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Alliance for Science shifts strategy to widen its mandate
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek”– Senator Barack Obama’s speech to supporters after the nomination contests, February 2008. Those words, by…
Regional governments lag in their response as famine looms in East Africa
Though tragedy looms for millions in Eastern Africa as a catastrophic drought wreaks havoc, the response from governments across the region has been muted. The World Health Organization has warned that millions are facing starvation and disease in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan…
Pitting agroecology against biotechnology is fundamental error
Pitting biotechnology against agroecology — as has been the case in a long-running debate around food and agriculture — is a fundamental error. Biotechnology is a set of tools that can be used to improve crops and animals, while agroecology is an approach to farming that has various…
Ghanaian scientist: ‘Africa needs GMOs more than the rest of the world’
Africa has a more urgent need than the rest of the world to adopt genetically modified organisms for agricultural improvement, says Prof. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, founding director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement(WACCI) at the University of Ghana. Challenges like climate change and population…
Ghana farmers optimistic about GMO crops, survey finds
As Ghana considers approving its first genetically modified crop, a new report finds the country’s smallholder farmers are increasingly optimistic that GM crops hold sustainable solutions to low farm productivity and incomes. Researchers from the University for Development Studies in Kumasi surveyed 360 smallholder farmers across 10…
Africa struggles to improve climate change literacy as its effects worsen across the continent
From scorching temperatures and devastating floods to continuous droughts and poor crop harvests, the heavy hand of climate change is too apparent to ignore in Africa. But though they are already feeling its effects, most Africans are not literate about the glaring climate crisis, according to…
Blue economy seen as catalyst for Africa’s economic resurgence
Africa’s much-touted blue economy is primed for growth as the continent’s coastal and island nations tap into marine biotechnology and molecular aquaculture to support renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and other products. The global marine biotechnology market is expected to grow by US$2.5 billion between 2020-2024, progressing at a compound annual…
Anti-GMO stances ‘insult smallholder farmers’ in Africa and Asia
Science advocates in Africa and Asia reject claims that genetically modified (GM) crops have been hijacked by big companies from the West to promote “a neo-colonialist agenda.” Citing studies and the fact that Asian and African scientists are developing GM crops for their own countrymen, the science advocates said the…
Biotechnology is boosting yields of high-protein African yam bean
African scientists are using the tools of biotechnology to boost the climate-resiliency and yields of the high-protein African yam bean. Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Genetic Resource Center are employing marker-assisted selection and other biotech tools, as well as conventional plant breeding, to add traits…