OFAB February 2012

Transcription

1 OFAB February 2012 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2011 Dr. Margaret Karembu, Director, ISAAA AfriCentre Dr. Dan Kiambi, Director, ABCIC Dr. Simon Gichuki, Centre Director, KARI Biotechnology Centre Hon. Prof. Ayiecho Olweny, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Higher Education. Member of Parliament, Kenya Hon. Eng. James Rege, Member of Parliament, Kenya Dr. Dan Kiambi opened the session by giving a brief overview of OFAB activities since inception. He said that OFAB was launched in 2006 and is a collaborative agreement between AATF and ISAAA. OFAB s activities are managed by a programming committee comprising volunteer scientists and communication experts. The programming committee is responsible for selecting topics, identifying speakers, and packaging and distributing event reports. He said OFAB was designed to accord stakeholders a unique and dynamic opportunity to discuss all aspects of agricultural biotechnology with a view to making recommendations on how the continent can benefit from it. OFAB-Kenya s Mission is to increase awareness and understanding of agricultural biotechnology in Kenya by consistently and constantly engaging all stakeholders in constructive discourse and networking. The objectives of OFAB include building knowledgesharing and awareness creation on biotechnology that will raise an understanding of issues related to agricultural biotechnology. Through the forum, scientists have an opportunity to impact policy makers on the need to mainstream science and technology on Africa s development agenda and back that with adequate funds for R&D. The forum hopes to open more doors for discussions on biotechnology as more reports and news generated from the forum flow out to the public and more people meet, share contacts, identify more sources of concern and fashion talks on them. Dr. Kiambi added that since inception; fifty three (53) OFAB events, covering various topics and presented by high-level scientists and policy makers, have been held. Participants include scientists, policy makers, media, regulators, NGOs, civil society and students among others. He said other OFAB achievements include: Publication and dissemination of annual reports (3 so far), Operational website OFAB- Kenya strategic plan, Opening OFAB chapters in Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria, Contribution to policy debates (Biosafety bills), Branding- OFAB Logo, and OFAB Africa consultative meeting (November 2010). 1

2 Future OFAB plans include: Out scaling OFAB nationally and regionally, Conducting trainings in communication for scientists and journalists, Carrying out impact assessment of OFAB work in the country, Carrying out stakeholder mapping, Media engagement plan, Publishing an OFAB biotech book, and Continuing OFAB Africa consultative meeting annually Dr. Simon Gichuki gave a presentation outlining biotechnology R&D activities in the country and the available capacity to carry out modern biotechnology research. He told participants that traditionally agricultural productivity was constrained by biotic factors e.g. diseases and pests and abiotic factors such as drought and low soil fertility. This has, however, been compounded by emerging challenges such as: Climate Change, Environment conservation, Nutritional diseases, New plant diseases, and Zoonotic diseases such as Rift Valley Fever, Bird Flu etc. Agricultural biotechnology research interventions based on tissue culture, molecular markerassisted breeding, double haploid technology, genetic engineering, plant and animal diseases diagnostics and development of livestock diseases recombinant vaccines are contributing to the basket of solutions. Some of the projects going on in the country include: WEMA- Water Efficient Maize for African Soils, GEMADOT Genetic Engineering of Maize for Drought Tolerance, IMAS -Improved Maize for African Soils, DTMA- Drought Tolerant Maize For Africa, IRMA Insect Resistant Maize for Africa, BC+ -Biocassava Plus, VIRCA - Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa, and ABS -Africa Biofortified Sorghum. Dr. Gichuki added that plans were underway to ensure commercialization of Bt cotton by the year Application for environmental release has been made and a commercialisation task force set up. Training on Bt cotton stewardship targeting various stakeholders has also been done. He said development of livestock recombinant vaccines is also on-going but there is lack of an appropriate biosafety testing facility for animals involving GMOs. KARI collaborates with USDA and IAEA to carry out surveillance of the disease in Kenya. Several rapid diagnostic tests have been developed and validated but there is a slow pace of commercial deployment. 2

3 On-going laboratory and greenhouse research include: Disease resistant banana IITA at BecA, Nematode resistant yams IITA at BecA, Mechanisms for trypanosome resistance ILRI, Insect resistant pigeon pea - ICRISAT and KU, and Insect resistant sweet potato CIP and KU. Capacity building, both infrastructural and human, is on-going in all the main universities. Dr. Margaret Karembu gave an overview of the global status of commercialized GM crops as at She said that the world is faced by the challenge of doubling crop production by 2050 using fewer resources. To achieve this, a strategy that incorporates multiple approaches addressing all the principal issues is needed i.e. a crop improvement strategy that integrates the best of the old (conventional) and the best of the new (biotech) to optimize productivity and contribute to food, feed and fiber security and address climate change. According to the report on the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2011, a total of 16.7 million farmers grew biotech crops in 2011, up 1.3 million from Ninety per cent of these were small resource-poor farmers from developing countries. Global area of biotech crops was 160 million hectares, representing an increase of 8% over 2010, equivalent to 12 million hectares. For the first time, developing countries planted fifty per cent of global area under biotech crops and they are expected to exceed industrial countries in Brazil was the engine of growth globally increasing its hectarage of biotech crops by a record 4.9 million hectares. It was the leading developing country. Brazil strategic elements include: Institutional strengths with strong biotech programs in both the public and the private sectors. Diversified source of products with three product streams including private, public/private and public. This minimizes opportunity cost and maximizes impact. Africa made steady progress in 2011 in planting, regulatory and research activities on GM crops. The three countries already commercializing biotech crops (South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt), together planted a record 2.5 million hectares. An additional three countries (Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda), conducted field trials, while others like Malawi approved pending trials. Trials focusing on Africa s pro-poor priority staple crops including maize, cassava, banana and sweet potato are making good progress. Dr. Karembu gave an overview of GM crops that are commercialized in Africa and those undergoing trials as tabulated below: Country South Africa Egypt Burkina Faso Commercial biotech/gm crops Crop Maize, cotton, soy bean Maize Cotton 3

4 Biotech/GM crops on trial Country Crop South Africa Potatoes, sugarcane Kenya, Uganda, South Africa Water efficient maize for Africa- WEMA Kenya cotton, maize, sweet potato, cassava Egypt cotton, potato, wheat, cucumber, melon Uganda banana, cotton, cassava, maize, rice Nigeria cowpea, cassava She presented a case study of Bt cotton in Burkina Faso and noted that there was a slight decline of 5% in This is attributed to: Farmers dissatisfaction with purchase price offered for their 2010 cotton (245 CFA/Kg~0.5 USD for Bt or non Bt cotton)- Desired price:500cfa/kg~1usd), Discouragement by rising costs of fertilizer, Poor agronomic practices, and Erratic rains after planting. However, the adoption rate of Bt cotton in the country was still high, standing at fifty eight per cent. The impacts of biotech crops in 2011 included: Improved productivity and income Farm income gains of $78 billion from 1996 to 2010, of which 40% was due to cost reduction and 60% due to a production gain of 276 million tons. Protection of biodiversity production gain of 276 million tons would require additional 91 million hectares when conventional technologies are used but this is not the case with biotechnology which qualifies it as a land saving technology. The strategy is to double crop production on same area hence saving forests/biodiversity. Environmental conservation due to reduced use of pesticides. Humanitarian benefits by contributing to poverty alleviation. In her conclusion, Dr. Karembu said the remaining 4 years in the second decade of commercialization will see adoption of new and improved GM crops. Implementation of appropriate regulation is a must to spur adoption of biotech crops in Africa. The continent should manage change as an opportunity and not as a threat. The session culminated with the official launch of the report by Hon. Prof. Ayiecho Olweny. The Muhoroni Member of Parliament and Assistant Minister for Education said GM crops offer solutions to production constraints facing farmers. He said the Kenyan farmer like elsewhere in Africa, is faced with low crop yields occasioned by pests, diseases, low soil fertility and climate vagaries. He added that Kenya, and indeed the whole of Africa, needs this technology to shield important crops against these constraints. Hon. Olweny said that 4

5 adoption of GM technology will help the country experience the green revolution. He dispelled fears of myths surrounding GM crops in Kenya adding that the country has the capacity to produce and handle GM products. However, the government should invest more in R&D to facilitate development of more local GM crops and animal vaccines. Hon. Eng. James Rege, Karachunyo Member of Parliament and chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy, accentuated the role of modern technologies to revolutionize farming and tackle food crises in the country. He noted that science and technology improves the way people live. Hence, it should be embraced in farming to solve our hunger challenges and boost economic progress to catch up with the rest of the world. Hon. Rege recognized ongoing trials on a range of staple crops. OPEN DISCUSSION Questions: 1. Gearge Kithuka, Kenya Broadcasting Coorporation: How soon is the country expected to commercialize its first GM product and which one in particular? There is heated debate on the safety of GMOs from both the political elite as well as the public. What are the relevant institutions doing to sensitize the public on the benefits of GM technology? Answers: a) Dr. Margaret Karembu, ISAAA Africenter: The first biotech crop to be commercialized in the country will be Bt cotton and this will be in the next two years. The necessary mechanisms to foresee this have been put in place. b) Dr. Christopher Ngichabe, KARI: It is normal to have varied opinions when dealing with a new technology. However, this should not persist since it will derail the country from reaping the enormous benefits of GM technology. If we are to achieve food security we have no option but to embrace the technology since it is one of the tools that will spur us towards this. The country has efficient awareness creation mechanism under the BioAWARE strategy. Scientists are also reaching out to parliamentarians to sensitize them on the need of promoting the technology. 2. Joseph Okiri, Kenyatta University: Commercialized GM crops have been certified safe to man, animals and the environment following rigorous safety assessments under international standards, yet a good number of parliamentarians continue to oppose the adoption of the technology in the country. Could the MPs be having some reasons or hidden facts not available to the public? Answers: 5

6 a) Hon. Prof. Ayiecho Olweny, National Assembly: The opposition is mainly due to lack of credible facts brought about by the gap between scientists and parliamentarians. Scientists need to interact more with the MPs in order to reverse this scenario. b) Hon. Eng. James Rege, National Assembly: Scientists should take MPs outside their cocoons and engage them on biotechnology issues. This will create more awareness among them leading to informed debates and decisions. Comments: 1. Moses Ogolla, University of Nairobi: In order to facilitate change of perceptions towards GM technology scientists should bring farmers on board right from product inception and foster regular communication using simple language. A forum is also needed to engage parliamentarians and decipher the principles of genetic engineering and its benefits to them. 6