Guyana the wider world by Dr Clive Thomas
Stabroek News
March 11, 2001

Last week we considered the first of three transformations affecting global food security. That was described as the WTO/Uruguay Round Agreement and the related Agreement on Agriculture (AOA). The provisions of the AOA offer the umbrella or canopy under which global trade in food is being organized. Underlying the many details of the AOA presented in that article is the concerted effort to bring agricultural trade under the guidance of the new liberal trade rules, increasingly being applied to trade in manufactured goods and services.

This development marks a tremendous paradigm shift. Traditionally, trade in food, more than any other class of products, has been riddled by protection, exceptions, regulations, political conditionalities, and strategic concerns. Countries that are dependent on supplies of imported basic foods feel vulnerable to external pressures. Therefore, it becomes essential for them to establish, through a variety of measures, independence from significant reliance on imported food. To bring the food trade regime under the umbrella of free trade rules in such an environment is clearly an extraordinary development in the architecture of global trade.

These points we have observed are not alien to us in Guyana. It is well known that our exports of sugar and rice involve a complex set of international agreements and arrangements, which are far removed from the liberal free trade ideal.

Biotechnology

The second remarkable global transformation is the explosive growth of science and technology in the field of agriculture. Of particular note is the rapid development of biotechnology. The literature stresses six key areas in which this development is proceeding rapidly. One is the molecular characterization of species - genomics. Spectacular strides have been made in the mapping and sequencing of the human genetic code. These have been reported often in the press in recent times. Similar breakthroughs in plant and animal species are also occurring at an equally rapid rate.

Second there is the field of bioinformatics, which refers to the assembly of data from genomic analysis into accessible forms. Then there is transformation, which is the introduction of single genes with potentially useful traits into other agricultural materials broadly defined. Such materials include plants, livestock, fish and tree species. Linked to this is molecular breeding. Here the object is to identify and evaluate desirable traits in breeder programmes with the use of marker-assisted selection. Molecular characterization is also being used to provide more accurate and quicker identification of pathogens. Fifthly, improved diagnostics could lead to dramatically improved yields and output. Finally, there is the long established field of vaccine technology. Today the use of immunology to develop recombinant DNA vaccines for improving control of lethal diseases is well underway.

Biosolutions

The potential impact of these biotechnology advances on food security has been stressed a great deal in the literature. Indeed, there is increasing talk of "biosolutions" to the problems of hunger and want. I can cite two examples of these. One is the support being given to the development of micronutrient-dense staples. The focus so far has been on the staples: wheat, maize, rice, beans and cassava made rich in Vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc. It is believed that in the long run, micronutrient-dense staples would be a cheaper means of eliminating these deficiencies among the poor in developing countries, than the traditional methods of food fortification, supplements, and pills.

If this can be achieved it would indeed be an enormous gain. The World Bank has estimated that in South Asia, deficiencies in Vitamin A, iodine, and iron alone, cause economic losses the equivalent of 5 percent of its GNP. Most of these losses come through the impact of these deficiencies on the health and productivity of the workforce.

The other proposed "biosolution" is genetically modified foods. We are all aware of the tremendous controversy this has generated, particularly in Europe where the population is very health conscious. It may come as a surprise therefore to learn that at the end of 1998, it was estimated that as many as 70 million acres worldwide were already planted in transgenic crops. These crops are mainly corn, soyabean, rapeseed, and cotton. The share of the developing countries in this total in 1998 was 15 percent.

Cure-All

In a recent academic paper I have argued that it would be naive to expect that modern biotechnology would be a "cure all" for food insecurity. It can however, offer significant contributions to the problem of food insecurity. For this to occur four policy issues will have to be addressed. First, more investments will be required to flow into R&D directed at the concerns of the developing countries. The tendency has been so far for agricultural biotechnology to be largely privately funded and to focus on the plants and animals of the North, in order to serve the commercial needs of farmers and consumers there. Where products of the South have been focused on, the main emphasis is to provide crop substitutes, for example, cocoa.

Second, in light of widespread consumer rebellion, improved regulatory mechanisms "to inform and protect" the public against abuses of genetically modified foods need to be put in place. Third, the global legal framework for intellectual property rights should not sacrifice the rights attached to local inventions in the developing countries, or create barriers to developing countries' access to new technologies. Finally, the procurement of better regulation of public and private research will be necessary. Without this we would be unable to secure the interests of poor small farmers in developing countries or for that matter poor consumers worldwide.

Next week we shall look at the last of the three transformations, namely, the revolution of "best-practice" methods for dealing with problems created by food shortages and want.