Scientists in Ghana are urging the public to support the plant breeder's
bill. This was shared at a science workshop for journalists held on August
17, 2014 in Kumasi, Northern Ghana. Dr. Stephen Amoah, a research scientist
of the Crop Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) described the Plant Breeders Bill currently
before Cabinet as a positive development. "The Bill will help address the
interests of plant breeders as well as promote agricultural productivity in
Ghana," he said.

Debunking the allegations from certain quarters that the Breeders' Bill,
when passed, would give the giant seed companies' monopoly over seeds and
denying farmers of affordable seeds, Dr. Amoah explained that the Bill would
provide the legal framework for breeders' investment and efforts to be
recognized and necessary royalties paid to them. "The Bill, when passed into
law will provide an incentive to stimulate new breeding initiatives that
will focus on national development, provide a basis for innovative and
effective breeding work at domestic level and foster partnerships between
the private and public breeding sectors," he added.

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr. Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of CRI,
explained that the main objective of the bill was to establish a legal
framework to acknowledge the achievements of breeders of new varieties. "CRI
stands to benefit, and have demonstrated their potential to benefit from the
system, adding that, "The same can be said for other agricultural research
institutes both in the private and public sectors. He noted that the bill
promotes the breeding of new varieties of plants, aimed at improving the
quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel fiber and raw materials for
industry and will encourage investment in plant breeding and promote the
seed industry.

The workshop was attended by 26 journalists from Ashanti, Brong Ahafo,
Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. It was organized by the Program
for Biosafety Systems, in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research, The International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise of
NEPAD and Africa Harvest. The training aimed at equipping journalists with
right information on biosafety and biotechnology issues.

www.isaaa.org