The Director, Programme, Development and Commercialisation of African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), [Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin, director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation,] emphasised the transformative potential of Genetically Modified (GM) crops for national food systems, highlighting that while plant breeding has made strides in addressing production challenges – such as drought tolerance, pest resistance, disease control, and resource, efficiency, post-harvest losses remain a significant issue that undermines these gains.

The scientist reiterated that the estimated smallholder farmers are responsible for producing the majority of food in Africa, yet many governments on the continent are not sufficiently investing in agriculture.

According to him: “Of the 54 African countries, 48 of them allocate an average of just 3.8 per cent of their budgets to agriculture,” emphasising the need for increased funding to advance agricultural development in the continent.

He therefore, underscored the importance of GMOs, in achieving food security, stressing that only eight African countries have so far approved or commercialised four genetically modified crops and GM crop market in Africa that was valued at $615.4m in 2018, is projected to grow by five per cent to reach $871m by 2025.

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