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Report questions benefits of biotech for hunger in Africa (Saturday, June 28, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- Below is an excerpt from a report by Aaron
deGrassi of the Institute of Development Studies, at the University of Sussex, UK, on whether GM crops are addressing the real causes of poverty and hunger in Africa.
The main part of the report is a careful empirical analysis of the
actual results of the use of GM crops in Africa, from looking at
flagship projects: Monsanto's GM cotton in the Makhitini Flats in South Africa,
the Syngenta Foundation's GM maize project in Kenya, and another Kenyan
project with GM sweet potatoes involving Monsanto and USAID.
deGrassi notes the gap between the hyperbole and the empirica evidence,
"There has been a great deal of excitement over these new engineered
crops despite their low suitability. The maximum gains from genetic
modification are small, much lower than with either conventional
breeding or agroecology-based techniques."
In fact, the report notes, such showcase projects have little to do with
the suitability or effectiveness of GM crops for African farmers but
appear rather to be part of a PR strategy by the biotech industry to
reduce regulatory and public resistance to its products worldwide.
In support of this, deGrassi analyses how biotechnology firms have
eagerly used ostensibly philanthropic African projects for public
relations purposes.
Here's a telling, and carefuly referenced, excerpt from the report on
the PR use of South African GM cotton farmers. It's followed by the full
section on this topic, 'Trade Wars and Media Campaigns'.
Report Excerpt:
"...[South African GM (Bt) cotton farmer] Buthelezi was by Zoellicks
side when the Trade Secretary formally announced a US WTO case against
EU restrictions on GM imports. A month later, the Administrator of
USAID, Andrew Natsios, described Buthelezi before a Congressional panel
on plant biotechnology in Africa.
However, Buthelezis experience may be unique. The Council for
Biotechnology Information calls him a "small farmer," and others
describe his life as "hand-to-mouth existence." Administrator Natsios
called described him as a "small farmer & struggling just at the
subsistence level." However, independent reporters have revealed that,
with two wives and more than 66 acres, he is one of the largest farmers
in Makhathini and chairs the areas farmersfederation encompassing 48
farmersassociations.385
For Monsanto, Buthelezi and his stories are part of the firms declared
strategy of "gaining global acceptance of biotechnology." 386 Just before
President Bushs May 2003 speech claiming that Europes import
restrictions exacerbate African hunger, Monsanto flew four black South
African GM crop farmers to London, where they spoke at a private
conference hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council, before heading
on to Denmark and Germany. Like Buthelezi, these "representative
farmers" read statements carefully scripted by Monsanto and own dozens
of acres of land. Several actually spend most of their time working at
their day jobs as school administrators. Others pro-biotech campaigners
have caught on: CropGen, for instance, celebrates another South African
farmer, Mbongeni Nxumalo.387
These South African farmers -- whom representatives of Monsanto and other
businesses call "basically representative farmers"and "representatives
of the African smallholding community" -- are plucked from South Africa,
wined and dined, and given scripted statements about the benefits of
GM.388 In an area where most farmers cultivate just a few hectares, and
only half the population can read, Monsantos "representative" farmers
are school administrators and agricultural college graduates, owning
dozens of hectares of land.389 Monsanto has been criticized for using
these farmers as a part of a deliberate attempt to distort public debate
on biotechnology.390 Critics have coined the nickname "Bt Buthelezi,"to
illustrate this farmers unconditional support to Bt cotton: during a
trip to Monsantos headquarters in St. Louis, Buthelezi was quoted as
saying, "I wouldnt care if it were from the devil himself."391
"Genetically Modified Crops and Sustainable Poverty Alleviation in
Sub-Saharan Africa: An Assessment of Current Evidence", can be
downloaded as a pdf from here:
http://allafrica.com/sustainable/resources/00010161.html | |
