G8 must encourage biotech cooperation for Africa

An African maize farmer Copyright: World Bank/Curt Carnemark

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>G8 must encourage biotech cooperation for Africa</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><span>G8 leaders must encourage cooperation in the use of biotechnology to address Africa’s food shortages, writes Calestous Juma in <em>The Japan Times</em>.</span></p>
<p><span>Biotechnology has the capacity to address challenges such as drought, but overemphasis on biosafety may hinder progress.</span></p>
<p><span>"By failing to adopt biotechnology, Africa puts its poor populations at greater risk of starvation," warns Juma.</span></p>
<p><span>At the G8 summit to be held in Hokkaido, Japan, next week (7–9 July), leaders should convince Africa and its partners to formulate new models of cooperation that will enable partnerships between government, industry and academia. </span></p>
<p><span>Critics have voiced fears that intellectual property rights would hinder countries from obtaining technologies to meet basic needs. But Juma highlights the Water Efficient Maize for Africa initiative, funded by the Gates Foundation, where new drought-tolerant techniques have been licensed free of charge to the African Agricultural Technology Foundation.</span></p>
<p><span>Juma says that when it comes to biosafety, it is important to exercise balance. "Safety measures co-evolve with the development of the technology. We should not blindly demand proof of safety as a prerequisite for using new technology."</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20080630a1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span>Link to full article in <em>The Japan Times</em></span></a></span></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/opinions/g8-must-encourage-biotech-cooperation-for-africa/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/opinions/g8-must-encourage-biotech-cooperation-for-africa/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

G8 leaders must encourage cooperation in the use of biotechnology to address Africa’s food shortages, writes Calestous Juma in The Japan Times.

Biotechnology has the capacity to address challenges such as drought, but overemphasis on biosafety may hinder progress.

"By failing to adopt biotechnology, Africa puts its poor populations at greater risk of starvation," warns Juma.

At the G8 summit to be held in Hokkaido, Japan, next week (7–9 July), leaders should convince Africa and its partners to formulate new models of cooperation that will enable partnerships between government, industry and academia.

Critics have voiced fears that intellectual property rights would hinder countries from obtaining technologies to meet basic needs. But Juma highlights the Water Efficient Maize for Africa initiative, funded by the Gates Foundation, where new drought-tolerant techniques have been licensed free of charge to the African Agricultural Technology Foundation.

Juma says that when it comes to biosafety, it is important to exercise balance. "Safety measures co-evolve with the development of the technology. We should not blindly demand proof of safety as a prerequisite for using new technology."

Link to full article in The Japan Times