The Use of GM Crops in Developing Countries
The use and governance of GM crops in developing countries
It is important that any country should have in place appropriate mechanisms to determine whether it is desirable to introduce any new crop, GM or non-GM, into the environment, and to monitor its impact. Many already do. Systems that enable the views of farmers and relevant stakeholders to be taken into account by policy makers are also required.
Availability of choice
When a decision is made to introduce new varieties of crops, whether GM or non-GM, problems might arise because the new seed might be more costly. Problems can also arise in cases where one single monopolistic seed supplier controls the provision of seed. It is therefore desirable that as far as possible farmers have a genuine choice. To provide a genuine choice it is important that support for the public sector be sustained, so that suitable seeds (whether GM or non-GM), which can be retained by farmers with minimal yield losses, are available. Policies also need to be in place to keep the private supply of seeds reasonably competitive (paragraph 4.19).
Decision making processes about the use and regulation of GM crops
Local communities must be included as far as possible in processes of decision making. The dissemination of balanced information, and the education and training of those involved is essential. In particular, farmers need to be informed about the technological potential and management requirements of GM crops. Expectations are sometimes inappropriately high, and knowledge about specialised farm management practices may be absent. We recommend that companies marketing GM crops in developing countries share, with governments, the costs of:
- locally appropriate schemes to elicit the preferences of small-scale farmers regarding traits selected by plant breeders;
- their participation, where appropriate, in plant breeding; and
- subsequent mechanisms to improve dissemination of balanced information, education and training about the use of GM crops (paragraph 5.33