This edition of Malawi’s biotechnology newsletter (PDF 357 KB) provides an overview of current biotech news, including the country’s approval of a biotechnology policy, as well as the introduction of a new cotton variety in Kenya. Also covered are South Korea’s gradual openness to GM corn and a call from the UK’s Gordon Brown for relaxed regulations on GM feed imports. “Biotechnology Update” is published by the Biotechnology-Ecology Research and Outreach Consortium (BioEROC), a PBS partner organization.

Malawi has approved a National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy, which provides a framework for effective implementation of biotechnology programs and activities. In a foreword to the policy, President Bingu Wa Mutharika said his government recognized the pivotal role biotechnology can play in boosting economic growth and poverty reduction. The Policy provides an enabling framework to promote and regulate the development, acquisition, and deployment of relevant biotechnology products, helping to reposition Malawi as a manufacturing and exporting economy. With the Biosafety Act in place since 2002, the approval of the policy is expected to hasten the country’s plans to commence contained trials of Bt cotton, GM cassava, and drought-tolerant maize. Alick Manda, one of PBS’s partners and the Acting Director of the National Research Council of Malawi, praised the decision and stressed that a Biotechnology and Biosafety Committee will oversee field trials, and afterward it will be determined if the crops can be commercialized.

GMOs and Exports: Demystifying Concerns in Africa
By David Wafula, Gabrielle Persley, and Margaret Karembu

Credible evidence shows that farmers are deriving benefits from GM crops in both developing and developed nations. However, some countries, especially in Africa, have been reluctant to embrace the technology for a variety of reasons, including the possibility of losing market access for agricultural exports. This brief aims to expand and promote informed perspectives of the magnitude of trade-related risks associated with adoption of GMOs in Africa. The brief was co-published by PBS and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

IFPRI has compiled a web-based bibliography of peer-reviewed applied economics literature to assess the impact of genetically engineered (GE) crops in developing economies. All 190 articles have been organized under four major themes that address the different areas of impact: advantages to farmers, consumer preferences and willingness to pay, size and distribution of benefits, and international benefits of trade. The literature is searchable by author, year, and keyword.  If permission has been granted by publishers, the references include abstracts or links to full text. Whenever available, a permanent link to each article’s website is provided, as well as links to full text.  As this literature is maintained on a regular basis and is fed by outside contributions, it will provide a valuable, up-to-date tool for researchers in the area, particularly in developing countries.

bEcon is updated every three months, and a CD-ROM is produced on an annual basis for those with limited or no internet access.

For more information on bEcon, visit http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/becon/becon.asp.

PBS colleagues Karen Hokanson (University of Minnesota) and Idah Sithole-Niang (University of Zimbabwe) are in Malawi June 23-27 to meet with program partners and stakeholders to discuss the implementation of planned activities in Malawi. They will also participate as resource persons in workshops, jointly organized by the National Research Council and AfricaBio, on the following topics: (1) GM confined field trial compliance; (2) Biotechnology and biosafety communication. On June 27, the recently constituted Malawi National Biosafety Regulatory Committee will meet to elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson, and will also develop a work plan for the committee.

PBS team members Jeff Stein (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center) and Hector Quemada (Calvin College) are in Nairobi, Kenya this week to (1) work with local crop experts to finalize “crop biology documents” for sweet potato and banana; (2) work with Kenyan regulatory agencies and experts on drafting enabling regulations for GMO releases. Both activities will include a 2-day workshop to review draft documents and models from other countries. The workshops are conducted in collaboration with PBS colleagues in Kenya, David Wafula and Margaret Karembu.

This new study from PG Economics Ltd presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of GM crops in the eleven years since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. It focuses on the farm-level economic effects, the environmental impact resulting from changes in the use of insecticides and herbicides, and the contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Click here for the full PDF.

IFPRI Research Fellow Jose Falck-Zepeda participated on behalf of IFPRI/PBS in the annual conference organized by the International Consortium of Agricultural Biotechnology Research (ICABR), June 11-15 in Ravello, Italy. Researchers from educational institutions, international organizations, and the private sector discussed issues around agricultural biotechnology, including impact, developed and developing countries’ regulation of biotechnology, and trade and development issues.

Jose presented three papers in collaboration with partners, including:
 “Socio-Economic Considerations, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and WTO: What are the issues and what is at stake for developing countries of Article 26.1?”
“A Quantitative Assessment of Agricultural Biotechnology Capacity and Innovation in 18 Latin American and the Caribbean Countries”
“Household’s Perceptions towards Introducing GM Banana in Uganda”

The ICABR consortia elected Jose to its Board. The new Board will explore ideas to reinvigorate the conference, such as hosting a future conference in Africa, increasing the visibility of the event, and further promoting high-quality research. The next conference will be held in Ravello, June 2009.

Regional Biotechnology Regulations:
Design Options and Implications for Good Governance
By Regina Birner and Nicholas Linacre
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/dp/ifpridp00753.asp

Many developing countries are currently designing regulatory systems to allow the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for agricultural development. Various regions are seeking to establish regional systems of biotechnology regulation. However, considerable costs are associated with biotechnology regulation, and biosafety specialists are scarce. In addition, there is no consistent understanding of how regional systems of biotechnology regulation can be effective and also ensure good governance. This paper develops a conceptual framework for the assessment of regional systems of biotechnology regulation, using the case of West Africa. 

By Guillaume Gruere and Mark Rosegrant
This journal article analyzes the potential effects of a generalized implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety’s proposed stringent information requirements on members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). This rule would require all traded shipments containing living modified organisms intended for food, feed, or processing to carry a label with the list of precise genetically modified (GM) events. The article finds that the benefits of such requirements are debatable and that this regulation would add significant implementation costs for importers of GM crops, for Protocol members adopting new GM crops, and for countries ratifying the Protocol.
Click here for the article abstract.