About the RUFORUM 2010 Biennal Conference
"The 2010 RUFORUM Biennial Conference was the second in the series. The main objective of the Biennial conferences is to provide a platform for agricultural research for development stakeholders in Africa and beyond to actively exchange findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards improving performance of the agricultural sector and ultimately people’s livelihoods. The biennial conference is RUFORUM’s most comprehensive meeting for the diversity of stakeholders in agriculture. It is especially dedicated to graduate students and their supervisors, grantees in RUFORUM member universities and alumni. It is a platform for peer review, quality control, mentorship, networking and shared learning. This record contains an extended abstract accepted under the theme of Plant Breeding"
Food security and plant biotechnology applications in Africa
Abstract:
Africa is, paradoxically, a continent rich in resources, and yet,
lacking and lagging in overall development. African Agriculture
in facing great challenges. Accordingly, African countries have
developed policies aimed at transforming agriculture to
commercial business. Plant biotechnology has far-reaching
consequences for agriculture such as tissue culture and other
biotechnological tools, which can improve the efficiency of
breeding of cultivars and overall agricultural productivity. Use
of genetic modification (GM) biotechnology is however very
limited and is so far confined to 14 African countries, but only 3
counties have commercialized GM crops. Africa must speedily
embrace use of biotechnology to increase productivity. However,
the agricultural and food security problems cannot be solved
by applying plant biotechnology alone. Other processes as
outlined in the Comprehensive African Agricultural
Development Programme (CAADP) must be put in place and
supported by skilled human capital.
L’Afrique est, paradoxalement, un continent riche en ressources,
et encore, en retard de développement global. L’agriculture
africaine fait face à de grands défis. En conséquence, les pays
africains ont élaboré des politiques visant à transformer
l’agriculture pour les entreprises commerciales. La
biotechnologie végétale a de lourdes conséquences pour
l’agriculture comme la culture de tissus et d’autres outils
biotechnologiques, ce qui peut améliorer l’efficacité de la
sélection de cultivars et de l’ensemble de la productivité agricole.
L’utilisation de la modification génétique (OGM) la
biotechnologie est toutefois très limité et est à ce jour limitée à
14 pays africains, mais seulement 3 pays ont commercialisé
des cultures génétiquement modifiées (OGM). L’Afrique doit
rapidement adopter l’utilisation de la biotechnologie pour
accroître la productivité. Toutefois, les problèmes agricoles et
la sécurité alimentaire ne peuvent être résolus par l’application
de la biotechnologie végétale seulement. D’autres procédés comme indiqué dans le Programme Compréhensif du
Développement de l’Agriculture de l’Afrique (CAADP) doivent
être mis en place et soutenues par le capital humain qualifié.
Language:
English
Date of publication:
2010
Region Focus:
Africa Wide
University/affiliation:
Collection:
RUFORUM Conferences and Workshops
Agris Subject Categories:
Agrovoc terms:
Additional keywords:
Licence conditions:
Open Access
Access restriction:
Form:
Printed resource
Publisher:
ISSN:
E_ISSN:
Edition:
Extent:
963-967
Notes:
