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GM cropsthe most extensively tested food crops ever Labeling of GM foodshow much? Food securityGM maize GM crop and climate change Is banning GM crops the answer? GM crops in Africa
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All GM products officially approved by the national authorities for use in South Africa are safe.
The regulations governing the use of GM crops in South Africa were robust and rigorous and that from the public health point, the risk assessment and risk management of the GM maize was adequately addressed - Dr Aaron Motsoledi, Minister of Health
"It's time for action and not talking. We need to be decisive and move forward, rather than taking years debating issues of science and technology, because issues such as biotechnology and nanotechnology are being debated for too many years," Zimbabwe's Minister for Science and Technology Professor Heneri Dzinotyiweyi
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GM O s i n So u t h Af ri ca
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WHO WE ARE
Organization
AfricaBio P.O. Box 873 Irene Centurion 0062 Phone: 012 8440126 Fax: 086 619 9399 E-mail: info@africabio.com
AfricaBio is an independent, non-profit biotechnology stakeholders association. Our key role is to provide accurate information and create awareness, understanding as well as knowledge on biotechnology and biosafety in South Africa and the African region. WHAT WE DO Locally, AfricaBio is engaged in transferring information about biotechnology and biosafety to all levels of society. This is done through information days, workshops, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, websites, newsletters and technology demonstration. Nationally, AfricaBio carries out a range of programs that focus on education, technology demonstration and training on biotechnology and biosafety. AfricaBio Facilitates coordinated approaches to biotechnology and biosafety development. At a regional level, AfricaBio provides services and support to many countries in the SADC region on biotechnology education and training. At an international level AfricaBio seeks to build capacity in all aspects of biotechnology and biosafety in Africa and to articulate the needs of African biotechnology stakeholders to the world.
www.africabio.com
GM crops in Africa
GM maize, cotton and soybean have been commercially available in South Africa for the past 15 years, and there has been no evidence that such products, which are thoroughly evaluated, have had any adverse effects on humans and animals. The GM crops commercially available in South Africa, undergo vigorous assessment for safety to the environment and human beings before commercial release. Unfortunately, there has always been a strong anti-GMO activism, misinforming and instilling fears about the technology on the public.
2011 was the fourth year for farmers in Burkina Faso to benefit significantly from Bt cotton. Out of a total of 424,810 hectares planted to cotton in the country, 58% were planted to Bt cotton. Egypt and Sudan have planted GM maize and cotton, respectively. According to ISAAA, GM crops are now the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture, with a 100 -fold increase in hectarage from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 170 million hectares in 2012. Thus millions of farmers globally elect to adopt biotech crops due to the socio-economic and environmental benefits they offer. Of the 28 countries which planted biotech crops in 2012, 20 were developing and 8 were industrial countries. In 2012, a record 17.3 million farmers, up 0.6 million from 2011, grew biotech crops notably, over 90%, or over 15 million, were small resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Biotech crops contribution to:
Contributing to the alleviation of poverty and hunger Reducing agricultures environmental footprint Helping mitigate climate change and reducing greenhouse gases
South Africa is currently the leading producer of GM crops in Africa, after Burkina Faso, Egypt and Sudan and is the 8th largest producer of GMOs globally with planting of 2.9 million hectares in 2012. The country has cultivated, imported and exported GMOs since 1998. About 86% of the maize produced is genetically modified and over 90% of soya and cotton 100% is GM. The country has cultivated, imported and exported GMOs since 1998. The GMO Act [Genetic Modified Organism Act, Act 15 of 1997], passed in 1997 and implemented in 1999, paved the way for the introduction and commercialisation of GM crops in South Africa. The act which was revised in 2007, legislates for the approval for the import, use and supply of the infrastructure required to utilise and evaluate genetically modified seed in South Africa.
Food Security, Sustainability and Climate Change, Conserving biodiversity, biotech crops are a land-saving technology.
Future prospects look encouraging. Several new developing countries are expected to plant biotech crops before 2015 and there is cautious optimism that Africa will be wellrepresented: the first biotech based drought tolerant maize planned for release in Africa by ~2017. Golden Rice could be released in the Philippines in 2013/2014; drought tolerant sugarcane is a possible candidate in Indonesia, and biotech maize in China with a potential of ~30 million hectares and for the future biotech rice which has an enormous potential to benefit up to 1 billion poor people in rice households in Asia alone. Biotech crops, whilst not a panacea, have the potential to make a substantial contribution to the 2015 MDG goal of cutting poverty in half, by optimizing crop productivity, which can be expedited by public-private sector partnerships, such as the WEMA project,.