Jemima Agyare comments

Jemima Agyare

Genetically modified (GM) crops are genetically altered crops designed to confer resistance to diseases caused by viruses and insects or to increase tolerance to herbicides or extreme weather conditions. The use of GM technology to benefit the poor ('pro-poor' GM technology) in developing countries has been widely promoted by influential scientists such as Norman Borlaug, the founding father of the Green Revolution. Such proponents of GM technology represent current applications of biotechnology, in particular genetic engineering, as a necessary progression for modern agriculture in developing countries. They claim GM agriculture is the way forward not only in solving scientific problems, such as disease-resistant crops, but also socio-economic problems and health issues (e.g. poverty and malnutrition).

It is my opinion that these claims cannot be substantiated, and are inadequate as a justification for policies to promote the adoption of this technology in developing countries. Such claims for a 'pro-poor' GM lack credibility in relation to the dynamics of the governance of GM agriculture, the impact of the interests and actions of multinational corporations engaged in GM agricultural development, and the types of crops and farmers involved.

There is an overriding focus on export crops at the expense of staple crops, even though it is clear that staple crops are of most importance to local economies and have most impact on the economic welfare of both farmers and the locality. Yet, technical innovation and investment are concentrated on export crops, which do not address either the nutritional needs of the poor or the beneficial possibility of increasing yields for local farmers.

The feasibility of altering this is affected by governance arrangements for GM agriculture which remains an elite-led process comprising the scientific community, policy-makers, and MNCs. Excluded are representations from subsistence farmers, the poor and anti-GM NGOs. As a result, the difficulties in tailoring GM technology to benefit the poor in developing countries derive from a complex combination of political, social, legal, and economic factors, which together militate against the prospects of a pro-poor GM, unless and until a different constellation of these forces emerges within the civil societies of countries within the developing world.