The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project promises to develop drought tolerance in maize for the benefit of small holder farmers, but is really a project designed to facilitate the spread of hybrid and genetically modified (GM) maize varieties on the continent.
WEMA involves five African countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. It works through the National Agricultural Research (NAR) agencies of these countries, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Monsanto.
The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
Secrecy
There is a great deal of secrecy that surrounds the WEMA project. The AATF (the so-called ‘not for profit’ organisation that coordinates WEMA) exercises extremely tight control over any information related to WEMA and has prevented researchers from speaking to WEMA partners, including the NARs. Information relating to performance and quality control is notably absent from the WEMA website. The NARs are public research institutions and are accountable to the public, especially in regard to the use of public goods under their control, such as germplasm, institutional resources and capacities. They are under constitutional and legal obligation to act in the interest of farmers and citizens in their respective countries and to make information available to the public. They are also obliged to ensure that their research efforts are not undermined by the stranglehold of dominant technological platforms based on patented innovations, seed traits and agrochemicals.
WEMA Project shrouded in secrecy: Open letter to African governments to be accountable to farmers, civil society.
