Land Resources: News: GM crops for developing countries

Ecological and economic concerns

GM crops are a topic for which one cannot complain of lack of media attention! This arises, however, from concerns of two kinds, ecological and economic. Most of the opposition to GM biotechnology comes, it must be said, from well-fed citizens of developed countries.

Ecological concerns include risks to human an animal health, food safety, and unforseen consequences of spreading of transmuted genes into the natural environment. Both international and private organizations are highly aware of these concerns, and actively researching into them. To date, no risks to health of environment have been proven.

Economic concerns are primarily that the technology will get into the hands of private companies, who will make profits by selling their monopoly. In the case of rice, indica was mapped by a public consortium, but japonica by a private company. The international agricultural research community are holding discussions to overcome such problems.

Gene biotechnology: the next major hope for reducing hunger

A disastrous situation, causing untold suffering, is emerging. With the crop production area no longer expanding since 1995 (852-855 M ha), the raising of yields is the main hope to meet needs of an expanding, but already undernourished, population. But FAO statistics show that average cereal yields in developing countries have becoming static, at 2800 kg/ha, since 1998.

GM crops are urgently needed, as the third major technique in crop breeding, following simple selection and hybridization. Advances are directed not just at yield increases, but at specialized adaptations, e.g. pest resistance, salt and drought tolerance, nitrogen fixation.

It is fortunate that the much-publicized opposition to GM crops in the West has not halted progress where they are most needed, in the food crops of the greater part of the world's poor. A cartoon in Tropical Agriculture Association Newsletter showed neolithic protesters destroying crops labelled 'Agriculture Trial #1': "They're right to trash it" commented a bystander, "You don't know what dangers might arise."

As with so many advances in food and agriculture, we have to finish with the point repeatedly emphasized on this site and in Land Resources. GM crop research is certainly a current priority, although it should not be at the expense of losing sight of soil management. But anything more than a marginal and temporary reduction in hunger can only come if still greater efforts are made to check population increase in developing countries.

May 2002

A comment on protesters, from "The Times" 5 June 2002: "lf rich Westerners don't want GM crops frankly I don't give a stuff. But if in the process we prevent people who really need this technology in the Third World from tetting it, then that's immoral." Mark Tester, Cambridge University Biologist.

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