AGRICULTURAL: GM CROPS - South Africa.

(From Africa Research Bulletin (ARBE))

"The country cannot afford not to be on board."

According to The Financial Mail, Johannesburg, small-scale farmers from the Hlabisa district in northern KwaZulu Natal, who planted genetically modified (GM) white maize for the first time this season, have increased their yields by 220% and their income by R2,825 on average.

The seed they planted was CRN 4549 Bt marketed by food giant Monsanto. Bt maize is genetically modified to be resistant to the stalk-border caterpillar, the most serious pest for maize farmers.

South Africa is cautiously in favour of GM technology (unlike some neighbouring …