An agricultural advocacy group, Food Sovereignty Ghana is celebrating a High Court order to government to stop plans to commercialize Genetically Modified (GM)  products which they believe will be an agricultural disaster for Ghana.

Presiding judge of the Accra Fast Track court Anthony Kwadwo Yeboah ordered that agencies under the Agriculture Ministry  should hold on the GMO plans while the court determine the case brought by FSG.

FSG's position is that a Biosafety Authority described by law to be established to regulate the production of GM foods does not exist.

Allowing the agencies such as Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) to go ahead with testing the large scale production of cowpea, rice and maize using GM technology would be against the law, Joy FM's Kwakye Afreh Nuamah is reporting.

The Biosafety Act passed in 2011 mandates the establishment of the Biosafety Authority which effectively neutralises a 2007 Legislative Instrument which sets up a Biosafety committee.

FSG abhors the introduction of GM foods and has been aggressive in campaigning against it. The group is convinced that Ghana’s food security is endangered if it has to depend on multinational companies to produce seeds for local farmers.

The advocacy group is also in court to stop CSIR from ever testing, approving and commercializing GM seeds.

They also contend that GM seeds and foods destroy the ability of farmers to use natural seeds. They have cited evidence to suggest that GM foods create and cause strange diseases, lower fertility and can cause extensive damage to consumers.