The Adoption of Genetically Modified Crops in Africa: the Public’s Current Perception, the Regulatory Obstacles, and Ethical Challenges

Figures & data

Table 1. The current African nations with approval of genetically modified (GM) crops. Only eleven of the fifty-four African nations—Burkina Faso, Egypt, eSwatini, Malawi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia – as of this moment have approved the cultivation of GM crops. Source^28,29.

SN	Country	Crop	Scientific name	Events approved	Biosafety laws and GM commercial crops
1	Burkina Faso	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	1	YES
2	Egypt	Maize	Zea mays L.	1	YES
3	eSwatini	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	2	YES
4	Ethiopia	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	2	YES
5	Ghana	Cowpea	Vigna unguiculata	1	YES
6	Kenya	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	2	YES
		Maize	Zea mays L.		YES
7	Nigeria	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	29	YES
		Cowpea	Vigna unguiculata		YES
		Maize	Zea mays L.		YES
		Soybean	Glycine max L.		YES
		Wheat	Triticum aestivum		YES
8	South Africa	Argentine Canola	Brassica napus	75	YES
		Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.		YES
		Maize	Zea mays L.		YES
		Rice	Oryza sativa L.		YES
		Soybean	Glycine max L.		YES
9	Sudan	Cotton	Gossypium hirsutum L.	1	YES
10	Zambia	Maize	Zea mays L.	6	NO
11	Malawi	-	-	-	YES

Figure 1. Possible solutions for factors affecting the acceptability of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa.

Graphic representation of the factors for countering the rejection of GM crops in the majority of countries in Africa. The establishment of a combination approach, which includes biosafety laws and risk assessment procedures, local GM seed production facilities, and confined field trials (CFTs) for commercialization, will reduce worries and build trust and confidence in GM products. This will improve the adoption of GM crops in many African countries.

ISAAA. International service for the acquisition of agri-biotech applications. 2024.

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ABNE. African biosafety network of expertise 2022, 2023 Aug 17.

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Data availability statement

All data produced during this study are incorporated in the manuscript.