Approximately 17 million farmers around the world grow genetically modified (GMO crops), with a majority in developing countries. Over 70 countries import or grow GMOs, and in 2019, 29 countries (5 industrial and 24 developing) were engaged in GM crop cultivation. The top five countries in terms of GMO acreage in 2019 were the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and India.
GM crop cultivation has brought substantial benefits to global farmers, including increased yields and reduced production costs. Significantly, GMOs also contribute to alleviating poverty among millions of resource-poor farmers and farm households (around 65 million in total) worldwide. PGEconomics estimated that in 2018, farmers in developing countries gained $4.41 in income for every $1 invested in GM crop seeds. As countries seek to expand their domestic GM product pipelines and crop production, more farmers will have access to improved seeds and enjoy their advantages.
Africa faces a double challenge: it has the highest population growth rate compared to the rest of the world (projected to increase from 926 million to 2.2 billion by 2050) and is also the continent most vulnerable to climate change. These circumstances will further burden smallholder African farmers who are already struggling to feed their families and face the additional challenge of increasing yields by 80% to meet growing demands. GM crops developed to address production issues specific to developing countries help boost yields, enable farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices, and improve the livelihoods of farmers and their families. The number of African countries growing GM crops doubled from 3 to 6 between 2018 and 2019.
According to ISAAA, South Africa is among the top ten developing countries growing GM crops, with nearly 6.7 million acres of GM maize, soybeans, and cotton planted in 2019. The 2019 planted area represents a continued trend of growth in the number of hectares of GM varieties planted year after year in South Africa. These GM varieties account for approximately 85%, 95%, and 100% of the total crop planted area respectively.
In the same year, around 150,000 farmers in Sudan planted over 580,000 acres of GM cotton. Eleven other countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Uganda – have been conducting field trials on 10 crops with 16 traits related to drought tolerance, salt tolerance, improved nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency, and enhanced nutrient content.
As the climate continues to warm, the IPCC estimates that rainfall variability in Africa will increase, with annual rainfall potentially decreasing by 10% in southern Africa and the Horn of Africa. This is especially crucial for millions of farmers on this drought-prone continent who rely on rain-fed agriculture.
Maize is the most common crop in Africa. The TELA maize project is an ongoing effort to develop and commercialize GM drought-tolerant and insect-resistant maize varieties for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative is managed by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AAFT) and jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID. The TELA project builds on the breeding work previously completed by the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) program, which has spurred GM maize research in Africa over the past decade. WEMA and TELA researchers use traditional breeding, marker-assisted breeding, and genetic engineering techniques to improve locally grown varieties.
Researchers also add or “stack” insect resistance and drought tolerance traits so that farmers can address multiple challenges with a single seed, and these seeds have become increasingly accessible in recent years. Seeds with stacked traits are available for a variety of crops with multiple traits, with herbicide tolerance/insect resistance stacking in soybeans, maize, cotton, and rapeseed being the most common commercial options. To date, the TELA project has released five new maize varieties planted in seven countries, with higher yields compared to other varieties.
Apart from maize, research and development efforts led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) are also continuously improving other major crops in Africa, including cowpeas and rice. According to CGIAR, cowpeas are a protein-rich grain that is essential for the nutrition and livelihoods of millions in sub-Saharan Africa and a food source for livestock. Scientists in Nigeria, Ghana, and Burkina Faso are working to develop a Bt cowpea that can resist the pod borer, which can destroy up to 90% of farmers’ crops.
Over the years, rice consumption in Africa has been increasing, and it has become a major staple crop on the continent. Low yields among some farmers may be due to high soil salinity, insufficient water, and lack of nitrogen fertilizer. The AATF, together with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the national agricultural research systems of Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda, is developing the latest rice varieties with nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, and salt tolerance. Scientists are also using genetic engineering to enhance the nutritional value of some major crops to address malnutrition issues in many developing countries.