Title: DEVELOPMENT: Africa And The Biotechnology Debate
By Judith Achieng'
NAIROBI, Mar 01 (IPS) - Undeterred by the growing negative
campaign in Europe regarding genetically modified organisms,
GMO's, African scientists say biotechnology is the key to solving
the continents' food shortage problems.
At a meeting of stakeholders in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi
this week, scientists said they are charging ahead with plans to
harness biotechnology benefits to improve food production and
promote sustainable development throughout the continent.
"The biotechnology issue is a development issue. Poor food
production over the years has meant that hunger continues to stalk
the continent affecting the health of our children, threatening
their education and development," John Wafula, a scientist with
the Nairobi based Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).
He was speaking at the Mass Media and Policy Makers workshop.
Participants to the four day meeting, which seeks to promote co-
operation between scientists, mass media and policy makers on
promoting sustainable use of biotechnology in Africa, argue that
Europe and other developed countries fighting biotechnology are
dealing with a problem of food surplus.
The use of genetically modified crops could boost food
production and lower the price of staples in poor populations who
are plagued by hunger.
"While health problems in the industrialised world have to do
with being overweight, in developing countries, millions of people
go to bed hungry," noted Cyrus Ndiritu, KARI director.
"It should be recognised that unless this large population of
poor people is helped to realise sufficient food, employment and
shelter, or is helped to gain the means to purchase food locally
or internationally, the political stability of their nations and
the world at large will continue to be undermined."
An estimated 800 million people in developing countries live a
permanent state of hunger. The majority of them are found in
Africa. And with a growing population, currently estimated at 720
million people, scientists say the hope that Africa will feed its
people in the coming decades does not look promising.
In sub Saharan Africa where most of the population live in
rural areas, agriculture accounts for 80 percent of the livelihood
and economic base.
But food production is hampered by a combination of growing
scarcity of water, effects of soil degradation and declining
yields caused by nutrient depletion from the soil.
Besides land degradation and unfavourable climatic conditions,
pests have also been identified as an impediment to Africa's
agricultural development.
As a result, low productivity in Africa has continued to
perpetuate rural poverty, which has forced more than a third of
the continent's population of 720 million people to live below the
poverty line, economists say.
Global projections indicate that although the world population
growth rate will be matched by similar growth in food production
and food prices will continue to decline, Africa as a region, will
not be able to meet this demand, with the total grain shortfall by
2020 expected at an average of 150 million tonnes.
The European anti biotech lobby has called for more stringent
regulations on biotechnology and a moratorium on the planting of
genetically modified foods (GMOs ), with claims that if
unregulated, could have adverse environmental and health effects.
In Africa however, policy on the polarised debate between
Industry and anti-biotech groups has been conspicuously absent, a
fact which African governments say makes them feel left out.
"The debate on what is good or bad for Africa has been driven by
people and groups outside the continent, some without adequate
knowledge of the situation and the needs of the continent,"
Kenya's assistant minister for education, science and technology,
Joseph Wamukoya told the meeting.
"African countries should work on their objective assessments
and make their own conclusions. People of Africa understand better
the risks associated with low production, while the west is better
associated with the risks of over production," agrees Kenya's
education, science and technology minister Joseph Wamukoya.
James Ochanda, chairperson of the Nairobi based Africa
Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum (ABSF), the organisers of the
meeting, says European concerns have nothing to do with Africa.
"These negative pronouncements about biotechnology aimed at
Africa has basically created discontent and can stifle the
continent's efforts at acquiring, developing and utilising
biotechnology processes and products," says Ochanda, also a
biochemist with the University of Nairobi.
Florence Wambugu, director of the Nairobi based regional office
of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech
Applications (ISAAA Afrique) agrees. "Europe is dealing with
problems of over-production. The politics of Europe is farmers are
being paid not to produce," she said.
Some of the celebrated benefits of biotechnology include
increased pest and disease resistance of crops and enhanced
tolerance to herbicides, reducing the need for physical crop
weeding, identified as one of the limitations of productivity.
"This is one technology that will free our African women from
back breaking weeding work," notes Wambugu.
Joycelyne Webster, a pro-biotech scientist from South Africa,
says Africa needs to articulate its position to the international
arena, to prevent the spread of GMO fear in the continent.
South Africa has more than 120 biotech research groups and has
carried out more than 100 field trials of transgenic crops, two of
which have been released onto the market.
"We need to come out with statements on the issue so Africans
will not be groping in the dark over GMO crops," she told the
meeting. (END/IPS/ja/sm/00)
Origin: Harare/DEVELOPMENT/
----
[c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
