THERE was a piece of good news that came the way of the country’s science community recently. The good news was that the Supreme Court (SC) has granted the petition of a non-governmental organization (NGO) composed of members of the academe and research institutions to intervene and have the voices of its members heard by the High Court.

This positive development came after a series of setbacks suffered by the country’s science community in the hands of the powerful European pressure group Greenpeace. The Amsterdam-based group, it will be recalled, has long declared an open war against our scientists in a bid to prevent the latter from using modern agriculture biotechnology to develop pest-resistant, pesticide-free crop varieties.