Topic: 2024-GMOs and Food Security
Country: Senegal
Delegate Name: Caitlyn Leahy
Country: Republic of Senegal
Committee: Food and Agriculture Organization
Topic: GMOs and Food Security
Delegate: Caitlyn Leahy
School: Williamston High School
Widespread poverty and food insecurity are one of the most pressing issues in the world. One of the United Nations’ development goals is to end hunger and malnutrition, which is why the Food and Agriculture Organization sub-committee was created. Today, 37.9 million people live under the poverty line and have difficult access to nutritious food, as well as an estimated 828 million people who are malnourished. Areas with little access to resources and healthy food include regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as countries plagued by violence like Hati and Yemen. A new and hopeful solution to widespread hunger is genetically modified organisms that can help farmers produce more food and persist through challenges posed to traditional farming. Using GMO seeds for agriculture in these areas significantly increases the production of crops and the overall amount of food in an area.
Because of this,Senegal has implemented new laws to allow the use of genetically engineered seeds in their agriculture. The rural areas of Senegal are one of the hungriest, which causes 17% of children under the age of five to be chronically malnourished. This is because of intergenerational poverty and the young age of mothers in these areas. GMO farms will hopefully cause this cycle to end by making food more available to mothers and children. 90% of biotech farms are in underdeveloped nations as a solution to many climate and land related threats that can destroy a community’s access to healthy food. Senegal’s government implemented a 2009 policy that discouraged the use of GMOs and the use of other biologically enhanced techniques, but a 2022 law nullified these restrictions on genetically altered crops. The new law does have many of its own restrictions involving international trade partners and criminal charges. GMOs are controversial as many believe that it is inappropriate for the small-scale farming culture of Senegal and there is little research in this area.
The Republic of Senegal believes that more research should be implemented regarding how effective GMOs are on overall hunger and on how GMOs affect subsistence farming. Senegal supports using UN programmes to help fund easier access to some GMO seeds and funding for food banks in rural areas where surplus GMO crops would go to feed the community. To address the controversy of GMOs, Senegal proposes a labelling mandate for all products created using genetically modified crops, so consumers can choose if they do not want to purchase these goods. Senegal also believes that keeping regulatory government organizations well-funded would be one of the most pressing challenges of using GMOs. The Republic of Senegal expects to find allies with its neighboring countries that are open-minded to using genetically modified food as a solution to hunger.
