Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
beneits.from.the.technology..The.public.sector.could.be.involved.in.the.development.
of.the.GM.varieties,.and.those.varieties.should.meet.both.consumer.and.producer.
demand. and. preference.. The. private. sector. could. lead. in. developing. a. viable. veg-
etable.seed.multiplication.and.distribution.sector,.while.the.government.could.play.a.
role.in.the.provision.of.an.effective.agricultural.extension.service.
WAY FORWARD: SYNERGIES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Biosafety. regulatory. frameworks. are. still. highly. fragmented.. Even. the. CPB. has.
not. managed. to. get. countries. to. work. around. the. regional. economic. communities.
(RECs)..Approaches.are.not.aligned.regionally.nor.are.the.limited.skills.ever.shared.
giving.rise.to.even.more.stringent.regulations. 2 .Because.some.multinational.compa-
nies.have.set.such.a.high.regulatory.bar,.it.will.be.dificult.for.African.countries,.most.
of.them.having.limited.investments.in.the.area.to.fulill.such.a.regulatory.package.
The. irst. Bt. cotton. that. was. developed. by. China. is. already. being. marketed. in.
India..This.is.an.interesting.case.of.south-south.collaboration.that.African.countries.
could.emulate..The.notion.that.biotechnology.is.not.for.the.small-scale.farmer.is.far.
from.the.truth..Indian.farmers.are.already.reaping.massive.welfare.beneits.from.the.
technology. 1 .Meanwhile,.African.countries.still.operate.under.fear.of.losing.markets.
even. when. the. evidence. points. to. a. nonexistent. threat.. The. Common. Market. for.
Eastern.and. Southern. Africa.(COMESA).commissioned.a. study. that.analyzed. the.
value.and.volume.of.agricultural.food.and.feed.exports.by.six.African.countries.to.
various.regions.of.the.world.including.the.EU..Of.the.countries.under.study,.espe-
cially.for.Kenya.and.Uganda.only.1.1%.and.6.5%.of.total.export.value.was.at.risk.of.
being.rejected,.respectively. 19 .Meanwhile,.the.emergence.of.an.enabling.environment.
such.as.the.Open.Forum.on.Agricultural.Biotechnology.(OFAB).represents.a.pub-
lic.platform.that.is.fast.gaining.political.mileage..Under.the.auspices.of.the.AATF.
and.with.patronage.of.the.Kenyan.Minister.for.Science.and.Technology,.OFAB.was.
formed.in.2006.to.provide.a.monthly.platform.for.the.exchange.of.factual.informa-
tion.amongst.stakeholders.in.agricultural.biotechnology..The.Uganda.chapter,.which.
is.equally.active,.was.formed.in.2008,.while.the.Nigerian.chapter.was.launched.in.
April.2009,.and.the.Tanzanian.chapter.was.launched.in.May.2009. 20 .With.six.coun-
tries.outside.South.Africa.that.have.conducted.CFTs.for.a.number.of.crops,.perhaps,.
the.time.has.come.when.African.countries.can.do.away.with.ambivalence.toward.the.
technology.and.begin.to.reap.the.beneits.
REFERENCES
.
1.. James,. C.,. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech /GM Crops: 2008 ,. ISAAA. Brief.
No..39,.ISAAA:.Ithaca,.NY,.2008.
.
2.. Van.der.Walt,.W.,.Final.report.on.the.collaborative.RABSAC-IFPRI-FANRPAN-PBS.II.
project.report.for.SADC.with.focus.on.Malawi,.Mauritius.and.South.Africa,.Report.to.
FANRPAN,.2009.
.
3.. Sithole-Niang,. I.,. Cohen,. J.,. and. Zambrano,. P.,. Putting. GMO. technologies. to. work:.
Public.research.pipelines.in.selected.African.countries,. African Journal of Biotechnology ,.
3.(11),.564,.2004.
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