Abstract
The controversies surrounding transgenic crops, often called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), call for a need to raise the level of public awareness of Genetic Modification (GM) technology in Africa. This should be accomplished by educating the public about the potential benefits and risks that may be associated with this new technology. In the last 15 years, GM crop producing countries have benefited from adoption of this new technology in the form of improved crop productivity, food security, and quality of life. The increased income to resource-poor farmers is a key benefit at the individual level especially as most countries using this technology are in the developing world, including three African countries (South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt). Despite clear benefits to countries and farmers who grow GMOs, many people are concerned about suspected potential risks associated with GMOs. This sparks debate as to whether GM technology should be adopted or not. Given the concerns regarding the safety of GMO products, thorough scientific investigation of safe application of GMOs is required. The objective of this paper is to respond to the issues of GM agriculture in Africa and some of the issues surrounding the adoption of GM crops between developed and developing countries. In this article, I analyse relevant papers relating to the adoption of GM technology particularly in developing countries including the few African countries that have adopted GM crops. The issues discussed span a wide range including: safety; potential benefits and risks; disputes between the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) over adoption of GM crops with a focus on Africa continent. This article is concluded by summarising the issues raised and how GM technology can be adopted for agricultural development in Africa.
Highlights
The controversies surrounding transgenic crops, often called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), call for a need to raise the level of public awareness of Genetic Modification (GM) technology in Africa
Why must GMOs be given a chance in Africa? A growing body of evidence-based reports continue to document increased crop yields, increased farm income, and health and environment benefits associated with GM crops [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
In 1996, when GM crops were first officially commercialised, six countries planted a total of 1.7 million hectares of these crops [9]
Summary
Why must GMOs be given a chance in Africa? A growing body of evidence-based reports continue to document increased crop yields, increased farm income, and health and environment benefits associated with GM crops [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Apart from constraints such as inadequate infrastructure and facilities, most channels of influence that are associated with adoption of GM technology in Africa come mainly from EU, and their tough regulatory precautionary principle can be a major threat to commercial export sales when African countries start producing GM crops [22,28,31]. The developed countries like the USA, the EU and others should work in common interest of delivering GM technology that has potentials to improve agricultural productivity, health and food security in Africa. Competing interests The author declares that they have no competing interests
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