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-- The East African (10/6/2008)
Kenya's Minister for Agriculture William Ruto has launched a National Biotechnology Awareness Strategy. According to a statement released by Ruto, the strategy is aimed at offering Kenyans "accurate and reliable information and knowledge" about branches of biotechnology such as tissue culture, molecular breeding, and genetic modification. "This will enable Kenyans to make informed decisions and be involved in determining the pace of adoption of biotechnology in the country," Ruto said. Ruto went on to state that Kenya will embrace genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to the article. Josphat Ngonyo of the Africa Network for Animal Welfare criticized the government's awareness strategy as "a mere gimmick;" the Kenyan government wants to introduce GMOs "by force," Ngonyo alleged. "Parliamentary sources" report that a draft Biosafety Bill 2008 has been introduced in two Kenyan parliamentary committees: the committee on Agriculture, Land, and Natural Resources and the Education, Science and Technology committee. The contents are similar to the Biosafety Bill 2007, Wanjiru Kamau, spokesperson for the umbrella group the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition (KBioC), says, but a few clauses have been changed following objections voiced by KBioC. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- Irish Times (10/6/2008)
Julian Ma of the University of London in the U.K. told a recent conference at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, that genetically modified (GM) plants could supply drugs and vaccines in large and affordable amounts. "Plants are the only feasible production system for some proteins that are required on a massive scale," Ma argued. "This application of GM plants seems to be missed on the public radar," he said. Ma reported that GM-plant-derived pharmaceuticals were already in use in animal healthcare, and products for humans will be on the market within the next year. He also outlined existing measures to contain pharmaceutical-producing GM crops and ensure that the resulting drugs are useful and safe. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- ICRISAT (10/6/2008)
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has announced that it will soon re-establish its center in Nigeria. From a central base in Nigeria, ICRISAT plans to initiate a regional research and training program on its mandate crops (mainly sorghum and millet) and natural resource management in West and Central Africa. ICRISAT has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), under which ARCN and ICRISAT will: 1) implement joint research programs in Nigeria; 2) facilitate exchange of germplasm, breeding material, scientific information, and techniques; and 3) work on capacity development. The press release can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- Inter Press Service (10/3/2008)
Approximately 200 delegates gathered last month for an annual policy dialogue hosted by the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) in Lilongwe, Malawi. The delegates, including farmers, researchers, journalists, policy makers, and members of the private sector, agreed that Southern Africa needs sustained investment in agriculture, accompanied by effective and inclusive policies to address the global food crisis. Delegates at the policy dialogue said that since the 1980s, African governments have abandoned policies aimed at food self-sufficiency and instead relied on global markets to provide cheap imports. The delegates agreed on a four-page document stating that "Investment in agriculture through the provision of necessary inputs, farmer training, [and] the use of ICTs [information and communication technologies] in agriculture to ensure access to critical information by farmers and other stakeholders are key." A debate on the production and pricing of maize highlighted the need for a balance between providing subsidies to farmers who could not otherwise afford agricultural inputs and creating business opportunities in agriculture for the private sector. Biotechnology specialist Wynand van de Walt argued that genetically modified (GM) crops should be adopted to boost yields. Another delegate, Jose Filipe Fonseca of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), emphasized the need for stakeholders to work together. "There is a high level of mistrust between the media and policy makers; in the same way, governments do not trust scientists," said Fonseca, in a presentation on the role of the media in food security. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- SciDev.Net (10/3/2008)
A new report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says a lack of emphasis on agricultural research in development policy over the last quarter century is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of African farming. The report also cites the small size of each country's research stations, isolated researchers, and high staff turnover as other factors that helped "prevent the attainment of a critical mass of scientific and technical staff." As a result, except for maize and more recently cassava, "most of Sub-Saharan Africa has no immediately applicable crop technology that might, with adequate price incentives, substantially increase the profitability of investments in agriculture," the report concludes. Another problem cited was the shortage of credit for small-scale farmers, especially the dissolution of marketing boards that often gave cash advances to these farmers. Sam Gayi, a lead researcher of the report, says, "Only a quarter of the total crop area of Sub-Saharan Africa is planted with modern crop varieties." The report singles out Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and South Africa as countries that have managed to improve their agricultural exports. Côte d'Ivoire continues to benefit from "huge investments", including government funds for research, made in the 1960s in a diverse range of crops. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- Crop Biotech Update (10/2/2008)
Researchers at the University of Tokyo in Japan report they have had success with the development of a genetically modified (GM) rice variety designed to tolerate iron deficiency. Field trials of the GM variety show that their approach to increasing iron-deficiency-tolerance is feasible and could improve agricultural productivity in iron deficient soils, according to the researchers. Iron deficiency is a widespread agricultural problem that reduces plant growth and crop yields. The GM rice contains mugineic acid family phytosiderophores (MAs) biosynthesis-related genes from barley. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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-- Agricultural Economics (10/2/2008)
This paper examines the impact of marketing cooperatives on whether smallholder farmers in Ethiopia sell their cereal crops on the market. The paper finds that although cooperatives obtain higher prices for their members (at least 7 percent higher than that obtained by nonmembers), they do not significantly increase the overall share of cereal production sold commercially by their members. It was found that smaller-scale farmers actually tend to reduce their marketed output as a result of higher prices obtained through cooperatives, whereas the opposite is true for larger-scale farmers. The paper is authored by researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the African Centre for Economic and Historical Studies in Ethiopia. Data were collected over the summer of 2005, and include 7,186 households, although only a subset of these was ultimately used in the analysis. According to the paper, the active promotion of marketing cooperatives as a means of commercializing smallholder agriculture has been a "pillar" of Ethiopia's recent rural development strategy. Smallholders, it says, represent the vast majority of Ethiopian farmers, and commercialization is very limited. The article can be viewed online at the link below with a subscription to the journal Agricultural Economics.
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-- IFPRI (10/2/2008)
This policy brief from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says that sub-Saharan Africa needs a cost-effective system of seed production and distribution, and coordinated effort between the public and private sectors is necessary to make this happen. The public sector, it says, needs to invest more in plant breeding and the development of new varieties, particularly open-pollinated varieties of staple food crops. According to the policy brief, seed production and marketing are often more efficiently carried out by private seed companies, but they must be supported with an enabling policy environment. Such an environment would include: 1) a clear legal framework for private seed companies; 2) access to public-sector germplasm; 3) the absence of subsidized state seed companies; 4) streamlined varietal release policies; 5) regional harmonization of seed regulations; 6) and limits on the distribution of free seed by non-governmental organizations in nonemergency situations. The brief also says that seed policy should help promote efficient informal seed systems, while controlling misleading sales practices. The policy brief can be viewed online at the link below.
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