Prospects for GM Cassava in Africa

More serious efforts by the public sector and research communities are necessary to speed up the introduction of disease-resistant transgenic cassava in Sub-Saharan Africa on a substantial scale. The application of humanitarian use licensing may reduce the cost and time required for its development. These thoughts are forwarded by Hiroyuki Takeshima of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Nigeria in Prospects for Development of Genetically Modified Cassava in Sub-Saharan Africa published in the online journal AgBioForum.

Takeshima notes that in developing countries, research capacity and knowledge are unavailable and such is the case for GM cassava. In addition, institutional constraints such as perceptions by various stakeholders and regulatory capacity also hamper the potential commercialization of the product. It would be worthwhile, the author says, to consider how the application of humanitarian use licensing can reduce time and cost constraints and how this translates into increased benefits from GM cassava through faster commercialization.

Download the paper at http://www.agbioforum.org/v13n1/v13n1a05-takeshima.htm