BENEFITS, COSTS, AND PERCEPTIONS OF A FUNGUS-RESISTANT BANANA 105


also increase adoption rates, as farmers may not immediately notice the benefi- cial effect of a single trait. Although GM bananas look promising for large-scale (mass clonal)


multi plication and dissemination, empirical evidence of the success of such organisms is still limited. Long-term multiplication of micropropagated (tissue-cultured) plants, for example, may lead to epigenetic4 (somaclonal) variations. Additionally, genetic uniformity in a trait intensifies the probabil- ity of mutations in the targeted pest or disease that overcome resistance and increase epidemic vulnerability. These two aspects raise questions about the clonal fidelity of offspring plants and their genetic stability, both affecting eco- nomic benefits of GM banana varieties. In this context biosafety measures to monitor, evaluate, and mitigate effects of such occurrences become critical for the appropriate deployment of the technology in Uganda. Despite these possible effects on the persistence of economic benefits of


a GM banana, it is important to note that throughout the chapter we assume the GM banana has been proven safe for human health and the environment according to standard safety assessments.


Biosafety Regulations in Uganda


Uganda is among the few African countries that have invested in agricultural GM crop R&D and have initiated procedures for confined field trials to evalu- ate GM technologies (Atanassov et al. 2004).5 The country has taken signifi- cant steps to ensure safety in biotechnology application (Nampala, Mugoya, and Ssengooba 2005). Biosafety regulations and, to a degree, biotechnol- ogy developments in Uganda are governed in the context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (GOU 2002b, 2004). Uganda signed the protocol in May 2000 and ratified it in November 2001 (GOU 2004; Wafula and Clark 2005).UNCST is the institution responsible for implementation of the bio- safety protocol and is the protocol’s designated competent authority. UNCST


4 Epigenetic changes are changes that do not affect the DNA sequence of genes but change the gene in other ways. These changes may be induced spontaneously in response to environmental factors or to the presence of a particular allele, even if it is absent from subsequent generations. Modgil et al. (2005) note that the in vitro process, length of in vitro culture, and in vitro stress stemming from unnatural and nutritional conditions are some of the factors believed to induce epigenetic changes.


5 The GM banana field trials were approved by the National Biosafety Committee and have been established at Kawanda by NARO. Note that Uganda now joins the other five African coun- tries that have conducted confined field trials of GM crops: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Of those, only Burkina Faso, Egypt, and South Africa have approved crops for commercialization.


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