However, as Prof. Diran Makinde, from the School of Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry of the University of Venda in South Africa, pointed out in his presentation to Biovision, ten years after the 1996 World Food Summit, which promised to reduce the number of undernourished people by half by 2015, there are more hungry people in 2006 than there were in 1996. Prof. Makinde called for new approaches to ensure sustainable food production in developing countries; especially in Africa because the majority of least developed countries are in Africa.
Biovision heard that the estimated overall global economic benefit of GM crops from 1996-2004, amounted to $27 billion, and that 90% of the farmers benefiting from this are resource-poor, small-scale farmers. GM crops have directly contributed to the alleviation of poverty for some 7.7 million farmers.
Makinde referred to a study carried out in South Africa in 2002 in which Bt maize and Bt cotton were compared to non-Bt crop varieties and the Bt varieties, in both cases, were found to produce a higher yield and generate more profits. Two farmers using the technology in South Africa further substantiated these findings, Mr. Motlatsi Musi, a small-scale farmer in Olifantsvlei, South Africa said "I plant Bt maize because it has increased my yield and my income. ...
Whole article: "www.checkbiotech.org":[ http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=14636&start=1&control=219&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1]
“We believe that European Life Sciences can do much more to help solve the very big problems of the developing world, especially illness, hunger and environmental degradation -
Illness, hunger, food security, water quality and environmental degradation are some of the major problems facing the developing world that could benefit very much from the use of life sciences (20.6.2006)
Africa seeks "Green Revolution" to help end hunger -
A third of people living in sub-Saharan Africa face recurrent famine and under-nutrition and experts say this is partly due to soil depletion, which occurs when cultivated land loses more nutrients annually than are being replaced (16.6.2006)
Scientists seek biotech answer to hunger -
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - As he pores over plant tissue and petri dishes in a biotech seed lab in Johnston, Iowa, Luke Mehlo is half a world away from his home in South Africa (2.5.2006)
US, African scientists seek biotech answer to hunger -
As he pores over plant tissue and petri dishes in a biotech seed lab in Johnston, Iowa, Luke Mehlo is half a world away from his home in South Africa (7.4.2006)
