The GM debate in Africa has made UK headlines as journalist Oliver Wright journeys to Uganda for the Independent to investigate the Bill and Melinda Gates programme to develop wilt-resistant hybrid bananas by inserting a gene from red peppers. (Read “The GM crops debate moves to Africa – and it’s just as noisy“.) Wright airs the concerns, myths and suspicions held by those who oppose GM, and speaks to experts who dispel these concerns. In a separate piece introducing the topic, which will be more deeply investigated in the paper this week, Wright says, “One thing seems clear: we need to have a more nuanced debate about GM – rather than a simple good versus bad argument that we’ve had for the past 20 years.”

Last week in Vancouver, plant geneticist Pamela Ronald – who happens to be married to an organic farmer – similarly made the case for the genetic modification of plants the annual TED conference, saying that it can be the “safest, cheapest and most effective technology to advance sustainable agriculture and enhance food security.” She walked the audience through a few examples – including how Bt eggplant protects farmers in Bangladesh from pesticide exposure – and addressed the attack on Golden Rice by activists. “When I heard about it, I wondered if the activists realized that they had destroyed much more than an important scientific research project — that they had destroyed medicines that children desperately need,” she said.

From the B4FA Fellows this week. Michael Ssali sends a piece stating that Uganda should follow Nigeria’s lead and pass a biosafety law soon allowing the planting of already-developed GM crops. He points out that both countries have missed out economically in comparison to countries that have approved commercialisation of GM crops, such as South Africa, India and Burkina Faso. An article by Jimoh Babatunde makes the same case, albeit from the Nigerian perspective. Meanwhile, Lominda Afedraru writes about the damaging effects of air pollution on crops, while Noah Nash’s latest video visits Ghanaian smallholder rice communities that are implementing a rain-fed rice project.

Thank you for joining us, and we hope you enjoy this week’s issue! Please send your questions, comments, contributions and story links to [email protected]

Biosciences & plant genetics around the world