Brussels, Belgium
April 15, 2008
In maintaining its commitment to
identifying solutions to alleviating hunger and poverty,
CropLife International
continues to refuse to endorse a report called the
International Assessment
of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
(IAASTD) because of its failure to recognize the role modern
plant sciences, including plant biotechnology and crop
protection, can play in increasing agricultural crop
productivity. The IAASTD Report[1] is the culmination of a
three-year project that set out to evaluate the effectiveness of
different technologies to reduce hunger, improve nutrition,
health, and sustainability.
“Our industry remains committed to the original goals of the
IAASTD project — to help alleviate hunger and poverty. When the
IAASTD project was launched, we contributed funding and hoped
that the report would provide a comprehensive and balanced
review of all available agricultural technologies, including
crop protection and plant biotechnology along with recognizing
the need for improving infrastructure and government policies to
encourage agricultural productivity in developing countries,”
said Howard Minigh, president and CEO of CropLife International.
“With all the benefits farmers have enjoyed in developed
countries from plant sciences in the last several decades, it
would seem only logical to consider transferring these proven
technologies to resource-poor farmers. It’s disappointing that a
project with so much potential has fallen so short of its goals
and will not be helpful to policy makers.”
Other respected organizations, including the
Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Public
Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI) have independently
reached similar conclusions and expressed dissatisfaction with
the report.
The World Bank estimates that 33 countries around the world face
potential social unrest because of the acute increase in food
and energy prices. CropLife strongly agrees that by working with
various stakeholders, the private sector can offer access to
technology and science to boost crop yields sustainably.
Abating hunger is a key priority for the plant science industry,
which understands that increasing agricultural productivity is
an important component in addressing food insecurity. Modern
plant sciences can increase crop quality and productivity in
order to meet a growing world demand for food, fiber, and fuel.
Increasing productivity on currently farmed land is the only way
to effectively meet this challenge without plowing under much
more land. Modern technology, including crop protection
products, hybrid seeds, and biotech crops have supported
increased crop yields in developing countries. This was
reiterated in the World Development Report 2008 on Agriculture
for Development,[2] which recognized that “science and
technological innovation are critical for the
agriculture-for-development agenda to succeed.” The Report also
acknowledged the potential plant biotechnology has on impacting
many areas of agriculture, including crop and animal
productivity, environmental sustainability, and consumer traits
important to the poor.
Developing countries facing food insecurity stand to benefit the
most from plant science technologies. Today, more than 11
million resource-poor farmers in developing countries are
growing biotech crops. The International Service for the
Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) believes the
increased farmer income from biotech crops will contribute to
the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by 50
percent by 2015.
Both the President of the World Bank and the Director General of
the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
have recognized the need for a “Green Revolution” for Africa,
including access to science and technology. The private sector
is an essential partner to help make this happen. Technology
providers have long worked with research teams and institutions
in developing regions to identify solutions to regional
agricultural challenges, such as drought, diseases, and local
pests. Most recently, in March 2008, two CropLife member
companies announced collaboration with the African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF) and the International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to provide technology to
develop drought-tolerant corn. The project is funded by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett
Foundation.
“For the last 50 years, farmers worldwide have benefitted
greatly from the use of crop protection products, hybrid crops,
and more recently plant biotechnology. We hope that policy
makers recognize this and will not be misled by the IAASTD
report,” said Minigh. “Farmers across the globe should have the
opportunity to access the best agricultural technologies
available, and should have the choice to use the tools that best
fit their farming practices.”
For additional background information on the potential of modern
plant sciences,
click here
to
view “The Next Generation ‘Green Revolution.”
[1] A copy of the full IAASTD report, being presented at the
plenary meeting in Johannesburg, can be found online at
http://www.agassessment.org/index.cfm?Page=Plenary&ItemID=2713.
[2] The
World Development Report 2008 on Agriculture for Development
was published in October 2007 and calls for greater investment
in agriculture in developing countries. |
|
