Annan: Africa's green revolution without genetically modified crops

Jul 16, 2007, 10:59 GMT

Nairobi - African farmers can uproot themselves from poverty without genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but rather through greater access to good seeds and economic markets, Kofi Annan, the new head of an agricultural alliance for Africa, said Monday.

In his first public appearance as chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Annan ruled out the use of GMOs in fighting poverty amongst small-scale farmers on the world's poorest continent, opting instead for better access to seeds and markets and smarter government policies.

'AGRA is not using GMOs. We will be using traditional methods for improving crop resistance and productivity and we will continue to do so,' said Annan, who was appointed chair of the group last month after completing a decade-long post as the United Nations secretary general in January.

Some scientists say GMOs could safeguard African crops, which often fail because of poor soil or wildly fluctuating weather patterns like droughts followed by floods, but AGRA said it disagrees.

'Conventional methods of farming have not yet been applied to the fullest extent in Africa. Simply working with conventional breeding, we can do a lot,' said Joseph De Vries, programme director with AGRA.

After visiting farmers in western Kenya, one of the country's poorest areas, Annan said AGRA would push reliable seeds and fertilizers to spur an African green revolution, based on successful models in Asia and Latin America, and would seek to open up domestic, intra-African and international markets for farmers to become self-sufficient.

'As we speak millions of Africans are being fed by food aid. This is not sustainable,' he said.

Over the next four years, the AGRA initiative is set to focus on agricultural issues such as seed and crop production, water management, fertilizers and the sale of produce, particularly as it affects small farmers.

It was established as a public charity aimed at reducing hunger and poverty through a 150 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.