Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 18 • 8th October 2004
AFRICAN BIOTECH MEETING WORKS TOWARDS POLICY CONSENSUS
AFRICAN BIOTECH MEETING WORKS TOWARDS POLICY CONSENSUS
On 20-22 September representatives from across Southern Africa met in Harare, Zimbabwe, for a policy dialogue aimed at building consensus and strategies for common action on biotechnology in the region. While delegates agreed that there was a need to develop a common approach to biotechnology regulation in order to ensure biosafety, as well as food security, opinions diverged on the potential of genetically modified organisms (GMO) to help end African hunger.
In her opening speech, Olivia Muchena, Zimbabwe’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Development pointed to "serious rifts over the economic, social and ecological value and costs of modern biotechnologies such as genetic engineering". "Genetic and molecular breakthroughs are pushing forward the frontiers of how people can use biotechnology to eradicate poverty, increase their incomes, live longer, be healthier, enjoy a better standard of living, participate more in their communities and lead more creative lives." At the same time, she noted that proponents of the technology had often exaggerated the benefits of the technology for economic, political and social reasons. "We know that poverty and hunger are caused by a number of economic, social and political factors. Narrowing the cause of hunger to the absence of one technology is really missing the point," she added.
The stark contrast between these two views on biotechnology had left many African policymakers and sections of the public uncertain about how to proceed because reliable information and guidance are lacking, a group of researchers warned in one of the conferences’ background papers. This confusion was likely to deny African countries opportunities to derive benefits from the technology while minimising the associated risks. Joseph Mugabe, Executive Secretary of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Science and Technology Forum, added that the "increasing uncertainty and confusion in many of the African governments’ responses to a wide range of social, ethical, environmental, trade and economic issues associated with the development and application of modern biotechnology is worrying and hence the need for a common ground".
Mugabe called on African governments to step up budget allocations for research and development in the field of science to allow Africa to embrace technological development from an informed point of view. He stressed the need for capacity building to enable countries to carry out their own research into the risks and benefits of biotechnology. Muchena also urged delegates to not "throw away the baby with the bath water", and instead to "separate genuine concerns from rumours, real benefits from hype" through transparent dialogue, systematic research and the creation of a coherent system of biotech regulation in Africa.
Many delegates were sceptical about the benefits of biotechnology. "Contrary to the promises made by the biotech corporations, the reality of the last 10 years shows that the safety of GM crops cannot be ensured, that they are neither cheaper nor higher quality and that they are not the magical solution to solve world hunger," a Friends of the Earth official said. "We must be constantly on guard against new forms of exploitation," Joshua Mpinga from Zambia said. "This biotech thing is just another way for these people to make themselves richer — to make us more dependent on them. And if the Europeans and Americans want to fight over who will get richer from biotechnology, then they should not use us as proxy battle grounds." Delegates charged that promoters of GMO technology had failed to deliver on their promises that genetically modified crops would benefit consumers and poor farmers.
The challenges facied by Southern African countries in making policy choices on biotechnology-related issues became particularly apparent in 2002 when countries were faced with the decision on whether to accept food aid continaing GM maize (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 10 October 2002). A number of countries, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique, initially rejected the food aid, but eventually accepted the GM maize on the condition that it was milled prior to or immediately upon arrival on the continent.
Background
The meeting was the second organised by a regional project called the African Policy Dialogues on Biotechnology. Co-ordinated by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in collaboration with Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FARNPAN), it aims to ensure that African countries will be able to engage in dialogue and develop a common biotechnology strategy. The dialogues recognise that African countries will need first and foremost to build consensus and common strategies on how best to ensure that they maximise benefits from the technology while at the same time addressing the potential environmental, health, ethical and economic risks or concerns emerging from rapid advances in biotechnology. The first meeting was held in Johannesburg on 25-26 April 2003. Similar roundtables are planned for eastern, western, central, and northern Africa under the auspices of NEPAD’s Science and Technology Forum, beginning in 2005.
"Delegates Underscore Need for Uniform Policies," THE HERALD, 23 September 2004.