By James Hall
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 10 2003 (IPS)

A panel of prominent women scientists has argued that African researchers need to get out of their laboratories and enter the world of policy-making if they want to be of real benefit to their fellow Africans. The women say that researchers must also learn to market their ideas.

“Scientists are more at home speaking to one another, and filing arcane papers that no one but ourselves reads, than (engaging) in public debate,” said Florence Wambugu, of Harvest Biotech Foundation International, a Nairobi-based institute that was formed to help Africa benefit from biotechnology.

Wambugu was one of four top female scientists who met recently during the African Economics Editors Forum in Johannesburg. Joining her were C.P.E. Omaliko, from the National Biotechnology Development Agency in Nigeria, Norah Olembu from the University of Nairobi, and Jennifer Thomson of the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

“Scientists have a role to play in wealth creation and national growth that is generally overlooked because we do not usually have the public relations skills of other professions,” said Omaliko.

“We need information outreach,” she added, to the approving nods of her fellow scientists. They agreed that more networking through conferences like the Johannesburg meeting would get scientists away from their Bunsen Burners, and enable them to present their ideas to a wider audience. Researchers also needed to become more aware of how scientific breakthroughs affected ordinary people.

“It’s a two-way exchange,” said Omaliko. “Science can be intimidating to the lay person.”

The four women agreed that scientists had to be deliberate in drawing attention to work that had beneficial applications for society. Often, this failed to be done, leaving the popularising of new research to others.

A case in point was that of genetically modified (GM) crops which have been implanted with genes from other organisms to give them particular characteristics. Proponents of GM crops argue that they can, amongst other things, be engineered to repel insects – thus sparing farmers the cost of insecticides that pollute the environment. Plants can also be given genes that make them impervious to herbicides. These chemicals then only kill unwanted weeds.

Critics of GM argue that modified crops are being forced on consumers before substantial research into the safety of the plants has been carried out. Many anti-GM activists believe that agricultural and biotechnology companies are pushing farmers to make use of the crops so that firms can increase their profits – even at the expense of safety.

The panel of women complained that the press had misread and sensationalised some test results for GM crops, nicknamed “Frankenfoods”.

“We have only ourselves to blame,” said Wambugu. “We failed to engage the public in our work.”

Wambugu has written a book, “Modifying Africa: How Biotechnology Can Benefit the Poor and Hungry”. In it, she notes that “People often reject new technology at first because they fear the unknown. The Maasai tribesmen who took up arms when the railway first came were, a few years later, buying their tickets and boarding the train.”

Thomson felt strongly that it must be African people, advised by African scientists, who decided on the growth and consumption of GM foods in their countries. This was preferable to having decisions on the matter taken by parties in the developed world.

“African scientists should take a leadership role in (the) development of their countries, and not allow Western scientists to set the agendas. We need international knowledge and experience, that is true, but we must be driven by local scientists who understand our cultural diversity,” added Omaliko.

According to Olembu, “Many African scientists are involved in agriculture, because (it) is the driving economic force of Africa. Sure, there is oil in Nigeria, and diamonds in Botswana, but growth will come from a strong agriculture-driven economy in almost all places.”

“But, all of this requires government support ,” Olembu added. “You get out what you put in. Or as we say in Africa, ‘You can’t milk a cow without feeding her grass’,” she said.

The scientists, whose work is often funded by government grants, said researchers must push for reforms to ensure more efficient and honest leadership across the continent.

“Government must be free of corruption. Scientists must add their voices to those calling for clean government,” said Wambugu.

Such involvement in the world beyond the lab would be new, and should be tied to greater efforts at ensuring that scientific breakthroughs originating in Africa brought profits to the countries concerned.

“Scientists aren’t commercial. They have no marketing skills,” noted Wambugu.

Omaliko agreed, laughing: “Today, it’s more than just looking at molecules, isn’t it?” (END/AF/WA/SA/EA/DV/EN/IF/SC/WL/JH/03)

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