How can next-generation GM projects produce crops that work better for smallholder farmers?

One immediate change is greater transparency. Most information on GM crop research in Africa is either not available to the public or very hard to find. Opening up GM crop projects to greater public scrutiny can build trust — which has been persistently lacking in debates around GM crop benefits.

Another area where GM crop programs can immediately improve is in crop evaluations — by testing GM crops under actual farming conditions. Current evaluations test trait efficacy and yield performance under ideal farming conditions. Extending this to include trials in diverse farming contexts could inform efforts to produce GM varieties that are more appropriate for smallholder farmers.

Regulations around GM crop experimentation make farming-context crop evaluations more difficult, but creative solutions exist. One way is to make better use of farmer field trials, where farmers, as opposed to research scientists, grow GM crops to test performance.

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If GM crop promoters are serious about achieving the goals of improving food security and reducing poverty, the crops they produce must resonate with a diversity of smallholder farmers.

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