The 2008 World Bank report is bemoaning the stagnation of funding in the area of agricultural research and development and broader knowledge systems in sub Saharan African, saying the greatest urgency now is to reverse this trend. 

Launching the report in Nairobi, the reports Director Dr. Derek Byerlee decried that it is only in Sub-Saharan Africa where agricultural development has not changed in the past 40 years due to low spending. A trend that is now affecting sustainable development.

Worse still, Dr Byerlee notes, many public research organizations face serious institutional constraints that inhibit their effectiveness and ability to attract funds.

To Prof Wilfred Mwangi the project leader of drought tolerant maize for Africa at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) says lack of commitment and support to research by African governments is to blame for Africa’s over reliance on foreign support in their programmes.

“This attitude clearly shows that African political leaders have no interest in supporting the work done by scientists in promoting agricultural development,” he adds.

Dr. Byerlee challenged African minister for finance and planning to visit Brazil and India and see the seriousness these two governments give research development in their national budgetary planning and allocation.

In its recommendations, the report calls for serious research in countries that rely heavily on agriculture that would help improve soil, crop and water quality and livestock management. They should also develop more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.

Technological innovations must be combined with institutional innovations to ensure that input and output markets, financial services and farmer organizations are in place for broad based productivity growth, the report proposes.

 In the area of biotechnology, the report observes that countries will squander the opportunity to contribute to the pro-poor agricultural development agenda if the potential risks and benefits of biotechnology are not objectively evaluated as a matter of urgency.

Even crops such as sorghum and cassava – the most commonly grown crops in the continent- have attracted little attention from commercial biotechnology firms.

The report blames the current global controversies and power plays between the anti and pro transgenic groups as creating much uncertainty about a promising technology, discouraging its adoption in developing countries.

Yet, the report note, growing of genetically modified crops has been taken up in 22 countries as part of commercial farming, improving productivity several folds. If the same happens at the smaller-holder farming level, it has the same effect. 

At the moment, this technology has not been widely adopted by smallholder farmers in the developing countries due to the controversy, food safety and social risks associated with them.

Only South Africa has so far grown genetically modified cotton and maize in the continent while in other African countries such as Kenya, the technology remains at field trial level.  The country is waiting for the enactment of the Biosafety bill that will allow growing of the crops in open fields.

The nearest Kenyan farmers have come in benefiting from biotechnology is through the use of tissue culture banana.

To address the challenges facing developing countries in the adoption of biotechnology, the World Bank report want creation of transparent and cost effective regulatory systems that evaluate risks and benefits case by case to help inspire public confidence.

“Transgenics could reduce the impact of several of Africa’s intractable problems such as animal disease, drought and striga much faster if they were integrated into breeding programmes,” said Dr. Byerlee.

He challenged scientists to work closely with producers, consumers and civil society instead of only focusing on research and development.

“This is the only sure way of revamping the declining maize, rice and wheat yields in developing countries that is already serving as the biggest market for the developed world,” he adds.

But to achieve this, scientists are calling on the international development community to help developing countries access modern technologies.

They should also assist in funding the development of safe transgenic crops that benefit the poor as well as being ready to underwrite the initial high costs involved with the technology.

On their part, African governments have been asked to subsidize the costs of seeds and fertilizer if they have to realize increased productivity.

“In Malawi, the government has subsidized the price of seeds and fertilizer, resulting bumper harvest that have seen once food insecure country export maize to its  neghbouring countries,” says Dr. Byerlee.

An AWC Feature

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