The Use of GM Crops in Developing Countries
Can GM crops be introduced in such a way that local customs and practices are respected?
4.16 It is sometimes argued that the introduction of GM crops into developing countries will transform agricultural practices without respecting local traditions. It is alleged that socalled ‘informal seed systems’ may break down, which could make it impossible for farmers to keep, or exchange harvested grain as seed for the next season.13 In the 1990s, more than 80% of crops sown in developing countries were sown from farm-saved seeds.14
4.17 While it is clearly important to respect such traditions, we question whether, in contemporary agricultural practice, informal seed systems are significantly challenged. Neither GM crops nor conventional plant breeding more generally prevent farmers from retaining and re-sowing their own seed varieties or landraces if they prefer to do so. If new GM or conventionally bred seeds are preferred by farmers, that is entirely their own concern, provided the crops are safe for human consumption and the environment. Moreover, the retention of seed by farmers is more important for some crops and some countries, than others. Farmers are often aware that, for open-pollinated crops such as maize, saved seed produces lower yields than F1 hybrids (see paragraph 3.3). Many farmers in Zambia, Kenya and South Africa have therefore been buying hybrid seed from local or multinational companies for some years.15 For self-pollinated crops such as rice and wheat, hybrids are unavailable. However, there is nothing to prevent farmers from retaining seed from the harvest for several years with only minor reductions in yield, as they have been doing for decades with leading varieties developed during the Green Revolution.16
4.18 Seed re-use can be prevented by technologies such as GURT which effectively sterilises saved seed (see paragraph 3.19). Such technologies continue to be patented and may be problematic, as we observed in our 1999 Report (see paragraphs 2.26 and 4.75 of that Report).17 Nonetheless, this development need not prevent farmers from continuing to save seed from nonterminated varieties.18
4.19 However, where farmers choose to buy seed, problems of affordability might arise if new varieties of crops, whether GM or not, are more costly than previously used seed. The prevalence of single monopolistic seed suppliers can further complicate access to inexpensive seed. It is therefore desirable that, as far as possible, farmers have a genuine choice. To provide a genuine choice it is important that funding for research in 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.
4.20 Some applications of GM crops might have detrimental effects on traditional farming practices, as has been suggested in the case of coffee.19 However, we are not persuaded by the argument that the use of GM crops, as such, tends to disseminate Western farm practices which will displace the use of locally-adapted crops. As we have noted, researchers are using genetic modification to improve traditional crops such as rice (see case studies 2, 3 and 4) sweet potatoes (see case study 5) and bananas (see case study 6). These crops are frequently grown by small-scale farmers. They are important for subsistence farming and also for local trade. Much of this research is, moreover, being undertaken by researchers from developing countries.
Footnotes13 Action Aid (1999) AstraZeneca and its Genetic Research: Feeding the World or Fuelling Hunger? (London: Action Aid); Christian Aid (1999) Selling Suicide: Farming, False Promises and Genetic Engineering in Developing Countries (London: Christian Aid); The Corner House (1998) Briefing 10 - Food? Health? Hope? Genetic Engineering and World Hunger (Sturminster Newton, UK: The Corner House).
14 Jaffee S and Srivastava J (1992) Seed System Development: The Appropriate Roles of the Private and Public Sectors World Bank Discussion Paper 167 (Washington, DC: World Bank); Srivastava JP and Jaffee S (1993) Best Practices for Moving Seed Technology: New Approaches to Doing Business World Bank Technical Paper 213 (Washington, DC: World Bank); Tripp R (2001) Seed Provision and Agricultural Development: The Institutions of Rural Change (Oxford: James Currey Publishers).
15 Thomson J (2002) Genes for Africa: Genetically Modified Crops in the Developing World (Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press); Ismael Y, Bennett R and Morse S (2002) Benefits of Bt cotton use by smallholder farmers in South Africa, AgBioForum 5: 1–5; deVries J and Toenniessen G (2001) Securing the Harvest: Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems for African Crops (New York: CABI Publishing).
16 Although there is some loss of yield if farmers apply this practice to the still infrequent F1 hybrids of such crops; we note however, that farmers are not compelled to adopt these varieties.
17 It has been reported that, despite its pledge in 1999 not to commercialise GURT, Monsanto has recently reconsidered its position. See Collins HB and Krueger RW (2003) Potential Impact of GURTs on Smallholder Farmers, Indigenous & Local Communities and Farmers Rights: The Benefits of GURTs Paper made available to the CBD’s Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on the Impact of GURTs on Smallholder Farmers, Indigenous People and Local Communities, 19 – 21 Feb 2003. The paper is presented as the official position paper of the International Seed Federation.
18 We also note that in developed countries, the use of GURT has been suggested as an effective way of preventing the spread of pollen from GM crops to neighbouring organic or conventional crops, a cause of great concern to many farmers.
19 Action Aid (2001) Robbing Coffee’s Cradle - GM coffee and its threat to poor farmers (London: Action Aid).
20 Five Year Freeze (2002) Feeding or Fooling the World? (London: Five Year Freeze) p20–6; Ho M-W ‘Golden Rice’ - An Exercise in How Not to Do Science (ISIS). Available: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/rice.php. Accessed on: 21 Oct 2003.