By Alex Abutu, Communications Consultant, NBMA
The Agri-biotechnology and Biosafety Communication (ABBC) Symposium opened in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 18, 2017. While opening the Symposium, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, Ugandan Minister of Science and Technology called for an African wide network of regulators to allay the fears of policymakers and citizens on the deployment of GMOs.
The minister, an advocate for science, noted that a well coordinated network of regulators from the various countries would be best suited to advice governments and policy makers on GMOs. Hon. Tumwesigye added that the envisaged network would also serve the continent as a repository for addressing issues of risk management as it relates to GMOs, as well as, counter the misconception and misinformation spread by anti-biotech groups.
“Most of the set backs being experienced across the continent, regarding the uptake of the technology, are baseless and misconceived. Communication is therefore vital in our efforts to promote biotechnology as one of the tools for addressing the mirage of challenges facing us,” he added. He said that government recognises efforts of the national scientists in the agricultural sector especially as it concerns addressing challenges being faced by farmers in the country.
Addressing the symposium, Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center, in a keynote presentation entitled Communicating Biosafety and Biotechnology: Balancing our Act, questioned the level of public participation in the biosafety regulatory process as contained in national laws of most countries. “The advert in the newspaper alerting the public about an application or a release is not enough; regulators need to do more in communicating their activities and process to the public.”
According to her, the resistance to GM uptake and utilization in Africa is beclouded by the absence of a sustained communication strategy that also takes into consideration how the media operates, and what issues interest the public. “Scientists must learn how to acknowledge risk while also talking about mitigation strategies put in place to address perceived risk.”
She also used the opportunity to clear the air on the silent tussle on whether we communicate biosafety strictly, or combine it with biotechnology by saying that you cannot communicate biosafety without communicating biotechnology.
Dr. Maha noted that the public’s resistance to GMOs continues to increase mainly because they see nothing for themselves in what the scientists are saying, therefore it rests on the scientists to answer the question,’what is in it for me?’. She also cautioned over reliance of Europe on decision-making, by African policy makers, adding that adoption of GMOs in Europe is about a lifestyle, while in Africa it is about livelihood and putting food on the table.
In a remark, Dr. Judith Chambers, Director, Program for Biosafety Systems, stressed the need for an effective communications strategy, stating that its effectiveness rests on the credibility of scientists and their ability to reach the hearts and minds of different stakeholders.
The symposium, which attracted over 120 participants from 22 countries, aimed to advance innovative strategies for communicating biosafety concepts, processes and decisions.