Africa's Green Revolution Drought Tolerant Maize Scam

Prediction of exacerbated drought in Africa due to climate change is
apparently the driving force behind the establishment of the Water
Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) initiative, another prong of the
so-called “New Green Revolution for Africa”.

WEMA seeks to develop drought tolerant maize varieties through a
program which is being presented as a panacea for solving issues of
hunger on the continent using marker assisted breeding and genetic
engineering. That this is being done under the guise of philanthropy
sidesteps questions about the real causes of hunger, disregards issues
of imbalanced global distribution of food and underplays the financial
benefits to be derived by the various proponents of the scheme.

The possible risks to small-scale farmers, whom WEMA targets, include
loss of biodiversity through gene flow, a dependence on expensive
inputs into farming, possible exposure to intellectual and property
rights claims and impacts on their food security. The most effective
ways of supporting small-scale farmers is through agro-ecological
approaches to farming. These focus on small-scale sustainable
agriculture; locally adapted seed and ecological farming that better
addresses the complexities of climate change, hunger, poverty and
productive demands on agriculture in the developing world.

Download a briefing paper from our website www.biosafetyafrica.org.za