SciDev.Net

This report from GeneWatch UK describes the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as agrofuels and makes policy recommendations on their use.

Civil society groups have raised concerns over the sustainability of using food supplies to produce biofuel. Industry and government have responded by investing in genetically modified 'second generation' biofuels to try and increase energy output from a broader range of plant sources.

The author says that assessments of GM biofuels must consider their impact on biodiversity, food supply and land use, how much they can realistically reduce carbon emissions and their technical feasibility.

GeneWatch UK recommends an independent appraisal for second-generation GM agrofuels. It suggests that gaps in research and regulation must be addressed, particularly those regarding environmental concerns such as factory waste streams containing GM organisms.

This report combines a background paper and summary report from a moderated email conference held by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in March 2007.

The background paper outlines the current and future challenges for water availability. The authors discuss options for dealing with water scarcity, focusing on agricultural water use, and ask how biotechnologies — from microorganisms for pest control to genetically modified crops — can help.

The summary report highlights the consensus among conference participants that biotechnology has a valuable role to play in addressing water scarcity in developing countries.

It presents examples of biotechnologies being used in the developing world, including marker-assisted selection, genetic modification, biofertilisers and wastewater recycling. But the report calls for increased collaboration and interdisciplinary research, as well as more involvement of stakeholders in designing solutions, to help biotechnologies move from the lab to farmers' fields.

The way discussions about biotechnology are framed is also dealt with, concluding that innovative, new techniques are required to create a rational dialogue with the public.

Innovation systems perspectives on agricultural research and technological change are fast becoming a popular approach to the study of how society generates, disseminates, and utilises knowledge. It provides an opportunity to study and explore complex relationships between the many agents and institutions that make up an innovation system. Early applications of the innovation systems framework to developing-country agriculture suggest opportunities for more intensive and extensive analysis.

This paper analyses these applications and suggests several ways of strengthening the mode of inquiry and quality of analysis. This paper will be of interest to science and technology policy analysts and policymakers in developing countries seeking to apply innovative concepts to agriculture.

This scientific article provides an insight into the status of public research in genetically modified (GM) crops in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2004.

The authors document 54 transgenic 'events' — specific instances of genetic transformation — across the four countries. They identify work to develop GM strains for 20 crops, including cotton, maize, potatoes, sugar cane, tomatoes and wheat. South Africa is shown to be a particularly important centre for biotech research, accounting for 28 out of the 54 events examined.

The authors call for a simplified system to facilitate regulatory approval of GM crop trials and commercial releases across the continent as a whole and suggest measures to encourage inter-institutional links and South–South collaborations.

This research article, by Rosemary Wolson at the University of Cape Town, assesses South Africa's biotechnology policies, reviewing three major initiatives — the national research and development strategy, biotechnology strategy and proposed laws to govern intellectual property rights derived from publicly funded research. Wolson explains the origins, goals and implementation of each.

The projects aim to create a coordinated strategy for promoting biotechnology in South Africa. Wolson concludes that the efforts are an encouraging sign of governmental commitment, but notes the continuing challenge of integrating the individual projects into a coherent framework. This may depend on promoting social networks to catalyse innovative industries.

She calls for the government to encourage more private enterprise and investment while remaining committed to basic research.

This article is useful to anyone hoping to understand the policy framework for biotechnology in one of sub-Saharan Africa's key scientific and industrial powers.

In this research article, Victor Konde of the University of Zambia argues that industrial biotechnologies can improve food security in Africa through improved livestock feeds and vaccines, as well as biotechnological pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides. He adds that biotechnology can also help farmers process crop and livestock products for new markets.

But Africa must first overcome a number of key challenges, says Konde — including restrictions on agricultural exports, weaknesses in scientific capacity and investment, and a lack of diplomatic strength to effectively promote its interests in international negotiations.

The author proposes ways for African policymakers to encourage biotech enterprise and investment, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, strategic alliances and public–private partnerships.

These proceedings from the 2006 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing broadly focus on the development of new biotechnology and bioprocessing industries, including biofuel crops.

Although they give a predominantly developed world perspective, they may be of interest to developing countries examining the potential of GM crops or other agricultural biotechnologies for producing energy or industrial compounds to address their own priorities and needs.

The discussions range across scientific, technical, economic and political topics. The section on feedstocks for bioprocessing is particularly interesting as it considers the potential for creating new molecules from plants, biomass harvesting and processing to produce energy.

This document from Friends of the Earth is a partisan analysis challenging claims that genetically modified (GM) crops have brought significant benefits for the environment and poverty alleviation.

It nevertheless provides a useful summary of the key areas where the environmental movement takes issue with the GM movement. The authors are particularly critical of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, which they argue paints a misleadingly positive picture of the impacts of GM crops.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, they examine several GM crops in the United States, GM soybeans in South America and the international community's experience with GM cotton. They also review the current status and prospects for rice, wheat, pharmaceutical crops, biofuels, bentgrass, cassava, sweet potato and potato.

This analysis looks at lessons learnt from the 132 countries that participated in a UN and Global Environment Facility project supporting developing countries to design and implement national biosafety frameworks.

The report examines how participating countries tailored their regulations to meet national development priorities, policy contexts and legal and institutional frameworks. It describes different approaches to promoting public awareness, education and participation. A key message is the need to include all relevant stakeholders in the regulatory design and implementation.

This report may help other policymakers design biosafety regulations of their own and demonstrates how national priorities can be balanced against international obligations.

This article presents four years of field research into the commercialisation of genetically modified Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The author, Glenn Stone, challenges the assumption that the rapid spread of Bt cotton is due to farmers carefully assessing the technology on a small scale before adopting it more widely.

Instead, Stone likens the process to a "craze", arguing that Bt cotton technology has disrupted farmers' learning process, as they rely less on experimentation and observation and more on advertising and copying their neighbours.

The article includes critical commentaries by leading scholars from Europe and the United States.

This report summarises six conferences from the Food and Agriculture Organization's forum on biotechnology in food and agriculture. The background documents for each conference are presented with a summary of the key points raised.

The topics covered include: gene flow; biotechnology's role in developing countries' agricultural research strategies; regulations for genetically modified organisms; molecular marker-assisted selection for improving crop and livestock; and biotechnology applications in food processing and public participation in decision-making.

The report draws together the insights and perspectives of informed individuals from different countries, professions and sectors.

This report evaluates the impacts of genetically modified (GM) crops in Argentina between 1996 and 2005, alongside wider trends in the country's agriculture and national economy.

The authors calculate the financial benefits of three GM crops — soybeans, maize and cotton — to be over US$20 billion, although they also estimate that about US$2.3 billion is needed to restore soil fertility after soybean cultivation.

They say that introducing GM crops to Argentina resulted in approximately one million new jobs over ten years, and led to lower global soybean prices.

The authors conclude that the benefits of introducing GM crops such as soybeans outweigh the costs.

But they call for public debate and policy intervention to address the environmental problems caused by long-term soybean monocultures, and the risks of depending too heavily on soybean exports.

This paper provides a helpful overview of the history, current status and potential value of biotechnology from an African perspective. The authors — three Nigerian scientists — review modern biotechnological tools and techniques, outline their applications, and discuss their benefits and risks.

They focus on the relevance of microbial techniques for fermentation and food processing in developing countries. They also discuss how technologies such as genetic modification can be used to enhance food products' nutritional quality and shelf-life, boost crop yields, develop disease and pest-resistant crop varieties, and diagnose plant diseases.

The authors discuss the key socio-economic, policy and legal issues surrounding biotechnology for developing countries, including intellectual property rights and the need for proper infrastructure.

This document's authors say the development of plant-derived vaccines is straightforward, and that their production could "easily and economically be established in developing countries".

Drawing on consultations with international experts, they examine the elements needed to realise the advantages of plant-derived vaccines for developing countries, emphasising the need for public–private collaboration.

An important requirement, they say, would be to effectively keep drug-producing transgenic plants out of the food supply. How the plant material is processed, packaged and stored is also important.

The document provides an overview of these and other issues, and will be useful to policy analysts, entrepreneurs and decision-makers exploring the potential of plant-derived vaccines.

This paper outlines the arguments in favour of adopting transgenic insect-resistant maize, rice and cotton in developing countries.

Drawing on published studies, it reviews the characteristics of available insect-resistant crops and explains how they affect conventional cultivation practices. The authors argue that these crops can benefit smallholder farmers in terms of economics, human health and the environment.

To sustain these advantages, they say, genetically modified crop cultivation must include an effective resistance management strategy and incorporate integrated pest management techniques.

This article discusses herbicide-resistant transgenic crops (HRCs) and their relevance to Indian agriculture. The Delhi-based authors present their assessment of the key issues arising from herbicide-resistant (HR) technology.

Although the Indian government has not identified HR technology as a priority under its draft biotechnology policy, the authors discuss the potential contributions to weed control, and impacts on agricultural labour, crop breeding and the seed and pesticide industries. They also consider the emergence of herbicide resistance.

They conclude that HRCs may be useful in Indian weed-control regimes, but that technical issues and socio-economic and environmental implications need to be evaluated individually.

The discussions are relevant to other developing countries assessing whether to encourage the development and adoption of HRCs in their own agricultural systems.

This collection of seven policy briefs summarises recent research on the potential for transgenic improvement of banana and maize crops in East Africa. It is part of a series of briefings produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute and two other centres.

The collection provides a helpful overview of practical and inter-disciplinary research relevant to the two crops, and highlights key issues for evaluating the potential application of genetically modified technology.

The first article introduces the collection and highlights key issues. Subsequent articles assess the systems for disseminating new planting material and gauge the potential demand for transgenic banana and maize varieties in the region.

The last three articles look at biosafety risks and crop biodiversity.

This document summarises the ninth email conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization's e-forum on biotechnology, which took place from 28 April to 1 June 2003. The conference focused on the regulation of genetically modified organisms in the developing world. Forty-four participants from 20 countries contributed to the discussion. About half of these were from developing countries.

The topics raised during the conference included resource and capacity issues, approaches to risk assessment and management, the desirability and practicality of harmonising international regulations, public participation, liability and enforcement. The summary contains links to a full archive, where readers can access the original messages.

The breadth of topics covered makes this e-conference a useful starting-point for anyone wanting a quick summary of the key issues arising from the regulation of genetically modified organisms in developing countries, and gives a good idea of the areas of consensus and disagreement.

This special supplement of Nature Biotechnology presents findings from a three-year study of biotechnology success stories from the South. The methods used in Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, South Africa and South Korea are examined.

The studies show that Brazil, with its rich biodiversity and strong commitment to scientific development, has great potential to expand its health biotechnology sector. China is said to be reorganising its research and development activities to promote biotech venture creation and move products from the laboratory to market. A study of Cuba shows that, despite the country's economic struggles since the 1961 US trade embargo, it has created a highly developed health biotechnology sector. Egypt is thought to have become one of the Arab world's leaders in science, with strong agri-biotech capabilities and a growing health biotechnology sector. A look at India shows substantial investments in biomedical research, leading to a strong research infrastructure and, in turn, an active private sector willing to invest in biotechnology ventures. An examination of South Africa says its strong scientific base, developed to support the apartheid regime, is now developing biotechnology in the country. The South Korean study claims biotechnology will be the next star industrial sector, following the successes of consumer electronics in the 1960s and information technology in the 1980s.