The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has condemned the Government of Ghana’s interest in approving the commercialization of 14 novel Genetically Modified (GM) products, comprising eight (8) maize and six (6) soya bean products.

This follows the release of the GM cowpea in 2022 which was also done on the blind side of farmers and Ghanaian consumers.

In a statement issued by the President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Wepia Addo Awal Adugwala stated that contrary to assertions that these crops require minimum chemical treatments, evidence from other parts of the world (USA, Argentina, and South Africa among others indicate that farmers will be saddled with the increased cost of seeds.

“The consequences of this approval are dire and mark the beginning of the loss of Ghana’s control of our own indigenous agricultural system, leaving it in the hands and control of powerful multinationals, who can decide and dictate the pace of our food system," he said.

"The experiences of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine crises on food nationalism and protectionism should have given our leaders a hint of not sacrificing the control of a country’s production system, particularly seeds, into the hands of multi-nationals. We will gradually lose our own indigenous foods and seed varieties, while comprising our public health, through the production and consumption of these deadly foods,” he stated.