Experts estimate that about 795 million people or every ninth person is undernourished with the majority living in developing countries and rural areas.

This is a result of food shortage arising from challenges including climate challenge leading to prolonged dry spells, pests and diseases and erratic rainfalls causing flooding.

All this are disastrous to the agricultural sector causing crop failure, death of animals and poultry among others including spread of human diseases among the population

Background

There are new existing and emerging technologies scientists are coming up with to help address dimensions of food security as well as health challenges humans are faced with.

A case in point is application of genetic modification, methods for improving soil fertility and irrigation technologies that can increase food availability.

Others are bio fortification which can be used to improve food nutrition and climate-smart solutions anchored in science, technology and innovation (STI) including the use of precision agriculture and early warning systems as a measure to mitigate food instability

New and emerging technologies, including synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and tissue engineering may have potential implications for the future of crop and livestock agriculture.

However, harnessing the potential of such technologies for food security requires investments in research and development, human capital, infrastructure and knowledge flows.

Creating an environment for agricultural innovation also benefits from an enabling environment, gender-sensitive approaches to technology development and dissemination, regional and international collaboration and technology foresight and assessment for agricultural innovations.

While in the health science applications such as gene therapy for treating complicated diseases such as sickle cell are now coming on board and scientists in developing countries in Africa and Uganda in Particular are now embracing it.

Gene therapy and regenerative medicine can become powerful strategies for treating incurable diseases. Gene delivery systems which are technologies for delivering therapeutic genes and expressing them in human cells are critical for realizing these advanced medicines.

However for scientists across the globe to use these upcoming science technologies, they need a law in place to regulate them.

A good number of countries have formulated such laws and guidelines that can help the scientists when carrying out research to come up with products using these technologies which is not the case for Uganda.

One such lapse of a legal framework is a biosafety law which is a requirement in regulating genetically modified organisms which Ugandan legislators have been dragging since 2012.

The GERA law

Lawyers from Attorney General’s office in 2012 drafted a GMO law with the help of agricultural scientists and interested stakeholders to regulate release of GMO products in the agricultural sector to farmers in the country.

The law which tackled advanced technology mainly in the agriculture sector has been passed twice but the President of the Country failed to ascend to it.

The law otherwise known as the Genetic Engineering Regulatory Act (GERA) seeks to provide a regulatory framework that facilitates the safe development and application of biotechnology, research, development and release of genetically modified organisms for commercialization.

Ugandan scientists in the agricultural sector have so far concluded research work on GM crops which include cassava resistant to mosaic virus and cassava brown streak virus, banana rich in vitamin A and Iron, Banana resistant to banana bacterial wilt and black sigatoka, GM Irish Potato resistant to bacterial blight, GM maize tolerant to drought and resistant to maize stalk borer.

These products are ready for release but due to lack of law, they scientists are keeping their traits in the labs and confined field trials.

In August 2019, the Head of State declined to assent to the bill for the second time but instead introduced new clauses that needed to be addressed by Parliament before he could sign it.

President Museveni has on several occasions emphasized the critical role of modern biotechnology in ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security for the country's over 40 million people.

But GMO activists infiltrated Uganda’s advancement in application of modern biotechnology in the agricultural sector.

However the head of state has now realized the importance of the law since health scientists have come on board seeking for inclusion of clauses that would guide them when conducting research using advanced technologies in the medical sector.

In recently concluded biosafety law conference in Kampala convened by the National Council of Science and Technology, agricultural scientists and health scientists expressed the need for the GERA law to be passed with amendments to include clauses that will guide health scientists when conducting research to help solve some of the health challenges Ugandans are faced with.

Health sector advanced technologies

Dr Sissy Kityo from Joint Clinical Research Centre who presented a paper on the involvement of Ugandan scientists in carrying out research using gene therapy technology to come up with solutions in solving challenges of diseases such as sickle cell noted that it is an error where the scientific community must engage in innovative research work in order to come up with products that can be commercialized.

“At one point economies in the world were driven by Biofuels and now the world is saying we should get rid of it because modern science, technology and innovations is the way to go since it deals with solving challenges of humanity. This is the reason we are asking the ministry of science, technology and innovations to prioritize the pathogen economy in order for scientists to come up with solutions to solve challenges Ugandans are faced with regarding their health,” she noted.

She noted that it is only prudent for health scientists to apply these advanced technologies in their research in order to produce vaccines, drugs and treating therapeutic challenges for some diseases which have proved untreatable.

According to her some diseases such as sickle cell require genetic solutions and these can be done through gene editing, gene therapy but it is important to have regulations in place for scientists to follow the required guidelines otherwise scientists with evil minds can infiltrate the research process to come up with unwanted solutions.

The scientists are now suggesting the scientific team to amend the current GERA law in order to come up with a concrete law that will regulate STI process in the country.  

The political support

This move comes in handy after the president gave the clearance indication that he is ready to sign the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill into law.

He directed the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) caucus to convene a meeting and resolve the impasse that has stalled the passing of the bill into law.

Speaking during the Presidential Investment Round Table at State House in 2020, President Yoweri Museveni accused groups opposed to the bill saying they harbor anti-science attitudes and use religion as a pretext to their resistance against advanced science.

The move will definitely be hailed by Ugandan farmers who have now to sit and watch as their neighboring Kenyan farmers, enjoy the benefits of cultivating biotech cotton and cassava recently approved by the Kenyan government.

If the Gera law is passed this will pave way for both agriculture and health scientists to carry out research using advanced technologies to come up with products which can be dispatched to the beneficiary population.