As development donors invest hundreds of millions of dollars into improved crops designed to alleviate poverty and hunger, Africa has emerged as the final frontier in the global debate over agricultural biotechnology. The first data-driven assessment of the ecological, social, and political factors that shape our understanding of genetic modification, Africa's Gene Revolution surveys twenty years of efforts to use genomics-based breeding to enhance yields and livelihoods for African farmers. Matthew Schnurr considers the full range of biotechnologies currently in commercial use and those in development -- including hybrids, marker-assisted breeding, tissue culture, and genetic engineering. Drawing on interviews with biotechnology experts alongside research conducted with more than two hundred farmers across eastern, western, and southern Africa, Schnurr reveals a profound incongruity between the optimistic rhetoric that accompanies genetic modification technology and the realities of the smallholder farmers who are its intended beneficiaries. Through the lens of political ecology, this book demonstrates that the current emphasis on improved seeds discounts the geographic, social, ecological, and economic contexts in which the producers of these crops operate. Bringing the voices of farmers to the foreground of this polarizing debate, Africa's Gene Revolution contends that meaningful change will come from a reconfiguration not only of the plant's genome, but of the entire agricultural system.
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- Includes bibliographical references (pages [255]-305) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 631.5/233096
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
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- f------
- ISBN
- 9780228000440 9780773559035
- LCCN
- SB123.57
- LCCN Item number
- S36 2019eb
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- CaBNVSL
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- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (x, 326 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
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- CaOOCEL
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- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00979957 (CaOOCEL)458271
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- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Title proper/short title
- Genetically modified crops and the future of African agriculture
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Copyright 5
- Contents 6
- Acknowledgments 8
- Abbreviations 10
- INTRODUCTION A Political Ecology of Africa’s Gene Revolution 14
- SECTION ONE The Promotion, Science, and Regulation of GM Crops 36
- 1 Talking Technology: Plant Breeding for Agricultural Development 38
- 2 Rules and Regulations: Governing GM Crops in Africa 51
- SECTION TWO GMO 1.0: First-Generation GM Crops Targeting Insect Resistance and Herbicide Tolerance in Commodity Crops 78
- 3 GM Cotton in South Africa, Burkina Faso, Sudan, and Uganda 80
- 4 GM Maize in South Africa and Egypt 120
- SECTION THREE GMO 2.0: Second-Generation GM Crops Targeting Traits and Crops That Matter to Poor Farmers 146
- 5 Two Crucial Precedents: Virus-Resistant Sweet Potato and Insect-Resistant Maize in Kenya 148
- 6 Water Efficient Maize for Africa in Kenya 164
- 7 GM Banana in Uganda 183
- Conclusion 205
- Notes 226
- Bibliography 266
- Index 318
