The need for access to modern agritech
Michael Ssali
What you need to know:
- GM cotton is said to be resistant to the bollworm pests which is expensive to fight using pesticides.
Today’s discussion is mainly a reflection about the end of year message sent out last December by Dr Margaret Karembu, who heads the Nairobi-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA AfriCenter). She normally sends out such a message every year on behalf of the AfriCenter family to groups and individuals perceived to be dedicated in their work to unlocking Africa’s potential for achieving agricultural transformation and fostering a healthier planet for future generations.
She wrote, “At ISAAA AfriCenter, we recognise that sustainable and equitable food and feed systems have the potential to achieve critical progress in SDGs and Agenda 293. However, we remain alive to the fragilities of these systems that are worsened by several exogenous factors such as climate change, increased pest and disease pressure and limited access to modern agricultural technologies.”
She believes that modern agricultural technologies will be greatly relied upon for Africa to mitigate many of the challenges facing farmers under such circumstances as those presented by climate change and feeding a rapidly increasing population. Commercial crops productivity and value addition will mitigate poverty and promote industrialization.
She has said, “Our work would be incomplete without delivering the benefits of modern tools to farmers who form the cornerstone of Africa’s food and feed systems. Our efforts over the years have contributed towards increased adoption of genetically modified crops in Africa, and to date, countries planting such crops have more than doubled, from three in 2013, to eight in 2023. In Kenya, our contribution facilitated progress towards planting GM cassava National Performance Trials.”
Kenya actually approved the planting of GM cotton in order to boost its fabrics and apparel industry. GM cotton is said to be resistant to the bollworm pest which is expensive to fight using pesticides. The GM cotton yields are also quite superior. It has been adopted by such countries as India, China, Brazil and lots of other progressive countries across the world.
She revealed that in their continued quest to ensure that the region benefits from emerging tools in agriculture, ISAAA Africenter and her partners under the Striga Smart Sorghum for Africa (SSSfA) project are setting the pace towards developing a self-reliant model for commercialisation of demand-driven sorghum varieties resistant to Striga, using genome editing. The project is recording valuable lessons that will pave way for similar initiatives in the region
Mr Michael Ssali is a veteran journalist,
[email protected]
