the protest at the Nima Market.
Speaking to Citi News, a leading member of the CPP, Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa lamented the use of technology to endanger the safety of crops and consequently, human lives.
He explained that “this kind of technology might end up doing great disservice to us. You have to buy seeds every year, in addition to the seeds, you have to buy pesticides from the same company. And these pesticides will blight everything else except that seed.”
“Is that the kind of agriculture that we want?” he asked.
The General Secretary of the CPP, Ivor Greenstreet, stressed in an interview with Citi News that the party will continue to push for the withdrawal of the Plant Breeders Bill from Parliament.
“We have been fighting for the independence of this nation and now we are fighting for the sovereignty of our seeds and our foods and also to allow the farmers to use the right seeds to feed our citizens,” he stated.
On his part, the Communications Director of the Food Sovereignty Ghana, Kweku Andoh Baffour reiterated the group’s pledge to fight against the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill.
He however denied that the protest was contemptuous to an ongoing case in court where they are seeking an order to prevent government or any state institution to create and promote the usage of genetically modified seeds.
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By: Franklin Badu Jnr/citifmonline.com/Ghana