Africa
March 13, 2007Top of the
agenda for world leaders today is the alleviation of poverty and
hunger, with the goal to cut poverty 50% by 2015. However, as
Prof. Diran Makinde,
from the School of Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry
of the University of Venda in South Africa, pointed out in his
presentation to Biovision, ten years after the 1996 World Food
Summit, which promised to reduce the number of undernourished
people by half by 2015, there are more hungry people in 2006
than there were in 1996. Prof. Makinde called for new approaches
to ensure sustainable food production in developing countries;
especially in Africa because the majority of least developed
countries are in Africa.
Biovision heard that the estimated overall global economic
benefit of GM crops from 1996-2004, amounted to $27 billion, and
that 90% of the farmers benefiting from this are resource-poor,
small-scale farmers. GM crops have directly contributed to the
alleviation of poverty for some 7.7 million farmers.
Makinde referred to a study carried out in South Africa in 2002
in which Bt maize and Bt cotton were compared to non-Bt crop
varieties and the Bt varieties, in both cases, were found to
produce a higher yield and generate more profits. Two farmers
using the technology in South Africa further substantiated these
findings, Mr. Motlatsi Musi, a small-scale farmer in
Olifantsvlei, South Africa said “I plant Bt maize because it has
increased my yield and my income. I earn R3000.00 [$430.00] more
from a Bt crop than from a non-Bt crop”. Ms. Thandiwe Myeni, a
small-scale farmer from Makhatini Flats, South Africa has been
planting Bt cotton since 1999 and said “I get more than double
yield per hectare from my Bt cotton than from my non-Bt cotton
and I am also saving on pesticides by spraying only twice before
harvest for Bt cotton, but weekly on my non-Bt cotton”.
GM crops are so useful to farmers because they can be engineered
to be resistant to diseases and pests and to have increases
nutritional value, ‘Golden Rice’, rice enriched with vitamin A,
is an example of this. Most importantly though, is the
development and commercialisation of drought-tolerant crops,
Makinde said drought-tolerant maize has just been approved to
undergo field trials in South Africa and in the next 2 to 3
years drought resistant wheat could be ready for
commercialisation in Egypt. The list of benefits doesn’t end
there, GM crops are also beneficial to the environment, reducing
pesticide use for the period 1996 to 2004 by an estimated 172
500 MT, and advances in biotechnology are making it possible to
genetically enhance plants to produce pharmaceuticals and
vaccines.
Makinde questioned the EU’s stance on GM crops asking why, in
light of all the aforementioned benefits, they have adopted a
‘go-slow’ approach? Present EU policies and perceptions make
R&D, product development and commercialisation in agricultural
biotechnology difficult, especially in developing countries that
engage in agricultural trade with the EU. European consumers
generally perceive GM foods to be ‘contaminated’ and therefore
developing countries that are dependent on the markets in Europe
do not wish to grow them and are losing out on vast
socio-economic benefits. There are also issues regarding the
strict traceability requirements specified in the EU
regulations, which most developing countries will find difficult
and costly to implement and are unlikely to measure up to.
Makinde concluded in his Biovision presentation by noting that
although EU policy has been developed to protect European
consumers and the environment from potential dangers, after a
decade of use, there have been no cases of GM crops being
harmful to human health or the environment. Therefore, there is
a considerable imbalance between the hypothetical benefits of
non-adoption afforded by the EU policy for its own citizens, and
the real and substantial benefits that could be afforded to
developing countries. The EU has not taken into account the
negative effect that its policies and attitudes are likely to
have on those working in the agricultural sector in developing
countries.
AfricaBio is a
non-political, non-profit biotechnology association for the
safe, ethical and responsible research, development and
application of biotechnology and its products. The Association
also serves as a forum for informed dialogue on biotechnological
issues in Africa. |
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