Learn Genetics, Harvest More

Africa should ensure community participation when it exploits its genetic resources to increase agriculture output through new plant breeding methods, a leading Indian expert in plant genetics, said yesterday.

This will ensure genetic sustainability, added M.S. Swaminathan, during a keynote address he delivered at a symposium on ''Plant Genetic Resources for Africa's Renewal'' at the Ubuntu Village – one of the venues for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

''Farmers are the primary conservers of genetic diversity and their rights must be protected,'' he told the gathering made up of largely African specialists in plant genetics.
Swaminathan's view was echoed by some of the African specialists who spoke at this parallel event at the WSSD.

Farmers have amply demonstrated their skills in adapting seeds to suit the varying environment, consequently assuring bio-diversity, said Kwesi Atta-Krah of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).

''We need to link people involved with policy negotiations on bio-diversity with the people in the field,'' he added. ''Africa must recognise that farmers know a lot about bio-diversity and bio-diversity management.''

African specialists at the symposium said that the continent needs to recognise the potential of plant genetics to enhance agriculture output and feed the millions faced with food shortages across the continent.

Some 340 million Africans, almost half the region's population, live on less than one U.S. dollar a day, while there are 33 African countries on the list of 44 countries in the world faced with acute food shortages.