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Agricultural experts and biotechnologists have agreed that Genetically Modified (GM) crop producing countries are recording improved crop production, food security and high quality of life.
Devlin Kuyek, author of “Genetically Modified Crops in African Agriculture: Implications for Small Farmers’’, said that genetic engineering has made a rapid entry into agriculture.
“Proponents claim that by transferring genes from one organism to another, genetic engineering can overcome the productivity constraints of conventional plant breeding.
“It is claimed that the new transgenic crops will reduce pesticide use and increase food security in developing countries,’’ he said.
Kuyek maintained that it is also widely claimed that the “new” global economy will be built on genetic engineering, and any country that stands on the sidelines will lose its future competitiveness. He said these claims have influenced policy-making circles in Africa.
Kuyek disclosed that, “today the international community is on the verge of the biotechnology revolution which Africa cannot afford to miss.”
African countries have put up concerted efforts to tackle food insecurity by adopting biotechnology and its tools which also include genetic engineering.
Recently, Africa doubled the number of countries planting biotech crops from three in 2018 to six in 2019, leading the progress among the regions of the world in adoption of genetically modified crops.
