food & health impacts in developing nations agricultural … · developing nations: human...

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Health Impacts in Developing Nations

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Program Objectives

1. Describe agricultural biotechnology

applications currently utilized or being

studied for use in developing nations.

2. Identify biotechnology’s role in food

quality and availability, economic

development, and the health of farm

workers.

3. Describe guidance from international

authorities regarding safety testing and

regulation of agricultural biotechnology.

4. Compare and contrast examples of uses

and regulation of agricultural

biotechnology in specific developing

nations and world regions.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Module Outline

I. Global Overview

a. Definition

b. Adoption

c. Regulation and Safety

II. Understanding Agriculture, Food, and

Health in Developing Nations

III. Developing Nations

a. Adoption

b. Benefits

c. Research & Development

d. Case Studies

e. What will the Future Hold?

IV. Resources & References

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Overview:

Definition

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Agricultural Biotechnology Defined:

• Various agricultural and food production

techniques that aim to improve agricultural

conditions and produce better food.

Modern Agricultural Biotechnology:

• Identification and transfer of specific

gene(s) that create(s) a desired

quality in a plant.

• More precise way to produce plants

with certain beneficial

characteristics— such as insect

protection or better nutrition.

Photos courtesy of Wayne Parrot, PhD, University of Georgia

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Overview:

Adoption

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Biotechnology: Adoption

• 60-fold increase in acreage, 1996 to 2006

• In 2006:

• 252 million acres (102 million

hectares)

• 22 countries

• 10.3 million farmers

%Global Crop

Acreage:

64% soybean

38% cotton

18% canola

17% maize

• Traits expressed in crops:

• Bt (insect protected)

• HT (herbicide tolerant)

• VR (virus resistant)

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Overview:

Regulation and Safety

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Biotechnology: Regulation and Safety

Deemed safe by scientific and regulatory

authorities globally for food, animal feed, and

environmental safety

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Biotechnology:

An Example of Safety Assessment Cooperation

• Assessing Allergenicity of Genetically

Modified Foods

– 2000: Decision tree adopted

– 2001: 28 experts reaffirmed and

recommended integrating emerging

research and modifying, as needed

– Decision Tree is utilized worldwide

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Biotechnology: Scientific Support

American Medical Association (AMA)

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

Royal Society of London, U.S. National Academy of Sciences,

Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of

Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Mexican

Academy of Sciences, and Third World Academy of Sciences

Society of Toxicology

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

World Health Organization (WHO)

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Global Biotechnology: Challenges to

Cooperation regarding Trade Regulation

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

• Designed to address biodiversity

• Biotech crops and seeds require

approval and notification prior to

importation

• Complexity and extended scope raise

interpretation, implementation, and

resource challenges

• 195 nations have ratified the Protocol

• Critics, including the US, have

concerns that the Protocol is not

science-based

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Understanding

Agriculture, Food,

and Health in

Developing

Nations

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Agriculture, Food, and Health in Developing

Nations

• AGRICULTURE plays critical role:

• Engine of ECONOMIC GROWTH

• Employer to nearly ½ labor force

• Enhancing agricultural productivity to

include better quality, quantity and

consistency means:

• BETTER DIETS

• HIGHER INCOMES

1% increase in yield can

increase income by 100% for

44% of Sub-Saharan Africans

HUMAN

HEALTH

REDUCED

PESTICIDE

USE

HIGHER

FARM/

FAMILY

INCOME

TRANSITION TO

USE OF SAFER

PESTICIDES

IMPROVED AIR QUALITY

IMPROVED SOIL QUALITY

STIMULATION

OF LOCAL

ECONOMIES

Food & Agricultural Biotechnology:

Impact of Improved Agricultural Productivity on Human Health

PRODUCE

MORE CONSISTENT

FOOD SUPPLY

PRODUCE MORE

FOOD/NUTRITIONAL

VALUE PER CROP

REDUCED

SOIL TILLAGE

IMPROVED WATER QUALITY

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Agriculture, Food, and Health in Developing

Nations

• 854 million hungry people in world with 820

million (96%) of those individuals in

developing countries

• In Africa:

•1/3 undernourished

•1/4 of children underweight

•1/3 of children stunted

• Population growth compounding

problem!

• 40% more food needed from agriculture

to meet needs of projected population

“Hunger, poverty,

and disease are

interlinked, with

each contributing

to the presence

and persistence of

the other two.”

World Health

Organization, 1997

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

• Many BARRIERS to addressing hunger and

malnutrition through increasing agricultural

production

• Failure to address agricultural production,

however, would undermine self-

sustainability

• Fortunately biotechnology does not rely on

economies of scale. The power of

biotechnology is delivered via the seed

itself.

Food, Agriculture, and Health in Developing

Nations

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations:

Adoption

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Adoption

2006

• 11 of 22 countries with biotech crop

acreage were developing nations

• 40% global acreage in developing nations

(vs. 14% in 1997)

• Of 10.3 million farmers who planted biotech

crops in 2006:

• 90% or 9.3 million were small, resource-

poor farmers from developing countries

• Increased income from biotech

crops contributed to poverty

alleviation.

• Most reside and work in China,

India, the Philippines, and South

Africa.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations:

Benefits

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Solving Problems

Biotechnology is making and has the

potential to make further essential

contributions to resolving certain food and

agricultural issues in the developing world

• Human Health

• Environmental

• Economic

“Because trace minerals are important not only for human nutrition, but for

plant nutrition as well, plant breeding holds great promise for making a

significant, low-cost, and sustainable contribution to reducing micronutrient,

particularly mineral deficiencies in humans, and may have important spinoff

effects for increasing farm productivity in developing countries in a way that is

environmentally-beneficial.”

(Bouis, Graham, and Welch, 1999)

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Human Health Benefits

• Improved nutrition

– Golden rice

– Golden mustard oil

– Higher protein potato

– Micronutrient-enhanced cassava, rice, etc.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• Reduced toxin formation, in the field and

post-harvest

– Reduced mycotoxin formation in insect-protected (Bt) varieties

– Varieties developed to produce less naturally-occurring toxin

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• Increased food production

– Disease and pest resistance

– Resulting yield increases

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• Farmer health

– Reduced pesticide exposure during

spraying

– Economic gains translate into better diets

and health care

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Environmental Benefits

• Global Reductions in Pesticide Use

– ↓ 224 million kg (6%) active ingredient,

1996-2005

– Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ)

↓15.3%, 1996-2005

Human health impact?

Reduce farmer exposure.

Improve air and ground water quality.

Improve diets through increased net income to farmer.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Environmental Benefits

(continued)

• Reductions in Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

Emissions

– Less fossil fuel used to spray pesticides and/or till the soil

→ ↓ 962 million kg CO2

→ Equivalent to 427,556 average family cars

– More organic carbon sequestered in soil with no-till and reduced-till systems

→ ↓ 8,053 million kg CO2

→ Equivalent to 3,579,298 average family cars


Improve air quality.

Improve diets through increased net income to farmer.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Economic Benefits

• 2005 direct global farm income benefit*:

$5 billion

• 2005 direct developing nations farm

income benefit*: $2.75 billion

* Farm income benefit accounts for impact on yield, key costs of production

(seed, crop protection, fuel, labor), crop quality, facility of planting 2nd crop

within a season, price changes


Allow farming families to eat better.

Channel resources into local economy,

allowing non-farming families to eat better.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations:

R&D

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations: Research and Development

Research goals relevant to developing nations:

• Reduce need for agrochemicals

• Pest and disease resistance

• Increased tolerance to drought and saline soils

• Prolonged shelf life and other enhanced

product characteristics

• Improved nutritional value

R&D is active worldwide

• in specific countries, and

• through international collaborative research

groups

The reality is that

poor countries

have vibrant

programs of public

biotech research. Joel Cohen,

International Food

Policy Research

Institute, 2004

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations:

Case Studies

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Case Study: South Africa

• HEALTH AND AGRONOMIC NEEDS

– 11% population employed in agriculture

– Ag is 4% of GDP

– Severe HIV/AIDS crisis, affecting ability to work

and economic status of families

– Common crops: cotton, maize, potato,

soybean, sugarcane, wheat

• ADOPTION

– 1999: One of first developing countries to

commercially approve biotech crops

– 2005 to 2006: 180% increase (3.5 million acres

in 2006)

– 8th largest acreage worldwide

– Planted by several thousand farmers, including

many female Bt cotton farmers

– Crops: • Bt and HT white maize for food

• Bt and HT yellow maize for animal feed

• HT soybean

• Bt, HT, and stacked (Bt + HT) cotton

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• ECONOMIC

– Farm income ↑$76 million, 1998-2005

– Makhatini Flats cotton farmer survey (‘98-’01)

– Gross margin increase: $86-93/hectare

– Revenue, yield, harvest labor, seed cost ↑

– Pesticide cost, pesticide spray labor ↓

– Social implications for female farmers

supporting families

• ENVIRONMENTAL

– EIQ ↓ ranged from 7% for HT soybean to

0.44% for HT maize

“Walking with a knapsack sprayer on his back, a farmer has to cover a

distance of 10-20 km to apply pesticide to one hectare of cotton. Water

has to be carried by hand from communal water sources, and in dry

areas clean water is a very scarce commodity. Illness due to exposure

to pesticides is not uncommon among small-scale farmers.” Gouse, Pray, Schimmelpfennig 2004

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• R&D

– University of Cape Town

– Maize resistant to virus, drought

– Tobacco to produce vaccines against

HIV and HPV

– South African Sugar Experiment Station

– HT sugar cane (see photo at left:

control in middle, HT crop on either

side; courtesy of AgBioForum)

– India-Brazil-South Africa Trilateral

Commission, biotech research

collaboration

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Case Study: India

• HEALTH AND AGRONOMIC NEEDS:

– Green Revolution history

– Still, home to most hungry in world–

300 million food insecure

– 60% employed in agriculture

Ag represents 22% of the GDP

Feeds into cotton industry (4%

GDP)

• ADOPTION:

– 9.4 million biotech crop acres: 3-fold

or 192% increase, 2005 to 2006

– 5th largest biotech cultivator worldwide

– 2.3 million farmers

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Case Study: India

• ECONOMIC:

– 2002 to 2005, farmer income increased

US$463 million due to biotech

– Yield of Bt vs. conventional cotton was

45% higher in 2002 and 63% higher in

2003

• ENVIRONMENT

– 78% less pesticide sprayed in 2002 on Bt

vs. non-Bt cotton; 83% less in 2003

– EIQ ↓3%, 1996-2005

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Case Study: India

• R&D

– Dept of Biotech, Ministry of Science and

Technology: 6 centers of plant molecular

biology in 1990

– IBSA Trilateral Commission

– Crops under study in India: chickpea,

banana, blackgram, brassica, cabbage,

cauliflower, coffee, cotton, eggplant, maize,

muskmelon, mustard/rapeseed, pidgeonpea,

potato, rice, tobacco, tomato, and wheat.

– Agricultural Biotechnology Support Program

II (ABSPII): Fruit and Shoot Borer Resistant Eggplant

(photo at left courtesy of ABSPII)

Drought Tolerant Rice

Salinity Tolerant Rice

Late Blight Resistant Potato

Tobacco Streak Virus Resistant

Groundnut and Sunflower

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Case Study: The Philippines

• HEALTH AND AGRONOMIC NEEDS:

– 36% population employed in ag sector

– Ag is 14.8% GDP

– Major crops: banana, cassava, coconut,

corn, mango, pineapple, rice, sugarcane

• ADOPTION:

– 100% increase, 2005 to 2006, to 0.2 million

hectares

– 10th largest biotech cultivator worldwide

– 100,000 farmers

– Crops: – Bt, HT, and stacked maize for animal feed

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• ECONOMIC

– $8 million farm income ↑, 2003-2005

– Yield ↑25%

• ENVIRONMENT

– Potential for reduced pesticide

usage

• HEALTH

– Potential for reduced mycotoxin

formation

– Potential for reduced pesticide exposure

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology


• R&D

– Agricultural Biotechnology Support Program

II (ABSPII): Fruit and Shoot Borer Resistant Eggplant

Drought Tolerant Rice

Salinity Tolerant Rice

Late Blight Resistant Potato

Tobacco Streak Virus Resistant Groundnut

and Sunflower

– Philippine Rice Research Institute Golden Rice

Virus and Blight Resistant Rice

– Institute of Plant Breeding of the University

of the Philippines at Los Baños VR papaya (photo at left: virus-resistant on

right, control on left; courtesy of

AgBioForum, Gonsalves 2004)

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Developing Nations:

What will the future hold?

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

Critical Factors for Continued Benefits in

Developing Nations

• Science-based regulatory and trade policies

• Infrastructure and access issues

• Responsible farm management and

environmental stewardship

• Public-private partnerships

• Consumer acceptance

“Biotechnology is not the enemy…hunger is”

Jimmy Carter

Former President of the U.S. and current activist against global hunger

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

"GM technology, coupled with important developments in other

areas, should be used to increase the production of main food

staples, improve the efficiency of production, reduce the

environmental impact of agriculture, and provide access to food

for small-scale farmers.”

National Academy of Sciences

To Learn More:

Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II

http://www.absp2.cornell.edu/

AgBio World

www.agbioworld.org

Biotechnology Industry Organization

www.bio.org

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

www.cgiar.org/

Council for Biotechnology Information

www.whybiotech.org

Institute of Food Technologists

www.ift.org

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

To Learn More…continued

Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Science

www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=21496

International Food Information Council Foundation

www.ific.org/food/biotechnology

International Food Policy Research Institute

www.ifpri.org

International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech

Applications

www.isaaa.org

Society of Toxicology www.toxicology.org/information/governmentmedia/gm)_food.html

US Regulatory Agencies Unified Biotechnology Web Site

http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov/

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

References

• Bennett RM, Ismael Y, Kambhampati U, & and Morse S. Economic

impact of genetically modified cotton in India. AgBioForum.

2004;7(3):96-100.

• Bouis H, Graham RD, and Welch RM. The CGIAR Micronutrients

Project: Justification, History, Objectives, and Summary of Findings.

Presented at International Food Policy Research Institute Conference,

“Improving Human Nutrition Through Agriculture: The Role of

International Agricultural Research,” October 5-7, 1999.

• Brookes G and Barfoot P. Global Impact of Biotech Crops: Socio-

Economic and Environmental Effects in the First Ten Years of

Commercial Use. AgBioForum. 2006;9(3):139-151.

• Philippines’ Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. Internet:

http://www.bas.gov.ph (accessed 5/1/07)

• Cardoso AP, Ernesto M, Cliff J, Egan SV, Bradbury JH. Cyanogenic

potential of cassava flour: field trial in Mozambique of a simple kit. Int

J Food Sci Nutr. 1998;49(2):93-9.Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

(CPB). Internet: http://www.cbd.int/biosafety/default.shtml (accessed

1/7/07). Delmer, D. Agriculture in the developing world. PNAS.

102(44):15739-15746.

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations. The State

of Food Insecurity 2006. Internet:

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/a0750e/a0750e02.pdf (accessed

1/27/07).

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and

the World Health Organization (WHO). Evaluation of Allergenicity of

Genetically Modified Foods. 2001.

• Gouse M, Pray C, and Schimmelpfennig D. The Distribution of

Benefits from Bt Cotton Adoption in South Africa. AgBioForum.

2004;7(4):187-194.

• Haung, J. et al. (2002) Plant Biotechnology in China. Science 295:

674-676.

• Hossain, et al. (2004) Genetically Modified Cotton and Farmer’s

Health in China. International Journal of Environmental Health, 10:

296-303

• India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue. Indian Embassy Web Site.

2004. Internet:

http://www.indianembassy.org.br/port/relations/ForumForCo-

operation.htm (accessed 3/31/07).

• International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC). (2006).

“Food Biotechnology 101: A Primer on the Science and the Public

Debate.” 1 hour CPE, Level I, http://ific.org/adacpe/biotechcpe.cfm

(accessed 1/26/07)

• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 1999.

• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). (2002). “Ending

Hunger in Africa: Only the Small Farmer Can Do It”.

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib10.pdf (accessed 1/7/07)

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

References

• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2004. “Ending

Hunger in Africa: Prospects for the Small Farmer.” Internet:

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib16.pdf (accessed 1/7/07)

• Ismael, Yousouf; Bennett, Richard and Morse, Stephen. (2002).

Benefits from Bt Cotton Use by Smallholder Farmers in South Africa.

AgBioForum, 5 (1): 1-5.

• James, C. (2006). ISAAA Brief 35, Global status of commercialized

biotech/GM crops: 2006. International Service for the Acquisition of

Agri-biotech Applications.

• Johanson A and Ives C. (2001). An Inventory of Agricultural

Biotechnology for the Eastern and Central Africa Region. Agricultural

Biotechnology Support Project (ABSP), Michigan State University.

• Kambhampati U, Morse S, Bennett R, and Ismael Y. Perceptions of

the impacts of genetically modified cotton varieties: A case study of

the cotton industry in Gujarat, India. AgBioForum. 2005;8(2&3):161-

171.

• Kershen, Drew. (2006). Health and Food Safety: The Benefits of Bt-

Corn. Food and Drug Law Journal 61, Number 2.

• Mendoza, Concepcion et al. (2001) Absorption of the iron unmodified

maize and genetically altered low-phytate maize fortified with ferrous

sulfate or sodium iron EDTA. The American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition, 73: 80-85.

• Morse, Stephen; Bennett, Richard and Ismael, Yousouf. (2004). Why

Bt cotton pays for small scale producers in South Africa. Nature

Biotechnology, 22 (4): 379-380.

• Philippines Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. Internet:

http://www.bas.gov.ph (accessed 5/1/07).

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

References • Philippine Department of Agriculture. Bt corn…What you need to

know. Internet:

http://www.da.gov.ph/cornprogram/profile/BtCorn/btcorn.html

(accessed 5/1/07).

• Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. (2004). Feeding the World:

A Look at Biotechnology and World Hunger.

• Purdue University. (2003). “Food Biotechnology: Dreams from the

Fields.” 1-3 hours CPE, Level II, http://xtrain.cfs.purdue.edu/

(accessed 1/26/07)

• Royal Society of London, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the

Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,

the Indian National Science Academy, the Mexican Academy of

Sciences and the Third World Academy of Sciences. Transgenic

Plants and World Agriculture. National Academy Press: Washington,

DC. 2002. Internet: http://www.nap.edu/html/transgenic/index.html

(accessed 1/26/07)

• Runge CF and Ryan B. The Global Diffusion of Plant Biotechnology:

International Adoption and Research in 2004. Report for the Council

on Biotechnology Information. 2004

• SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center and Philippine

Department of Agriculture

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Developing World’s Future. Press Release 28 October 2002. Internet:

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Africa. AgBioForum, 7 (1&2): 9-12.

Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

References

• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population

Division. (2004). World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision,

Volume III: Analytical Report. Internet:

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ol3_Final/Chapter1.pdf (accessed January 26, 2007).

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complete.pdf (accessed 1/27/07)

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Modified Virus-resistant Sweet Potato for Subsistence Farmers in

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Food &

Agricultural

Biotechnology

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