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Harvard researcher roots for agricultural biotechnology
Prof. Calestous Juma, a respected Kenyan researcher – currently based at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard - wants the G8 Summit, taking place in Japan, to explore how biotechnology can become an effective tool in enhancing food sustainability in Africa.
Juma, in an article in the Japan Times, argues that investment in agricultural biotechnology in Africa by rich countries can play an instrumental role in alleviating poverty that continues to afflict the continent.
“The G8 summit should encourage Africa and its partners to design new models of cooperation that involve partnerships between government, industry and academia,” Juma advices.
This is not the first time Prof. Juma has called for massive investments in agricultural biotechnology. In January, 2007, Prof. Juma called on African leaders to invest heavily in agricultural biotechnology.
Prof. Juma can’t be so right on the potential of agricultural biotechnology in solving Africa’s food o, when he says agricultural biotechnology has potential to change the fortunes of the African continent for the better, Prof. Juma can’t be said to be pampering to special interests. His is not a roadside pronouncement such as the ones that come from activist groups both supporting and opposing genetically modified foods.
To preempt the often-repeated line that biotech corporations’ sole motivation for developing GM crops is profit, Prof. Juma, in his article, has proposed that African scientists develop royalty-free GM crops that’ll satisfy local needs. Scientists here will identify crops that stand to benefit local communities and genetically engineer them. This is a fantastic idea because such crops will be affordable and accessible to local farmers. This approach will also go a long way in defeating propagandists who argue that GM crops are a ruse by select biotech corporations to dominate global agriculture and deny the world of organic food. (By the way, you need to watch this video that compares people’s attitude toward GMOs and organic foods.)
It’s worth noting that since the commercialization of the first genetically modified crop in 2005, there has been a swirling debate on whether small-scale farmers, especially in Africa, stand to gain from GM crops. Organizations such as the Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth claim that GM farming is for large-scale farmers in such countries such as the U.S., Canada, Spain and China.
Prof. Juma, in advocating for agricultural biotechnology for Africa, believes they can benefit small-scale farmers, and that’s why he’d like more engagement in their development by rich countries. (Read my earlier post on this issue).
G8 countries now need to listen to Prof. Juma. Some of them seem still fixated with food aid as the best solution to solving Africa’s food problems. Food aid will never solve Africa’s food problems. More sustainable strategies, like ones Prof. Juma is proposing, are what Africa needs.
How research can help solve global food crisis
Source: EurActiv.com
Date: July 3, 2008
Guy Riba, the deputy director of the French national institute for agricultural research (INRA), highlights the many challenges the world will have to meet by 2050 if it wants to feed its nine-billion inhabitants without destroying its environment. He spoke to EurActiv ahead of a major conference by the French Presidency today (3 July) in Parliament. Read more….
GM will not solve current food crisis, says industry boss
Source: Guardian
Date: July 3, 2008
Genetically modified crops will not solve the current food crisis, according to the head of one of the world’s largest agricultural biotechnology companies.
Martin Taylor, chairman of Syngenta, said the current industry focus on farmers in rich countries meant it would take 20 years to launch crop varieties designed to address the problems of the developing world. He told the Guardian: “GM won’t solve the food crisis, at least not in the short term.” Read more….
Malawi govt. okays research into genetically modified crops
Source: Afriquenligne
Date: July 1, 2008
Malawi has finally opened its doors to genetically modified crops (GMOs) despite fears still lingering among consumer rights groups. Read more….
Breakthrough in plant medicine production at Wageningen UR
Source: Seed Quest
Date: June 30, 2008
A research team including scientists from Plant Research International and Wageningen University has succeeded in further unravelling and manipulating the glycosylation of proteins in plants. This is the result of the research* soon to be published in the renowned scientific magazine The Plant Cell.
Farmers praise GM crops in EU study
Source: The Independent
Date: June 30, 2008
European farmers who grow genetically modified crops enjoy higher yields and revenues than conventional growers, according to a new study. Read more….
Africa should invest in GMOs for small farmers
Source: SciDev.net
Date: June 26, 2008
Africa needs a Green Revolution based on public investment in agricultural science and technology, including local research into genetically engineered crops, says Robert Paarlberg, in the Harvard International Review. Read more….
Another study debunks GMOs and bees disappearance link myth
There have been numerous unsubstantiated media reports linking genetically modified (GM) crops to the disappearance of bees. The episode has come to be known as colony collapse disorder (CCD).
Before theories linking CCD to GM crops started swirling around, the National Geographic magazine ran an article entitled Mystery Bee Disappearances Sweeping U.S. The article is authoritative because it quoted known entomologists such as Maryann Frazier of Penn State University.
The article recalls that CCD dates back to 1896, not 1995 when the first genetically modified crop was commercialized. As to possible causes of CCD, the experts quoted in this article suspect that mites and poor management could’ve become virulent to the bees, and hence their disappearance.
Last week, I bumped onto an article entitled GMO Studies Fail to Produce Definitive Answers. The article reports a study, by Swiss’s Federal Environment Office experts, that found GM crops have nothing to do with bees’ disappearance. Actually, it went a step further to discount reports that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have negative impact on worms, snails or fly larvae.
This report only reinforces findings contained in another study reported in the journal Science in September 2007. The study found that “…the production of specific insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in crops to control targeted caterpillar pests and beetles does not pose a risk to honeybees.” I recall commenting on this article early this year. It’s encouraging more studies about this phenomenon are being done. They’re necessary because they’re shedding more light on this issue.
Nestlé asks EU to soften line on GM
Source: Financial Times
Date: June 23, 2008
The world’s biggest food company has called on European policymakers to reconsider their opposition to genetically modified crops, as soaring commodity prices put basic foodstuffs such as wheat and rice out of reach of the world’s poorest. Read more….
Biotech Wheat to Ease World Food Shortage
Source: News by Us
Date: June 23, 2008
In the midst of the worst global grain shortage in decades, two lines of Australian biotech wheat have out-yielded current wheats by 20 percent - even under drought stress. Read more….
