GM crops are key to improving ag production in Africa, the Economist reports

According to an Economist Special Report this week, biotechnology has helped African countries to significantly improve crop yields and overcome environmental challenges.

Joe deVries, head of crop research at the Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) says that previously African farmers had low yields for crops such as sorghum and cassava, but the adoption of biotech sorghum has tripled yields and genetic research helps prevent the devastation of cassava from disease. Read more.

Harvard Professor recommends GM crops as solution to low food production in Africa

In Harvard Magazine, Professor Calestous Juma at the Harvard Kennedy School says that agricultural technology could help Africa improve its food production. Professor Juma is founder of the African Centre for Technology Studies, the first African NGO dedicated to promoting science and technology methods for sustainable development, and he currently directs the Agricultural Innovation Project at Harvard, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  His book, The New Harvest, “notes that the use of genetically modified BT corn and cotton has reduced pesticide use and increased crop yields in Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Egypt.” Read more.

March 17: film about founder of first seed company to be screened at the National Portrait Gallery

On Thursday, March 17, at 12 PM EST the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. will premiere the film Henry Wallace: An Uncommon Man. The film presents a biographical portrait of the Iowa farmer, scientist and writer who founded the world’s first hybrid seed company that catalyzed the Green Revolution of the 20^th century, which has helped save more than a billion people in Latin America and Asia through improved plant varieties.  Mr. Wallace served as Agriculture Secretary and Vice President under Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression and World War II. Read more.

Submit nominations for the 2012 World Food Prize

The World Food Prize is accepting nominations for its annual award to honor individuals who have contributed to “improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.” Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who has also been called the “Father of the Green Revolution,” founded The World Food Prize twenty-five years ago to continue his legacy of implementing agricultural technologies that help fight global hunger. The deadline for submitting nominations for 2012 is April 1, 2011. Read more.  

Next week, farmers from around the world will gather in Des Moines for the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable, held in conjunction with the Word Food Prize Symposium, hosted by Truth About Trade & Technology (TATT), and sponsored in part by CBI. The farmers will discuss the future of agriculture and how innovations in farming can promote food security around the globe. In preparation for this exciting event, we asked the farmers to share their thoughts on agriculture. Meet a few farmers below and hear their thoughts on food security.

This year, the theme of the World Food Prize Symposium is “take it to the farmer.”  How would you describe the role of farmers in feeding the world?

Jose Luis Romeo Martin (Spain): I think Norman Borlaug gave us the correct answer: If you can feed the world you must give the technology and the seeds to the farmers. In many countries in Africa hunger could be solved giving the farmers good seeds and good fertilizers and teaching them the best way to use them. And giving the seeds to the farmers doesn’t solve only hunger. It solves poverty also. In Asia I think the problem is different. There are a lot of people in Asia and they are using all the land they can. And I think the only way to increase the yield is using the new biotech crops.

Giorgio Fidenato (Italy): The role of farmers is analogous to that of other entrepreneurs. Food production is an entrepreneurial activity like any other and must respond to the law of supply and demand. Like all activities it continuously evolves toward the goal of greater efficiency. If the farming sector were left alone and there were a truly free market, innovation in agriculture would be continuous and could certainly solve world hunger.

Camilla Illich (Brazil): Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that by the year 2050, the world will have around 10 billion people, in other words, from the current situation there would be 4 billion-plus people to feed. Compounding the problem of feeding the world, emerging countries like Brazil have been reducing the number of farmers who have the responsibility to feed urban populations. Given this reality, the focus of the farmers in agriculture is to promote high productivity, or yield average (plant and animal), with help of technology and biotechnology. Farmers are one of the most important players in feeding the world.

ISAAA, the organization that releases the yearly reports about the global state of agricultural biotechnology, has produced six short videos featuring the organization’s founder and chair, Dr. Clive James, discussing the latest developments and significant achievements in ag biotech. The videos are dedicated to the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Norman Borlaug. All videos are available for streaming and download.

Below is the first of the six videos, titled, “The Norman Borlaug Legacy.” The rest of the videos can be viewed here. Enjoy!

2009 was a big year for agricultural biotechnology, as top leaders and top-tier national media talked about the benefits of the technology. “We believe that biotechnology has a critical role to play in increasing agricultural productivity, particularly in light of climate change. We also believe it can help to improve the nutritional value of staple foods,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In The Economist’s “The World in 2010” issue, Matt Ridley wrote, “Genetically modified crops are proving to be an unmitigated environmental miracle… Within a decade there may be crops that are no-till, insect-resistant, omega-3-enriched, drought-tolerant, salt-tolerant and nitrogen-efficient. If they boost yields, then the 21st century will see more and more people better and better fed from less and less land.”

We turned to scientists for their opinions on the top three ag biotech stories of the year - those that stood out in terms of their significance and impact on the future of agricultural biotechnology worldwide.

Their choices:

1. Norman Borlaug’s Legacy: The loss of Dr. Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and father of the Green Revolution, was cited by several experts as the biggest story of 2009 because of his work to alleviate poverty and hunger.

According to Dr. Ronald Phillips of the University of Minnesota, “Norman Borlaug was one of the greatest humanitarians to ever have lived and he achieved this through hard work, impeccable ethics, a belief in training, and a vision as to what can improve the human condition.”

Reflecting on Dr. Borlaug’s legacy, Dr. Peggy G. Lemaux of the University of California, Berkeley wrote “far and away the year’s top story is Norman Borlaug. Biotech lost a strong and influential voice with his passing. One that cannot be filled by any other shoes.”

2. China Begins Approval Process for Biotech Rice: Many scientists also chose the story about China declaring two strands of genetically modified rice safe to produce and consume as one of the year’s most significant ag biotech developments.

According to Dr. Kenneth G. Cassman of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, “this announcement is a game-changer because China produces about 30% of rice in the world….Therefore, I believe this approval will create an overwhelming pressure to approve biotech crops in most developing nations.”

Dr. Chris Somerville of the University of California-Berkeley, chose China’s announcement as his top story of the year because “it is the official opening of the largest food market in the world to GMO.”

3. Mapping of the Corn Genome: Other scientists suggested that the mapping of the corn genome qualifies as the biggest ag biotech story of the year because of what can be achieved when we understand the genome sequence of this important crop.

Dr. Larry Heatherly of the University of Tennessee chose the mapping of the corn genome as the story of the year because “this achievement will lead to new/improved quality traits, enhanced genetic pest resistance, and increased production with fewer inputs resulting in lower cost of production and a more sustainable economic production system.”

Dr. William H. Danforth, chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, wrote an op-ed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that outlines the challenges the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) must meet, and argues that first-rate science is critical to addressing these challenges.

He writes that America must promote innovation and science in order to increase productivity with fewer inputs, lower costs and new value added. This call to action connects to the second challenge: the 1 billion people who are undernourished worldwide. He also addresses the challenge of climate change, and stresses the importance of sustainable agriculture practices and preserving the environment for future generations.

Dr. Danforth also reflects on Dr. Norman Borlaug’s success bringing about the Green Revolution, which saved over 1 billion people from hunger and starvation, and communicates the need for similar food production advances today. Dr. Danforth writes, “An agricultural revolution to provide what’s needed on land able to produce for generations is a tough but noble goal. Our modern scientific and technological tools are allies.”

Read Dr. Danforth’s entire op-ed here