Are GMOs here to stay?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOS) have attracted mixed reactions across the world. While some countries have embraced them, such as the US, others do not seem to have the same faith in GMOs. Africa, too, is resisting the technology, save for a few countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Malawi.

Malawi’s journey to adopting the technology dates back to the mid 1990s, when hunger ravaged the country. To save the situation, Malawi received food aid from other countries, in the form of genetically modified maize.

The maize became the talk of the town, with people saying it had negative effects on health.

It has not been easy road for GMOs to find their roots in the country.

However, in January this year, Professor Moses Kwapata led a team of GMO experts, and grew genetically modified cotton at Bunda College, a constituent college of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar).

To genetically modify it, scientists inserted into the cotton seeds a bacterium called bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), hence the cotton is also known as Bt cotton. The Bt has the ability to resist attacks from notorious American and Pink bollworm.

“These pests cause serious damage to cotton plants resulting in significant yield losses,” said Kwapata, adding that farmers end up spending more on buying pesticides.

The genesis

Renowned agriculturist Dr. Charles Mataya says the great drought of 1992 in southern African countries, including Malawi, “necessitated a large influx of foreign produce, especially yellow maize from the USA and South America”.

“It is well documented that by the late 1990s, a significant and growing proportion of US food aid included GM maize (either as whole grain or flour) or GM soy extract (which is used to make “blended foods” that Congress mandates be given). It is also known that WFP has been distributing GM food aid in southern Africa and Malawi since the mid-1990s,” says Mataya.

Despite being an agro-based economy, Malawi has gone through recurrent bouts of hunger. As one way of strengthening the agricultural sector, the focus is turning to science to boost agricultural production. And genetic engineering is one of the products of science that government is encouraging.

“In line with this paradigm shift, plus the objective of ensuring household and national food security, it is government’s imperative that all forms of technology, including GM, should be explored to assist farmers improve their productivity. In this regard, Malawi has drafted a policy which is geared towards promoting commercialisation of biotechnology and international trade in biotechnology products,” said Kwapata.

In a show of commitment, Malawi signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in 2000, an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology.

Malawi ratified the Protocol in 2009 and put in place appropriate legal and policy framework.

“This was part of preparations taken by the country before adopting biotechnology,” indicated a biotechnology proponent Dr. Weston Mwase of Luanar.

In 2002, the Department of Environmental Affairs adopted the Biosafety Act “aimed at the management of GMOs”.

Among other things, the Act prohibits one from engaging in any biotechnology activities before getting approval from a minister responsible for environment.

In 2007, government came up with a regulation on Biosafety (Management Of Genetically Modified Organisms), which spells out measures for safe utilisation, protection of environment and humans and establishing acceptable standards for risk assessment and management in biotechnology.

The journey on biotechnology continued in 2008 with the formulation of a National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy.

Political will

Former president Bakili Muluzi’s administration allowed the genetically modified maize that was donated to Malawi during the famine.

His successor, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, said at the launch of the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy in November 2011 that: “Science and technology, in general and biotechnology, in particular, have an integral role to play towards transforming the country from being a predominantly importing and consuming economy to a predominantly producing and exporting economy.”

Similarly, President Joyce Banda said in her State of the Nation Address in Parliament on May 18, 2012 that government will encourage technology and innovation adaptation by promoting and supporting genetic modification in agriculture.

“Government will invite and engage strategic investors to drive these investment opportunities. Hence the need to have close collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and that of Trade and Private Sector Development,” said Banda.

Meanwhile, the uptake of biotechnology globally is gaining pace.

A 2011 report by the International Service for Acquisition of Agriculture Applications (Isaaa) indicated that “biotech crops are the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture”.

Although Malawi is making progress, with the cotton trials at Bunda College this year, Kwapata says the is still more to be done. For example, when the cotton does well at Bunda, researchers have to get a licence from government to allow them to plant it in different districts in what they call multi-location planting.

Commercialisation will only take place after satisfactory results from the trials in different geographical zones.

“Even if it does well in those areas, it does not mean farmers will start growing the crop immediately. It will take perhaps up to six years before releasing the Bt cotton for farmers to grow,” said Kwapata.