My last line of the part II of this article ended with two pertinent questions. Can Africa afford GMT? What is the viable strategy for Africa to benefit from cutting - edge technology? On cost of research and development of the GMT for a particular crop, GMO, averagely, GMO takes 13 years and $130 million of research and development before coming to market (https://gmoanswers.com/ask/). From another literature, "GMO Answers", the cost of generating a new genetically modified crop is $136 million with an average of seven years duration. This is why in the developed countries; private sector is the major driving force for research investment to develop GMT. Thus, the Biotech Companies rely on patents to safeguard their investment. These patents are protected through the World Trade Organisation (article 27), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (also known as UPOV), and laws of the member nations. This staggering cost of research is certainly very difficult for individual African countries to invest. Again, this exorbitant cost of developing GMO sometimes makes one to wonder whether the investment is really worth the effort. However, according to an expert, Prof Graham Brookes, an agricultural economist at PG Economics Ltd, UK, he was quoted saying, "the main reason why GM crops contribute to reducing the cost of food worldwide has to do with the very nature of the biotechnology involved, which helps farmers increase production, thanks to herbicide and pesticide resistant crops". In terms of productivity, Brookes says that new biotechnology has generated the equivalent of "an extra 122 million tons of soybeans, 237 million tons of corn, 18 million tons of cotton lint and 6.6 million tons of canola" between 1996 and 2012. This means that the increase in productivity goes hand in hand with savings on pesticides and fuel compared to conventional methods. "When added to the extra income arising from higher yields, the net farm income benefit from using GM technology has been equal to $116.6 billion during that same period", according to the expert. Ultimately, GMO crops, through their environmental sustainability, potential for nutritionally fortified foods, and increased productivity, actually play a key role in keeping the cost of food down and making the investment pay higher dividends.
On the strategy for Africa to benefit from this cutting-edge technology, already, some African countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Burkina Faso and Sudan have since released some GM crops at commercial level. However, these GMO crops were developed and brought into the continent by giant global seeds companies such as Monsanto for purely profit making. These companies have secured the patents of these crops making it difficult for African researchers to develop their commercially viable GMOs. Already, the companies have already secured patents for some GM crops such as maize, soya, cotton and golden rice. In addition, the countries where these companies originated are assiduously promoting the GMO crops through special support for enactment of biosafety laws in African countries. According to report by 'Friends of the Earth International' it stated that "The US administration's strategy consists of assisting African nations to produce biosafety laws that promote agribusiness interests instead of protecting Africans from the potential threats of GM crops," said Haidee Swanby from the African Centre for Biosafety, which authored the report commissioned by Friends of the Earth International. Unlike Europe and other regions where strong biosafety laws have been in place for years, most African countries still lack such laws. Only seven African countries currently have functional biosafety frameworks in place. "African governments must protect their citizens and our rights must be respected. We deserve the same level of biosafety protection that European citizens enjoy," said Mariann Bassey Orovwuje from Friends of the Earth Nigeria. Globally, markets for GM crops have been severely curbed by biosafety laws and regulations in the past decade. Consumers in some countries were reported to have vehemently rejected GM foods and crops due to unfounded belief that GM foods may have adverse effect on human beings. It is this belief that produced a global agreement known as "the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety". The Protocol came into force in September 2003 and it was developed to ensure "adequate safe use, handling and transfer" of GM organisms.
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