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Ochieng' Ogodo
26 September 2008 | EN
Africans, like this Tanzanian paprika farmer, require more access to land and fertilisers to take advantage of the products of biotechnology
USAID
[NAIROBI] Biotechnology is no panacea to the food insecurity and poverty problems in Africa and other developing countries, warned scientists at the first All Africa Congress on Biotechnology in Nairobi, Kenya, this week (23 September).
"This is no silver bullet to the food insecurity in Africa and the rest of the developing world, but it must be looked at as one of the most important tools that will contribute to increased food production and thus, poverty reduction," said Clive James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.
"We have to take the best of conventional technologies like no-till or low-till farming and combine it with biotechnology for increased food production."
James added that ensuring adequate food production for Africa will come out of a package that includes other components like population stabilisation and fair food distribution systems.
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"Among the challenges facing advancement and use of biotechnology in the developing world is that members of the public do not have trust in the regulatory authorities' capacity to regulate the use of genetically modified organisms and protect them from any potential dangers."