Miten bioteknologia on pidetty poissa Afrikasta?

[Heikki Jokipii]

Tässä uutisessa oli tällainen tieto:

Afrikan sarven ruokakriisi ulottuu myös Ugandaan – Etenkin vanhuksia kuolee jo nälkään

Agona kertoo niiden viljelijöiden, jotka ovat ajoittaneet istutuksensa toteutuneiden sateiden mukaan, saaneen kelpo sadon etenkin, jos he ovat käyttäneet kuivuutta kestäviä ja varhain kypsyviä lajikkeita.

Eläinlääkäri ja tutkija William Olaho-Mukanin mielestä ongelman ydin on siinä, että Karamojassa ja Ugandassa ylipäätään on epäonnistuttu vastaamaan viljelijöiden tarpeisiin, kun sateet eivät tule odotetusti.

“Viljelijöiden täytyy saada teknologiaa veden saamiseksi sekä nopeasti kypsyviä ja kuivuutta kestäviä viljoja. Karamojassa on paljon vettä sateiden aikana. NARO tekee paljon tutkimusta, mutta teknologioiden siirtäminen viljelijöille on ongelma. Meidän pitää varmistaa niiden saatavuus kohtuuhintaan.”

(lihav. HJ)

Ovatko muuntogeeniset lajikkeet tuossa mukana? Ugandassa on otettu askelia niiden käyttöön ottamiseksi, mutta juuri kuivuutta kestävistä lajikkeista ei ole saatu tänne asti tietoa.

NARO ei tunnu vihamieliseltä geeniteknologialle:

https://naro.go.ug/research/#ongoing-projects

[Heikki Jokipii]

Kassava eli maniokki oli juuri eräs niistä kasveista, joiden jalostukseen suuret USA:n ja Euroopan firmat eivät koskaan innostuneet.

Ovat tyytyväisiä, kun se näin etenee:

Kenyan small farmers look to genetically engineered disease resistant cassava to improve food security

Nimittäin juuri ne pienviljelijät. Jotka viljelevät maniokkia. Joka on tärkeä vain Afrikassa.

Siitä ennustetaan jopa tällaista:

Disease-resistant GM cassava promises to be game-changer for Kenya

[Heikki Jokipii]

Syngentan (edustajien) suoraa puhetta EU:n tästä politiikan osa-alueesta:

Unlocking ag-tech’s potential for sustainable growth

Debates around the future of food systems tend to focus on inputs rather than outcomes. This has led to limits on use of certain inputs in Europe and mirrored approaches imposed on other parts of the world. Such limits are not based on local impact assessments conducted in Africa or other parts of the world and therefore their local impact is not known nor accounted for.

It is not a level playing field. For example, mirrored approaches do not factor resources available to EU farmers in the form of subsidies, so it is not a matter of one policy should fit all. Policy needs to be tailored to reflect the differences in circumstances and available resources.

Tulkiten: Eurooppa painostaa Afrikkaa luomuun sillä oletuksella, että viljelijät myös siellä saisivat luomutukia.

Toisenlaista politiikkaa tarvitaan:

A message for policymakers

The world needs an outcomes-based policy approach to sustainable and regenerative agriculture to unlock the power of new technologies that have the potential to deliver greater food security in a more climate-friendly way.

Policymakers should also keep in mind the positive role trade plays. By enabling trade, parts of the world, especially Africa, can become less dependent on aid.

We stand ready to provide the necessary sustainable outcome-boosting technologies and support with know-how, but barriers to their take up must be eliminated to help accelerate the transition towards more sustainable practices.

Green ambitions and plans should be proportionate, appropriate, and practical and go hand in hand with economic and social development of successful rural communities.

Yksityiskohta:

Due consideration is needed on how highly destructive pests can be managed sustainably, like the Fall Armyworm, which pose a risk to the livelihood and food security of over 300 million people.

Tulkinta: Euroopan on hyväksyttävä se, että Afrikka torjuu "armeijamatoa" tehokkaaksi osoittautuneilla muuntogeenisillä lajikkeilla. Eikä sen takia saa esim. asettaa tuontirajoituksia.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Näin oli:

Ludger Wess uudelleentwiittasi
Channa Prakash
@AgBioWorld·10t

This needless ban on GM crops was introduced 10 years ago in Kenya because of a fraudulent paper by Sėralini claiming GM food caused cancer in rats. Although the paper was retracted later, the ban prevailed. People of Kenya were denied access to science because of pseudoscience

Mutta nyt:

Ludger Wess uudelleentwiittasi
OFABKenya
@OFABKenya·14t
BREAKING NEWS:

The ban on genetically modified crops has been lifted. We congratulate the President for trusting our scientists and making an evidence-based decision.

Stay tuned for further details.

Kerrotaan heti, kun lisätietoa saadaan. Tämä jo löytyi:

GMO food now legal in Kenya after Cabinet lifts ban

[Heikki Jokipii]

Saivat tarpeekseen tästä:

INSIGHTS: Agriculture: How Europe patronises Africa

African farmers urgently need new technologies to fight hunger. They should be able to decide for themselves which ones to use. But European activists and politicians are putting the brakes on – a play with fire.

A year ago, Ugandan Patricia Nanteza voiced her anger to a German audience: “Well-fed activists from the West should stop telling African farmers what to grow on their farms,” the director of the Alliance for Science wrote in a column for Progressive Agrarwende.

Africa is being overrun by a “well-coordinated agroecology crusade” preaching a “one-size-fits-all” model of agriculture – led by Western NGOs. Nanteza’s appeal: Let Africa’s farmers decide for themselves. They have “the competence and the experience” to choose the solutions and technologies that fit best on the ground. „African farmers are not dumb.“

Nimi tuosta mieleen: Africa First Network. Siinäkin toiminnassa näyttää olevan mukana myös eurooppalaisia (sivuston tekstit ovat mm. tarjolla myös saksaksi). Mutta tuossa on vissi ero!

[Heikki Jokipii]

Vielä Keniasta:

Ludger Wess uudelleentwiittasi
Stuart Smyth
@stuartsmyth66 ·14t
With Kenya just approving GM cotton production, it's positioning itself to make major improvements in farm profitability and food security. Rejecting EU-based eNGO propaganda is the best thing African nations can do.

Alliance for Science
@ScienceAlly
This will be the first GM cassava in the world, and Kenya is leading in its development 🇰🇪

Disease-resistant GM cassava promises to be game-changer for Kenya

[Heikki Jokipii]

Ruokaturva on YK:ssa kuitenkin ykkösasia:

Opinion: Food security a priority at UN

Ainakin sen pitäisi olla.

Earlier in September, President Biden issued Executive Order 14081 to advance biotechnology and innovation, including especially in agriculture. It directed all Departments and Agencies to engage the international community to enhance biotechnology. Under the order, Secretary Vilsack is required to submit a report assessing how to use biotechnology for food and agriculture, especially for improving food quality and increasing yields. 

Also in September, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the election of pro-biotech politician William Ruto as President. Ruto has said in the past that he supports biotechnology and will not let the world advance and leave Kenya behind. If Kenya adopts biotechnology, accepts GMO food donations, and allows GMO food to pass through its ports, it could also change thinking throughout Africa. This could have a profound global impact not just for Kenya, but also for the entire world. 

The Biden Administration is investing in the technology of the future. And, in short, agriculture is still the future.

(lihav. HJ)

Niinkuin jo tiedämme, Keniassa kävi hyvin.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Hank Campbell:

Viewpoint: ‘Organic-only policies are the new face of European colonialism’ — Here’s how crop biotechnology innovation is opening doors to Africa’s self sufficiency

Ruma sana on sanottu ennenkin, mutta noin siis hän.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Etiopiassa:

Blight resistant gene-edited potatoes now third genetically-enhanced crop approved in once anti-biotech Ethiopia

Genetically modified potatoes that resist “late blight” were developed by the German chemicals group BASF. The disease led to famine in Ireland during the 19th century and still causes about 20 percent of potato harvest losses in the world, the company says.

With the latest development, the potato has become the third consumable GMO product to be authorized in Ethiopia for commercial production.  So far, a permit has been granted for maize and Enset (false banana), to Bt cotton.

Genetically modified crops lead to heated public debate, with some questioning their supposed miraculous solutions to food security problems.

Josta johtuukin mieleen, miksei tuota lajiketta ole meillä käytössä? EU:ssa (tai täkäläisen firman toimesta) kehitettykin! Onko otsikkomme muutettava muotoon:

Miten bioteknologia on pidetty poissa Euroopasta?

[Heikki Jokipii]

Robert Paarlberg on taas tällä asialla, nyt Stuart Smythin kanssa:

Targeting sustainable farming: Here’s how much money low and middle-income countries are missing out on if they reject genetically-modified crops

Mielellään olisi tuosta lukenut enemmänkin. Mutta tietoa siinä jo on, että tietystä edistyksestä huolimatta yhä tökkii:

For example, African farmers annually struggle against stalk borer infestations that reduce yields of white maize, a leading food crop. If legal, yields from Bt maize would increase significantly. South Africa is the only country on the continent to approve Bt white maize, and when small farmers adopted it, yields roughly doubled… Yields increased by 45–63% in India, and insecticide use was reduced by 55% in China, providing significant income gains. Additionally, fewer chemical sprays protected the environment and reduced occupational exposure, improving farmers’ health. Despite the clearly demonstrated benefits, planting Bt cotton is illegal in most of sub-Saharan Africa.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Näin toimii osuuskauppavä... ei, kun amerikkalaiset:

US Department of Agriculture leads trade delegation to Kenya as African country embraces genetically modified crops

Representatives from 32 US agribusiness firms [arrived in Kenya on October 30] as part of an American government delegation scouting for trade opportunities.

The US food firms are looking for new and expanded markets in Kenya for their crops. Kenya currently faces food insecurity and also wants to seal a trade deal with Americas.

Nairobi has been pressured by Washington to allow access to its genetically modified (GM) food and crop products and this month gave approval to GM imports, providing a huge market opportunity for American companies.

Muutettavat muuttaen siinä on mallia eurooppalaisille.

[Heikki Jokipii]

GLP, viimeisimmät. 10 väitettä. Ja niille 10 vastaväitettä:

Viewpoint: 10 claims by anti-GMO African campaigners on why crop biotechnology advances should be rejected – and why they are wrong

Toinen, se taas pelkkää myötäväitettä:

The case for GMOs in Africa

[Heikki Jokipii]

Ludger Wess uudelleentwiittasi
Channa Prakash
@AgBioWorld·15t
One-fifth of African media coverage of GM foods contains misinformation, a new scientific study published by the Alliance for Science in GM Crops & Food has revealed. The corresponding figures for North America and Europe were 5% & 7% ⁦ @mark_lynas

One-fifth of media stories on GMOs published in Africa contain misinformation, study finds

17 NOVEMBER 2022, ITHACA, NEW YORK: One-fifth of African media coverage of genetically modified foods contains misinformation, a new scientific study published by the Alliance for Science has revealed. The corresponding figures for North America and Europe were 5% and 7%, respectively.

The study assessed top English-language media from around the world, with stories published over a two-year period between January 2019 and January 2021. Articles were assessed for misinformation, defined as statements that disagreed with the scientific consensus on the safety of genetic engineering.

Englanniksi ilmestyneet. Ei tietoa paikallisilla kielillä ilmestyneistä. Tuo tutkimus siis osoitti, ettei tuollaista myyräntyötä muuntogeenistä viljelyä vastaan Afrikassa selvästikään ole lakattu harjoittamasta. Kahden vuoden aikana: aika systemaattiselta toiminta vaikuttaa. Vrt. myös edellinen puheenvuoro, ensimmäinen linkki.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Keniassa näin:

Kenya to import 1st genetically modified maize amid drought, food shortage
Food supply has depleted as Kenya faces its worst drought in 40 years

Ennakkoluulottomasti. Kun oli vähän pakkokin.

Voisiko jotain vastaava tapahtua Euroopassakin? Tai tapahtuuhan sitä. Kummallakin alueella on vielä yksi kynnys ylitettävänä: tuonnin lisäksi pitäisi sallia GMO-viljely.

[Heikki Jokipii]

Kenian lisäksi nyt myös Ugandassa:

Alliance for Science
@ScienceAlly
Ugandan scientists have begun moving gene extracts into cassava cells in a first-of-its-kind research trial using the CRISPR-Cas9 #geneediting tool to develop varieties that can resist cassava brown streak disease.

https://twitter.com/ScienceAlly/status/1590342948604243968

Linkki oli vanhentunut (?). Twiitissä (9.11.22) haluttiin kai kertoa, että siellä alkavat viljelykokeet.