There have been several reports in the media recently about the development of the first genetically engineered crop developed and tested solely by Africans for Africans.

Professor Jennifer Thompson and scientists at the University of Cape Town South African, in collaboration with colleagues from seed company, PANNAR Pty Ltd have reported on the development of a transgenic variety resistant to maize streak virus that could contribute to a substantial improvement in African maize yields.

The media reports on the project stress that part of the objective is to provide seed that will be sold at a minimal profit to subsistence farmers, thus removing the objection that GE technology is principally profit-driven. The paper outlines the ACB’s understanding of the UCT/Pannar project- still in its infancy-and raises important biosafety and socio-economic questions and concerns about the maize streak resistant GM maize.

Read here.