The Use of GM Crops in Developing Countries
Current and future research
For a variety of reasons, many of the crops such as rice, wheat, white maize, millet, sorghum, yams, cocoyams and others, which provide food and employment income for the poor in developing countries, have been ignored by the private sector. Much of the current privately funded research on GM crops serves the interest of large-scale farmers in developed countries. Consequently there is a serious risk that the needs of small-scale farmers in developing countries will be neglected. It appears that research on these crops will have to be supported primarily by the public sector.
We therefore affirm the recommendation made in our 1999 Report that genuinely additional resources be committed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission, national governments and others, to fund a major expansion of public GM-related research into tropical and sub-tropical staple foods, suitable for the needs of small-scale farmers in developing countries. In determining which traits and crops should be developed, funding bodies should be proactive in consulting with national and regional bodies in developing countries to identify relevant priorities (paragraphs 6.16-6.17).
There is not enough evidence of actual or potential harm to justify a blanket moratorium on either research, field trials, or the controlled release of GM crops into the environment at this stage. We recommend that research on the use of GM crops in developing countries be sustained, governed by a reasonable application of the precautionary approach. Accumulating evidence from new scientific developments must be used to inform discussions about the current or future use of GM crops. The views of farmers and other relevant stakeholders must also be taken into account (paragraph 4.50).