Genetically engineered fresh produce
Nicholas Pythagoras Ndlovu
The recent food crisis in Zimbabwe undermines our nation’s economic development priorities. While the crisis can be easily attributed to the climate change scenario of our times, it still remains that the issue facing Zimbabwe demands urgent attention and a solution.
Of importance right now is what steps need to be taken for the nation to optimise its agricultural productivity under the changing climate to achieve both food security and create incomes and jobs.
It should be considered that an optimised agriculture sector has the capacity of combating poverty and potential to create jobs.
An optimised agriculture sector can reduce poverty two to four times faster than any other sector. A 10 percent increase in yields leads to a seven percent reduction in poverty, and no other sector can achieve this.
The dire food situation in the country has seen the issue of GMO seed varieties rearing its ugly head in story headlines. There is widespread belief that different varieties of drought tolerant genetically modified grains would address the food crisis now and in the future.
In this nation, GMO seeds remain banned as a precaution to avoid unwarranted germination of plant species which will have impacts on biodiversity and the entire ecosystem.
The environmental impacts of introduced GMOs have been shown to affect the population and relationship of species in the receiving area. They impact on predation and competition which are vital for a healthy ecosystem.
Also worth considering are the GMOs effect on biogeochemistry, especially through impacts on soil micro-organism populations that regulate the flow of important elements for our agriculture.
These elements include nitrogen and phosphorus. Another impact of note is that of the transfer of inserted genetic material to other domesticated or native populations through a process known as gene flow, which
may involve cross pollination, mixed mating, dispersal or microbial transfer. It will be effectively difficult to get pure breeds.
Commercial farmers still maintain that GMO seed varieties have better yields, are of better quality and are more commercially attractive.
They also argue that farmers elsewhere in the world who use GMO varieties are engaged in much more profitable agriculture.
This has seen consumers and farmers effectively suffering as they pay higher prices for food imports (of which an estimated 70 percent is GMO) while the cost of production of non-GMO varieties are seemingly escalating at a time when the country is faced with a serious climate catastrophe.
It is, however, critical to understand that enhancing agricultural productivity takes more than just improved seed varieties, capable of resisting droughts or insects, an area in which GMOs mostly focuses on.
It requires adequate water, pollinators as well as good soils having appropriately metered minerals, organic matter, and appropriate structure. It will need that soil erosion is prevented and our environment is protected.
The issue is also on how Zimbabwe can achieve this optimisation of agro-productivity, by leveraging on its internal strengths, approaches that will be most accessible and cost effective and proven to be effective.
Healthy, well-functioning ecosystems enhance natural resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and reduce the vulnerability of people.
As such, ecosystem-based management practices offer a valuable yet under-utilised approach for climate change adaptation, complementing traditional actions such as infrastructure development.
Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management approach that recognises the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation.
The approach, known as “Ecosystem-based Adaptation” (EBA), uses biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people and communities adapt to the negative effects of climate change at local, national, regional and global levels.
In addition to protection from climate change impacts, EBA also provides many other benefits to communities, for example, through the maintenance and enhancement of ecosystem services crucial for livelihoods and human well-being, such as clean water and food.
Appropriately designed ecosystem management initiatives can also contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing emissions from ecosystem loss and degradation, and enhancing carbon sequestration.
The EBA approaches are more compatible to traditional approaches already under use by most farmers in Africa; hence they are easily adaptable to already existing approaches used by 80 percent small holder farmers on the continent.
This complementary relationship is what Zimbabwe should build on.
In addition, studies indicate that EBA approaches to food production can potentially enhance yields by up to 128 percent of nutritious food at lower financial and environmental cost and this simultaneously ensures food secured healthy people and healthy environments.
EBA approaches also ensure adaptation to climate change. They also conserve and enhance capacity of the very ecosystems that underpin food productivity, hence ensuring the ecosystem goods and services earlier mentioned (that is, water, insect pollinators, quality soils etc.) remain intact to continue supporting crop production.
Linking EBA production approaches to commercial value chains has also been proven to enhance incomes and create jobs along the agro-value chains towards combating poverty and joblessness in Africa.
The GMO sector is welcome research and scientists should continue to improve on it. Zimbabwe together with the rest of the world should also leverage on its strengths. It is important to ensure that Zimbabwe and Africa use what is most accessible and proven to work in optimising the agriculture sector to enhance the food and livelihood security of its people while ensuring the environment that is the foundation of agro-production remains intact to combat climate change.
About the author: Nicholas Pythagoras Ndlovu is a Technical Expert with the Zimbabwe Climate Change Organisation (ZiCCO). Contact: email [email protected], mobile :+263 771 373 994 , twitter : @pydlovu