In this article from Panos Online, author Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka asks delegates at the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Curitiba, Brazil, what they plan to do to spread awareness across Africa about the potential uses and risks to health and the environment of genetically modified (GM) crops, also classified as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

According to Bifubyeka, while discussion in Curitiba focused on GMOs, farmers in Africa, unaware of the controversy surrounding GMOs, said they wouldn’t mind testing out GM crops if they could increase farm yields. The author raises the question: Who should inform the public about issues surrounding GMO?

Under the CBD’s Bio Safety Protocol, all governments and supporting organisations are encouraged to share information on GMOs. A special mechanism called the Biosafety Clearing House runs an online Biosafety Information Resource Centre – it includes a roster of experts and links to various websites – to inform governments about managing the risks associated with GMOs. Considering that this information is available, Bifubyeka then asks African delegates about various governments and their roles in the debate on GMOs and in information dissemination.

Delegates interviewed at the CBD described differences in government policies and responses. Dr David L N Hafashimana, from Uganda, said that his government works with the National Biosafety Committee and Farmers’ Federation as well as other committees, consumer groups, and the media and expects them to pass on any information to farmers. He raised the issue that his department is understaffed and under funded, hampering information dissemination.

Dr Abou Namadou Toure of Senegal acknowledged that farmers in Senegal don’t know about GMOs and hoped that the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and indigenous groups that attended the CBD meetings would pass on information to the farmers. He said the Senegalese government itself does not disseminate information on biodiversity.

Soumayila B Bance of Burkina Faso said that, though not all farmers in his country know about GMOs, the government has been discussing GMOs and now has rules governing their introduction, including taking a precautionary approach. He said that the environment and agriculture ministers, along with NGOs, organise meetings with farmers’ representatives to educate them about GMOs.

Bifubyeka looks at NGOs' stances and strategies. The Africa regional NGO coordinator from Zimbabwe, Dr Joe N Mushanga, said that NGO staff with technical expertise talks to farmers about GMOs in his country. Teresiah Ng'ang'a, programme officer at a Kenyan NGO called Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PLUM), said her organisation tries to spread awareness among farmers through the radio - especially in local languages - as well as a video play in Swahili in which a group of farmers act out the roles to show other farmers the impact of GMOs on their livelihoods. The author points out that online internet information is generally inaccessible to farmers.

The report concludes with advice from Brazilians attending the CBD, including: a need to generate global awareness and information through the spread of education and mobilisation worldwide. The provisions made by the CBD for information, communication and awareness about biodiversity and GM topics, according to the author, present communication challenges in reaching African farmers and involving them in an inclusive debate about decisions that ultimately affect them.