NOTE: Things seem even more shambolic than usual on the GM front in Africa at the moment - see: Monsanto GM-corn harvest fails massively in South Africa
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/270101
The particular shambles reported in the following article involves the GM banana research taking place at Kawanda National Agricultural Research laboratories in Uganda.
This research project, overseen by Dr Andrew Kiggundu, was lauded as a success in the BBC Horizon TV programme, 'Jimmy's GM food fight', last December, even though African Science News Service had already reported the project's failure the previous June!
http://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=2003
http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=487& Itemid=2
EXTRACTS: Sunday Monitor was told that the leakage was caused by casual labourers who now essentially conduct most of field monitoring work because the scientists are "busy attending workshops".
"There is a per diem fever here. The scientists are more interested in chasing sitting allowances [payments for attending meetings, seminars, workshops etc.] than doing their work," a source noted.
Dr Kiggundu declined to comment when contacted, saying as he was attending a meeting in Kampala.
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Biosafety leak feared at Kawanda research station
Kikonyogo Ngatya
Sunday Monitor, March 29 2009
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/sun_news/Biosafety_leak_feared_at_Kawand a_research_station_82252.shtml
Kampala (Uganda)
Uganda has violated an international environment convention that prohibits the leaking of confined live Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the environment, a Sunday Monitor investigation has uncovered.
The leak of potentially hazardous bio-waste is being blamed on careless disposal practices by scientists at the National Agricultural Research Laboratory (NARL) in Kawanda, Wakiso District. The scientists disposed of parts of GMO banana bunches that were still under investigation into the open environment contrary to international regulations.
Birds, cats, rats and other living organisms have been seen on the dumping site, feeding and exposed to the GMOs, whose risk level has still not yet been ascertained as per the requirement of the World Health Oragnisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture (FAO) recommended Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety guidelines.
The immediate risk is possible environmental contamination with unknown implications for Uganda's banana crop -- if one of the banana suckers was illegally moved out of the institute and planted.
The protocol to which Uganda is a signatory is part of the International Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Protocol to the CBD seeks to contribute to the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms - such as genetically engineered plants, animals, and microbes - that cross international borders.
The Biosafety protocol is also intended to avoid adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity without unnecessarily disrupting world food trade.
Sunday Monitor has reliably established that the scientists burnt the GMO banana bunches and stems in an open air pit, despite having two incinerators at the site that should ordinarily have been used as prescribed under the guidelines.
The building of the incinerators at the site was a precondition to being granted a license to undertake the research.
Sunday Monitor was told that the leakage was caused by casual labourers who now essentially conduct most of field monitoring work because the scientists are "busy attending workshops".
"There is a per diem fever here. The scientists are more interested in chasing sitting allowances than doing their work," a source noted.
Dr Ambrose Agona, the NARL head and Dr Opolot Okasaai, the Director of Crop Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture said they were shocked by the findings.
When asked whether the materials are supposed to be burnt or buried, Dr Agona said, "No, no, that's not the procedure. It is supposed to be carefully incinerated."
He said he will raise the matter with the biotechnology supervisor, Dr Andrew Kiggundu, who is directly in charge of the confinement facility.
Dr Okasaai said he was going to direct an investigation on the leakage. "Our fear is the GMO bananas getting into wrong hands," he said.
He said all live GMOs must first be researched before being released into the community.
He, however, sought to downplay the possible consequences, saying: "For vegetatively propagated plants like bananas, the threat is getting established without our knowledge. But for seed propagated crops, there would be a risk of pollen crossing into other varieties".
He said the ministry was working with the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology to strengthen the capacity of the National Biosafety Committee, whose work is to enforce and monitor biosafety standards as per international biological conventions.
Dr Kiggundu declined to comment when contacted, saying as he was attending a meeting in Kampala.