NAIROBI 21-27 September 2008 Kenya hosts First All Africa Biotechnology conference

Kenya, one of several African countries developing genetic modification (GM) technology to increase food production, is hosting the First All Africa Biotechnology conference. It's a forum for biotechnology scientists to work on some of the barriers to increasing GM farm products on the continent. One is the resistance to GM foods in Africa's important export markets.

The keynote speakers include some from countries where the technology is an anathema.

Thousands of municipalities and tens of thousands of farmers and food producers in Europe have declared themselves GMO free and refuse to allow the use of GM farm products in their areas. The technology is less controversial in the United States -- some 75 per cent of America's corn and soy are genetically modified -- and has mainly become an issue of whether GM products should be allowed in food labeled "organic."

A prominent Kenyan scientist, Dr. Florence Wambugu, sees this resistance as the European biotech lobby's effort "to keep safe and nutritious food out of the hands of starving people." The president of A Harvest Biotech Foundation International in Kenya said in a 2003 address to the United States Congress that the African continent, more than any other, urgently needs agricultural biotechnology, including transgenic crops, to improve food production. "This is why the debate over providing genetically modified (GM) corn in food aid shipments is so troubling." she added.

The genes incorporated into crops include those that confer insect, fungal, viral and bacterial resistance, protein quality improvements, herbicide tolerance, and salt and drought resistance. Applications have been performed on 21 crops in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt and South Africa, according to a 2004 report, but the results have been mixed.

There are reports that biotechnology scientists in Africa also have to deal with the slow passage of GM crops from experimental to commercial stages and difficulties in meeting regulatory requirements.

Global companies and other regional companies dealing with biotechnologies relevant to Africa’s development needs are encouraged to exhibit at the congress. The official theme -- "Harnessing the Potential of Agricultural Biotechnology for Food Security and Socio-Economic Development in Africa" suggests there is little room for GM opponents on the agenda.

General Enquiries
Professor Norah Olembo – Executive Director, ABSF
Tel: +254 20 4444 558
Cell: +254 720 223 244
+254 734 333 283
Fax: +254 20 444 8762
E-mail: absf@absfafrica.org

RELATED READING:

The Status of Plant Biotechnology in Africa (AgBioForum 2004)

Continent warms up to biotechnology (Business Daily/All Africa 14 Nov 2007)