Agricultural Biotechnology and Small-scale Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa

The document assesses the role of agricultural biotechnology in Eastern and Southern Africa, arguing that while the technology can address biotic and abiotic constraints for small-scale farmers, a significant gap exists between technical potential and actual benefit. It identifies key barriers including weak public breeding systems, high transaction costs related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and inadequate biosafety regulatory frameworks. The paper recommends increased public investment in research, the integration of formal and informal seed systems, and the development of regional biosafety cooperation to facilitate the dissemination of improved crop varieties.

• Agricultural biotechnology is well-suited to address specific productivity constraints in Eastern and Southern Africa, such as resistance to insect pests, diseases, and environmental stresses, but these benefits have reached small-scale farmers only to a very limited degree.
• The public breeding systems in ESA are currently too weak to effectively respond to the needs of resource-poor farmers or to harness biotechnology for their benefit.
• High transaction costs hinder the dissemination of biotechnology, driven by private sector control of patents and licenses, costly biosafety data requirements for GM crops, and negative public perceptions.
• There is a systemic failure in the introduction of biosafety regulatory measures in ESA, caused by a lack of government and scientific capacity, which leads to decision-making paralysis regarding the release of GM crops.
• Private sector transnational companies (TNCs) primarily focus on high-value 'global crops' for large markets, leaving the development of low-profit, local-specific crops essential for the poor to the public sector.
• In South Africa, the adoption of Bt cotton by small-scale farmers has demonstrated tangible benefits, including reduced pesticide use, increased yields, and lower production costs.
• The document proposes several policy actions to support small-scale farmers, including increased public investment in research, the use of 'open source' technologies, and the integration of formal and informal seed systems.
• A survey in Tanzania identified numerous opportunities for biotechnology to address local constraints, including using Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) for drought and disease resistance in maize, rice, and cassava.

APA

Virgin, I., Bhagavan, M., Komen, J., Kullaya, A., Louwaars, N., Morris, E. J., Okori, P., & Persley, G. (2007). Agricultural Biotechnology and Small-scale Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/agricultural_biotech_smallscale_east_south_africa.pdf

Chicago

Virgin, Ivar, Malur Bhagavan, John Komen, Alois Kullaya, Niels Louwaars, E. Jane Morris, Patrick Okori, and Gabrielle Persley. Agricultural Biotechnology and Small-scale Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2007. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/agricultural_biotech_smallscale_east_south_africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Virgin |first1=Ivar |last2=Bhagavan |first2=Malur |last3=Komen |first3=John |last4=Kullaya |first4=Alois |last5=Louwaars |first5=Niels |last6=Morris |first6=E. Jane |last7=Okori |first7=Patrick |last8=Persley |first8=Gabrielle |title=Agricultural Biotechnology and Small-scale Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=November 2007 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/agricultural_biotech_smallscale_east_south_africa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{virgin2007agricultural, author = {Virgin, Ivar and Bhagavan, Malur and Komen, John and Kullaya, Alois and Louwaars, Niels and Morris, E. Jane and Okori, Patrick and Persley, Gabrielle}, title = {{Agricultural Biotechnology and Small-scale Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2007}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/agricultural_biotech_smallscale_east_south_africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }