Genetically modified organisms and food security in Southern Africa: conundrum and discourse

Figures & data

Figure 1. Status of National biotechnology framework and legislation in Southern Africa countries. Source: ABNE ⁵¹ with modifications.

*Mauritius has a Biosafety act*Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles does not have a Biosafety act*ER – Environmental commercial release*CFTs – Confined field trials

Table 1. Status of GMO adoption in Southern African region. Source: ABNE ⁵¹

Country	Crop	Trait	Regulatory status
Lesotho	-^a	-	no CFT and ERs
Comoros	Sugarcane	Batsa tolerance	Research
Mauritius	Sugarcane	-	Research
Seychelles	-	-	-
Malawi	Banana	Viral resistance	CFTs^b
	Cowpea	Insect resistance	CFTs
	Cotton	Insect resistance	CFTs, ER^c
Mozambique	Maize	Drought tolerant	CFTs
Tanzania	Maize	Drought resistant	CFTs
	Cassava	Virus resistant	Research
Madagascar	-	-	No research No CFTs No ERs
Eswatini	Cotton	Insect resistance	ER
South Africa	Maize	Insect resistant Herbicide tolerant	ER
		Insect/Drought tolerant	ER
	Cotton	Herbicide tolerant	ER
	Soybean	Herbicide tolerant High allelic acid content	ER
	Oil seed rape	Herbicide tolerant	ER
	Rice – Oryza sativa	Herbicide tolerant	ER
	Potato	Insect resistant	CFT
Zambia	-	-	No research, No CFTs No ERs
Democratic Republic of Congo	-	-	No research, No CFTs No ERs
Namibia	-	-	No research, No CFTs No ERs
Botswana	-	-	No research, No CFTs No ERs
Angola	-	-	No research, No CFTs No ERs
Zimbabwe	Cotton	Insect resistant	CFTs (abandoned 2002)

^a(-) – Nothing to report

^bCFTs – Confined field trials

^cER – Environmental commercial release

ABNE. African biosafety network of expertise(ABNE). 2019 [accessed 2020 Apr 16]. http://nepad-abne.net/country_report/.

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