OFAB Assures the Elderly Who Have Concerns On GMO Food
Some of the Rwandan senior citizens have raised concerns on the life of their children and grandchildren whose life expectancy could be affected negatively by the food with Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs).
Some of these people think that GMO “is nothing else but food poison.”
Such worries were expressed by several elderly people like Venantie BAMURANGE 90 from Mwendo Sector, Gafunzo Cell in Ruhango district.
She said her secret to long life is all about food. She said :
“I think I am close to 100 years of age, but you, how will you make it to even 70 years if you are eating that spoiled food where several stuff are added in the name of increasing the harvest’’?
“This technology in agriculture will finish you.”
Bamurange said, that her food has always been indigenous vegetables commonly known as Imbwija that grow in banana plantations.
“We would cook beans and put our favorite imbwija vegetables and then take them with either sweet potatoes or cassava,” she said.
“Forget about chemical fertilizers; ours was manure from cows.”
When she compares life today and then, Bamurange suggests that “the youth are not eating health food, reason why they are vulnerable to disease. In our time, traditional medicine was effective and could deal with any disease, just.”
She suggests that the young ones “will earn money, but will not be health.”
Bamurange’s neighbor, Deogratias GATABAZI of 95 years old, said :” If we lived much longer than our neighbors here, is because we ate healthy food, drunk good milk on top of quality traditional banana and sorghum brew.”
“At this age, I am able to walk, I have all my teeth, but you children have a problem because you are not eating quality food,” he said.
“Imagine eating a chicken that grew within one week. By promoting this, the government is pursuing economic targets but does not look at health implications.”
Health implications of GMO food is also subject to controversies among the educated community. Some people suggest that GMO is an agenda of the super powers, and the countries of third world have nothing to do, but to heed.
“They also know that GMO is not healthy food, reason why when they come here, they run after organic food,” said one of our sources on condition of anonymity.
In front of these concerns, the coordinator of OFAB, a farmers’ platform Pacifique NSHIMIYIMANA assured the general public in general and the elderly in particular, that the GMO food is safe according to past experiences in other countries that adopted them before.
“Our platform has several branches in other countries and they have been operation since 2020. There has been no challenge in regard to GMOs,” he said.
According to NSHIMIYIMANA, GMO technology has delivered many benefits to farmers in that it increases production and thus, gives return on investment.
He further said, that the technology is not unique to agriculture since, it also serves in other sectors, like health in vaccines, and many others.
“We are thankful because in Rwanda, people have freedom to use it, and it has got no harm, it’s only a matter of mindset,” NSHIMIYIMANA said.
For those who express worries around GMO, figures can show that health expectancy is dependent of several factors.
In this era where GMO applies, health expectancy in Rwanda is rather improving.
It was of 29 years in 1989, but it has reached 69.6 years now.
While on average, the life expectancy in the world is 73.4 years, in Africa Rwanda ranks number 9 among the countries where people live longer.
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