Abstract
Bioprocess engineering today has made tremendous discoveries principally aimed at improving the overall quality of living of any society. Significant of these discoveries is the cultivation of genetically modified foods (GM foods). This paper discusses the problem of food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the practicability of GM foods in ameliorating this problem. In SSA, food security is currently being threatened by several factors ranging from natural systems that cause environmental deterioration such as floods and droughts to anthropogenic exacerbations ranging from poor land and agricultural management policies; increase in social and economic inequality; terrorism, civic unrest, strife and wars and rapid population growth and demographic changes, amongst others. Drawbacks to the poor food security in SSA is majorly associated with malnutrition and corresponding loss in human capita productivity in the region. Statistics currently portray that one in four persons in Africa is undernourished. Hence, the timely need for disruption in current trends is imperative. The growth of GM foods has seen an exponential increase worldwide, with over 179.7 million hectares being planted, this trend is however very poor in SSA. The pros, cons and hindrances influencing the use of GM foods in SSA have been discussed. It is the opinion of the authors that the use of Biotech improved foods in curbing the food crisis in SSA should be explored and committed to by the African Union, alongside amendment of policies that promulgate weaknesses of agricultural institutional in African Nations.
Highlights
A bioprocess often engages a living organism as a whole or a cell or other subcellular fragments
Some drastic measures have been either proffered and/or taken in tackling food insecurity in Africa, such as peace building in conflict stricken regions, provision of better agriculture friendly policies and governance, empowerment of farmers and boosting agricultural techniques in farming and many more, statistics of the region being food secured are not pleasant and a lot of work still needs to be done. In lieu of this problem, this study aims to examine the suitability of use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a probable long lasting solution to tackling the problem of food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Examples of such cultivable edible vaccines have been developed in choice GM foods like soybeans, rice, potatoes, maize, capable of expressing antigens which immunize against effects of infectious organisms such as Escherichia coli toxins, rabies, infections with Helicobacter pylori bacteria, and viral type B hepatitis (Yonekura and Saito, 2006; Ubalua, 2009; Verma et al, 2011; Kramkowska et al, 2013)
Summary
A bioprocess often engages a living organism as a whole or a cell or other subcellular fragments. Some drastic measures have been either proffered and/or taken in tackling food insecurity in Africa, such as peace building in conflict stricken regions, provision of better agriculture friendly policies and governance, empowerment of farmers and boosting agricultural techniques in farming and many more, statistics of the region being food secured are not pleasant and a lot of work still needs to be done In lieu of this problem, this study aims to examine the suitability of use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a probable long lasting solution to tackling the problem of food insecurity in SSA. This could be achieved by inserting genetic materials that are extraneous to humans to make up for genes which possess high functionality that may have been lost leading to severe health conditions It involves the application of biotechnology in specific processes, instrumentation and stages in the manufacture of biological products (Ladisch and Kohlmann, 1992). The use of insect resistant improved crop varieties allows farmers to manage pests with lower chemical use, which again saves on labor and other input costs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
