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Vol.6,4 |
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Capacity Building International, Germany ( Established through the merger of CDG II and DSE ) InWEnt gGmbH Rural and Agricultural Development, Development Management Division Wielinger Str. 52 D-82340 Feldafing Germany Tel: ++49 8157 / 938 - 0 Fax: ++49 8157 / 938 - 315 email: feldafing@inwent.org
and :
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International Centre North South Dialogue
P.O.Box 1361 D-37203 Witzenhausen Germany Tel: ++49 5542 / 502 - 9173 Fax: ++49 5542 / 502 - 9175 email: info@icnsd.org
Editors: Sahle Tesfai ( ICNSD ) Hartmut Gast ( InWEnt )
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The year 2004
Every eight seconds a child somewhere in the world dies of hunger related causes. Almost one billion people wake up each morning, uncertain of where their next meal will come from. With global resources available to feed more than 12 billion people, concerned organizations and individuals from around the world were uniting to recognize World Food Day 2004.
"The world's biodiversity is under threat and this could severely compromise global food security," said Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General or the FAO, in a message for World Food Day. "As a consequence, the food supply becomes more vulnerable.”
This year's World Food Day theme, "Biodiversity for Food Security," highlighted the role of agricultural variety in ensuring that all people have access to enough diversified food to lead active and healthy lives. FAO estimates that about three-quarters of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops have been lost over the last century, and more than 1,300 animal breeds are endangered or already extinct.
This year's “The participants of NECOFA follow-up workshop which took place in Kumasi – Ghana (September 26 to October 09 2004) under the theme ‘Promotion of Ecofarming for Food Security, Protection of Natural resources, Health and Income Generation”, have critically analyzed the de facto situation in Africa. The participants believe that at this advanced technological era, Africa is overburdened by food insecurity and poverty. Wishing to work for the continent’s bright future, strongly suggested that the situation should be reversed. The NECOFA African countries urged to say no to GMOs and adopted the Kumasi declaration.
Hope the NECOFA Kumasi declaration speaks for itself.
This year in October 2004, thousands of “intellectuals of the land” from all over world traveled to Turin, Italy, to meet and talk. Farmers, fishermen, shepherds and artisans:
People who feed the word day by day, using sustainable methods, protecting the environment and shaping the landscape.
NECOFA COMMUNITIES participated to this International conference of TERRA MADRE, organized from SLOW FOOD and presented their community projects.
This year 2004 the Nobel Peace Prize goes to Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai.
Maathai, who has served as Kenyan Assistant Minister for the Environment since 2003, founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, the largest tree planting project in Africa, aimed at promoting Biodiversity and at the same time creating jobs and giving women a stronger identity in society
The last but not least of the quarterly Newsletter of this year 2004, dedicates its contribution meanly on the above mentioned topics.
S. Tesfai
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Dr. Sahle Tesfai, International Coordinator |
The Terra Madre Conference in Turin, Italy on the 20th-23rd October 2004 has been organized by the founder of the "Slow Food" movement, Carlo Petrini, the city of Turin and Italy's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
It was in fact the first international conference to focus on protection of food product diversity as a way to ensure the continuation of the world’s heritage of agricultural biodiversity and gastronomic traditions.
It's rare that a food conference attempts to bring together food producers, cooks, and authorities from many countries. It's also rare that an Italian conference manages to run with great efficiency and to deliver on everything promised
The slow food movement is, according to its founding manifesto, "a movement for the protection of the right to taste." It sets itself as a counterforce to processed food, genetically modified food, fast food and junk food. It promotes biodiversity, local production and consumption, sustainable agriculture, and good food.
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Participants of terra- madre conference in Turin |
The idea of Terra Madre was to highlight the contributions of a diverse range of producers to the global food system, to celebrate their value, and support their empowerment. Far too many are isolated from the eventual consumers of their products or those who can assist in their marketing and distribution.
Many are vulnerable to takeovers, or simply overwhelmed, by large-scale agribusinesses.
The food conference was rare and unique in its arrangements and great efficiency, over 5,000 delegates from 130 countries with their 1,200 "food communities," farmers, fishers, breeders, nomads, vintners and brewers were represented. Seven official languages were translated via earphone to easy the communication of the five continents present at the international conference.
Delegates took part in two days of workshops covering environmental issues linked to agriculture, such as desertification and the effects of pesticide use, political issues related to sustainability and production of individual crops and products, such as corn, beef, and coffee.
Hundreds of foods and wines competed for attention. Multiple "laboratories," or seminars, took place from early in the afternoon until late at night, all of them of great interest.
NECOFA members, delegates of international conference from Kenya, Uganda, Benin, and Tanzania etc. participated and presented their community projects and their experiences at the workshops. Projects, like Community of Traditional Crops in Semiarid areas Homa Bay and Kilifi, Community for exploitation of non-wood forestry resources, Rifty Valley –Kenya- and Community of tropical poultry farmers, Kampala –Uganda-. NECOFA delegates impressed other country delegates with their study-results.
Besides, the NECOFA International and National office had the opportunity to present the Network for Ecofarming in Africa “NECOFA” and develop further contacts and relations with many worldwide at the conference present communities.
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Mr. Siver from Uganda presents Communities NECOFA projects |
PAPER PRECENTENTED AT THE TERRA MADRE 2004 – WORLD MEETING OF FOOD COMMUNITIES HELD IN TURIN – ITALY ON 20TH – 23TH OCTOBER 2004
PAPER PRECENTED BY JOHN P MUNENE (NECOFA KENYA)
TRADITIONAL PRESERVATION OF MEAT, FISH AND VALUE ADDING TO NON-FOOD ANIMAL PRODUCTS
MEAT AND FISH IN NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Most of the nutrients found in meat and fish are as follows;
(a) CALCIUM; A major dietary mineral that builds and restores bones and teeth and is essential in the prevention of osteoporosis, “the brittle bone disease” which can cause bone fracture in older people, especially woman. Adequate calcium intake is especially important before age 35, when your body is still building bones, but also after age 35, to maintain strong bones for a lifetime. Another function of calcium is that it helps regulate muscles contracting, including heartbeat; some research indicates that an adequate supply of calcium may help counteract high blood pressure. Fish that are eaten bones and all are good source of calcium.
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Indian delegate Dr. Vandana Shiva Founder of Navdanya and director of the Research Foundation for science, Technology and Ecology with Dr. S. Tesfai |
(b) IRON; this mineral plays a key role in the blood’s distribution of oxygen to the body. A serious shortage of iron (iron-deficiency anemia) produces fatigue and impaired immunity. Iron is found in red meat, poultry & fish also in egg yolks. These are two types of iron in food, haeme and nonhaeme iron. Haeme iron, is found in meat and food from animal sources, and is easily absorbed by the body. Nonhaeme is found in foods from plants sources and is less readily absorbed.
(c) PHOSPHORUS; this bone building mineral is important for energy production and the formation of cells, phosphorus is found in a great variety of food, notably fish, meat, poultry dairy products and eggs.
(d) SELENIUM; this trace mineral may have cancer fighting properties, it forms a part of an enzyme, glutathione peroxidase which is an antioxidant, selenium also helps detoxify poisonous metals such as mercury, selenium is found in fish and chicken.
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Mr. Carlo Petrini and S. Tesfai |
(e) ZINC; an important mineral with many function, zinc is involved in cell division, repair and growth, as well as immune function. It also keeps your senses of taste and smell working properly. A Dutch study suggests that high zinc levels are associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Zinc deficiency is rare, although it is something seen in vegans (vegetarians who eat no animal products at all including dairy products and eggs). Slight zinc deficiencies have also been noted in elderly people. Good source of zinc include Oysters, Crayfish, Meat & Eggs.
(f) MAGNESIUM; this mineral works with its allies, Calcium and Phosphorus, to build and maintain bones and teeth, magnesium also contributes to the functioning of the nerve and muscles. Magnesium is found in meat & fish.
(g) PROTEIN; the basic building material of our bodies, protein consist of chains of amino acids. Some foods provide complete protein, i.e. they have a full complement of essential amino acids. Foods from animal source, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products fall in this category.
(h) BIOTIN; Egg yolks and liver contain this one of the B vitamins, Biotin is made by the human body, so deficiencies of it are virtually unknown. Biotin plays a role in the metabolism of proteins and fat.
(i)THIAMIN; one of the B vitamins (B1), thiamin helps the body transform food into energy. Pork is a leading source of thiamin and fish also supply good amount of this vitamins.
(j) RIBOFLAVIN; this B vitamin (B2), also found in the meat, poultry and fish, plays essential roles in the production of red blood cells, energy production and growth. Studies show that older women seem to need more riboflavin than other people, and researchers believe that many elderly people do not consume enough riboflavin.
(k) NIACIN; also found in lean meat, poultry and fish, is one of B vitamins (vitaminB3), niacin is important in the body’s production of energy from food. It is also required for normal growth and the synthesis of DNA (genetic materials). In additional, niacin helps keep the skin, nerves and digestive system healthy.
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(l) PYRIDOXINE; this vitamin B6 is also found in chicken, beef and fish, it aids in the body’s utilization of protein and in the production of red blood
cells. Pyridoxine works with other B vitamins to help keep levels of HOMOCYSTEINE (sulphur containing amino acid) low.
(m) VITAMIN B12 (COBALAMIN); vitamin B12 plays a role in the formation of red blood cells and in the functioning of the nervous system. A very important role of vitamin B12 is that it enables the body to utilize FOLATE (vitamin B, also called folacin or folic acid), thus helping to keep HOMOCYSTEINE levels down. This vitamin is plentiful in meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products that are foods from animal sources.
Having seen the nutritional value of meat and fish above, meat is very much used in communities leaving in Kenya as a source of protein. In some communities’ children who have Kwashiorkor (malnutrition caused by a protein deficiency of diet) use are fed on Mole meat, which they believed has good source of protein.
Some communities treat sore throat with fish oil (oil extracted from fish) and sheep fat.
CONDITIONS FOR SURPLUS OF MEAT AND FISH
In western Kenya both Luo and Bantu communities living in the area do much Hunting and trapping insect, birds and small mammals(Dic dic ,Hare) are obtained this way and used for food, locust, grass hoppers and termites are collected and used as seasonal delicacies. The bleeding of cattle is common among some communities in western Kenya, for example, Luo and Kalenjin and in both cases blood is mixed with milk before it is taken.
Most communities living in Kenya used meat a lot especially during in traditional ceremonies, in religion people slaughter animals for cleansing, praying for the rains to come, and when women give birth an animal has to be slaughtered, also during circumcision (the traditional act of transforming childhood to adult hood).
During these ceremonies there is surpluses, other surpluses are found when there is a preparation of new fields for planting in the beginning of the planting season, many wildlife animals found are trapped and killed and cannot be consumed all at once.
Other surpluses are found when there is a high population of fish in a pond, and during dry season animals have to be culled in order to reduce the population and therefore reduce the competition of pasture, and save some animals.
PRESERVATION OF FISH
SOLAR DRYING
The communities near the lake region of western Kenya broadcasted small Omena fish (also called mukene or dagaa fishes) they cast omena out on the ground to dry, the big fish, tilapia, lungfish, Nile perch and catfish, are cleaned and split opened, the stomach product removed and left to dry in the sun. The dry fish is preserved for three to four months.
SMOKING
The communities living near the lake in western Kenya also used this method of drying fish, the fish is placed on a mesh wire above the smoking fire wood and the walls of this dryer which is made of clay are covered completely leaving only one ventilation where fire wood is placed at the bottom, the upper part is open and fish is placed on the mesh wire to dry.
This type of dryer known as Kiln (lunyu in local language), and the dried fish is preserved for about four months; most people prefer this smoked fish as they say it has a better taste than the sun dried one.
PRESERVATION OF MEAT
In central Kenya, communities living here cook meat and preserve it in honey; this can last for years.
In western Kenya, meat is salted and slit in small pieces then hanged to dry under the roof above the fireplace; this meat is preserved for more than six months.
Boiling of meat is also done in some communities and this meat is then dried after boiling and preserved for weeks.
VALUES ADDING TO NON FOOD ANIMAL PRODUCT
HIDES AND SKINS
People in cooler areas of western Kenya are compelled by the cold weather to use clothes, which are reasonably resistance to the cold. Those in warmer areas covered up less, as it is more comfortable, these clothes, aprons and belts are made of hides and skin.
Head dresses are used for many different activities such as dances performed as a form of entertainment, more serious dances, for example at circumcision (Embalu dance), for rituals ceremonies, as status symbols or as a mean of identifying people of certain age groups. Headdresses were made mainly of feathers, monkey and many other animal skins with long hairs.
The youth are involved in Rabbit raring , they slaughter Rabbits and make huts out of Rabbits skin and sell.
In central Kenya communities living here used to treat hides and skins with castor oil (Ricinus communis), they smear this oil on the hide or skin and rolled them to stay overnight to soften, from there they use the hides and skins for clothing and beddings.
Music plays a very important role in the lives of people, they play music for entertainment, in worship, as a sign of respect for honored guest, and as an expression of inner deep feelings as for example in funeral ceremonies, instruments are made of skin such as double skin drum, single skin drum and tube fiddle.
Many other communities use shields, cups, mats, and sheath for storing arrows, baby carriers, water buckets, all made of skins. Black smith also use skin for making blowers.
In northeastern Kenya, skin is used for sheltering children on the camel to avoid hot sun and also falling off during travel, they also used skins in making pockets for carrying meat, shoes and ornamentals.
HORNS AND BONES
Some communities living in Kenya use horns as cups, blowing instruments, especially during communication such as informing others of death in western Kenya.
In northern Kenya the Somali community use horns for decorating sword handles, knives and walking sticks; they also use large bones for storing needles for sowing.
During ceremonies, Hippo or warthog tusks, cowries’ shells from the coast are used as dressings.
SWITCH
Most communities use animal switch as a sign of peace and dignity during ceremonies, and also scare flies away, and dusting.
COW DUNG
Cow dung is mixed with clay and used to smear the hut on the walls in and out and on the floors and the hut looks very neat, many of the communities in the area have adapted this. Some communities also mix cow dung with ash and charcoal dust and molded the mixture in the shapes of a ball and then left to dry in the sun for about four days, these balls are used to cook as fire wood, also cow dung is burned to repel mosquitoes
Cow dung is also used to line the Traditional storage facilities for grain and seed.
WOOL
Traditionally sheep wool is cleaned and woven to make mats, wall hanging and pullovers.
Participants: 10 drawn from Uganda (3); Tanzania (3); and Kenya (4).
Overall objective: Integration of Effective Microorganisms (EM) technology in Ecofarming promotion.
Background to EM Technology
EM stands for “Effective Microorganisms” and was developed by Dr. Teruo Higa of the college of Agriculture at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan. EM is a liquid at a pH of 3.5 that is formed at high pressures by the interaction of a diverse group of naturally occurring, aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganism. EM has been thoroughly tested and proven safe for human and other animals. In the United State the department of Agriculture categorizes all the microorganisms in EM as G.R.A.S (Generally Recognized as Safe).
EM was initially developed and used as inoculate for soil conditioning in grain, vegetable and fruit production. As research and applications of EM developed throughout the 70’s and 80’s, EM was found to be an effective tool for manipulation and managing the overall microbial ecology of complex and diverse systems. Microorganisms are in abundance everywhere and have a large influence on biological and chemical qualities such as the extent of putrefaction, fermentation, disease and oxidation of any system. Prior to the development of EM, the ability to manage these microbial population on a large scale in an economically viable way did not exist. EM has therefore become a revolutionary tool for managing the dominant microbial populations and increasing the efficiency of most systems.
What is Effective Microorganism (EM) Technology?
It consists of naturally occurring microorganisms that are compatible with one another and can coexist in liquid culture. The microorganisms used include photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas spp), lactic acid bacteria (lactobacillus spp) and yeast (saccharomyces spp). When in contact with organic matter, they secrete beneficial substances such as vitamins, organic acids, minerals and antioxidants that affect micro-flora and fauna. EM in agriculture promotes: -
In the management of domestic and community environment, EM inhibits: -
EM technology is Not a substitute for other management practices; but rather it should be combined with the best management practices such as crop rotation, organic soil fertility amendments, conservation tillage, crop residue recycling and IPM.
EM PRODUCTS
APPLICATION OF EM IN ECOFARMING
Maathai, who has served as Kenyan Assistant Minister for the Environment since 2003, founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, the largest tree planting project in Africa, aimed at promoting biodiversity and at the same time creating jobs and giving women a stronger identity in society. She is the first African lady to obtain this rare honour.
The Nobel Committee honored her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
"Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment," the committee said.
Maathai stands at the "front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa", it said.
"She thinks globally and acts locally."
Environmental activist and deputy minister of Kenya, Wangri Maathai, won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Among the many international best wishes, also GERMANY welcomed the
“NOBLE PEACE PRIZE CHOICE” The German government welcomed the
decision to make Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai this year's Nobel
Peace Prize winner. German President Horst Koehler sent a congratulation telegram to Maathai and praised her "unwavering devotion for decades to the cause of maintaining an intact environment". "The right of all people to a life in a sound environment is the cornerstone of all human rights," he said.
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said: "Wangari Maathai has made a sterling and lasting contribution to saving the environment of Africa." His remarks were echoed by Environment Minister Juergen Trittin who said: "You are a role model for courageous commitment to democracy and the environment in Kenya and a champion for the best ideals for the 21st Century".
The NETWORK for Ecofarming in Africa “NECOFA” feels deeply connected with Wangari Maathai and congratulates her including the National Council of Women and the Green Belt Movement on this great occasion of winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2004. This great credit is for the NECOFA FAMILY no surprise at all, since most of us experienced her long standing struggle and engagement to protect and preserve an intact environment in Africa. There could have barely been a better choice!
A special congratulation goes also to the Nobel Prize Committee for its decision.
Dr. Sahle Tesfai
NECOFA - International Coordiantor
GRAIN
October 2004
Behind many big promises of "technology transfer" and "feeding the world" lies a brutal truth: biotechnology corporations like Monsanto only care about profits. They are not offering genetically modified (GM) seeds to the South out of charity. They want to take over seed markets and squeeze farmers for as much as they can get - which, even in poor countries, can be a lot. The formula seems to be this: focus on the major cash crops (cotton, soybeans, maize, etc), find an entry point, contaminate the seed supply and then step in to take control. Argentina, the first country outside of North America to start planting GM crops, is a case in point. But the same pattern is being reproduced around the world, as with GM cotton in India and West Africa. The story of what has happened in Argentina should serve as a stark warning of what occurs when GM agriculture takes root.
Act One: The Infection
1996 - The government of Argentina approves the commercial planting of Monsanto's genetically modified Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans. Farmers save, multiply and sell the seeds to other farmers, as they always have, and the area planted to RR soybeans grows exponentially - from less than a million hectares in 1996 to 14 million hectares in the 2003-2004 growing season. RR soybeans also start to cross Argentina 's borders, with people smuggling them into neighbouring Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, where cultivating GM crops is banned.
Monsanto's patents on RR soybeans are not recognised in Argentina. The company's rights over the GM seeds are limited to the country's Seed Law - a plant breeders' rights regime that allows farmers to save seeds for their own use but not to sell them "over the fence" [1]. Still, Monsanto does nothing to stop the large-scale "brown-bagging" taking place. It sits back and watches its GM seeds and the use of its RoundUp herbicide expand over the Southern Cone, as the large landholders of the Pampas and surrounding areas adopt the industrial no-till farming system of RR soy on a massive scale.
For many, the absence of any complaints from the company during these early years confirms what they suspected from the start: the spread of GM crops through contamination and the violation of national laws is a conscious and intentional strategy of the transnational seed corporations.
Act Two: The Threats
2001 - With GM soy agriculture entrenched in Argentina and spreading fast throughout the region, Monsanto begins to threaten farmers over their "illegal" use of RR seeds and demand that the Argentine government enforce the law. Some police raids are carried out, but the selling of farmer-saved seeds goes on. Soybean plantations also continue to spread, moving beyond the farming frontier into the last remaining forests of the Chaco region and other fragile ecosystems in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. By now the "Maradona" soybeans, as the GM seeds smuggled from Argentina have come to be called, are famous in Brazil.
Meanwhile, Monsanto, under pressure from US soybean farmers complaining about unfair competition, starts to put in place its own measures. In 1999, it begins selling its seeds through contracts that require "extended royalties". Under this system, Argentine farmers are required to pay US$2.00 plus tax for each 50-kilo bag of seeds that they save from their harvests for their own use [2]. While the contract violates the country's Seed Law, which allows farmers to use their own seeds with no strings attached, the government of Argentina does not object.
Monsanto defends the "extended royalty" scheme as a way to recover its investments in research and development. The company says the royalties are merely minimal fees, applied on "a broader and fairer base, together with the royalties charged for seed certification." But this is not where the story ends...
Act Three: The Takeover
2004 - Monsanto begins the year with a dramatic mise-en-scène. In January, it announces, "We are suspending our soybean business [in Argentina ] because it's simply not profitable for us." The company points its finger at brown-bagging farmers as the culprits of its misfortune [3]. It threatens to limit its activities in Argentina to its maize and sorghum seed businesses, while vigorously denying that its decision has anything to do with "pressuring the government".
A few days later, National Agriculture Secretary Miguel Campos happens to announce that the government is studying a draft "global royalties" law that would be built around a new "technology compensation fund". The fund would be managed by his Department and financed by a 0.35 to 0.95% fee paid by farmers on the sale of their soybeans to elevators and exporters. Royalties, in recognition of "inventors' rights", would be paid out to seed companies from the fund [4]. Like some form of "farmers' rights" turned inside out, the scheme boils down to a federal tax levied on farmers that goes directly into Monsanto's pockets. When the proposal is widely denounced by farmers' organisations, the President of Argentina sends it "informally" to some Parliamentary committees where it sits, unable to make any progress.
Out of the deadlock comes another tactic. Even though Monsanto does not have patent rights over the RoundUp Ready transgene in Argentina, the company announces on the 19th of August that it will start enforcing patent rights on it anyway - by collecting royalties on incoming shipments of Argentine soybeans in any country where Monsanto's gene patent is in force [5]. Monsanto launches this new offensive with advertisements in major newspapers claiming that during the 2003-2004 season, "the legal, certified seed market does not account for more than 18 percent of the 14 million hectares of the planted [soybean area of Argentina]."
The government responds with its own special effects. The Secretary of Agriculture proclaims that Monsanto's scheme amounts to "extortion" and is "unacceptable" because "in a serious country, the payment of rights should take place through institutional channels." [6].
On the 22nd of August, authorities sit down with Monsanto and the seed organisations. They set aside the histrionics and strike an agreement to set up a "Technology Compensation Fund" within the next 45 days, to be made operational by year end through a law or some new Ministerial Resolution [7]. Once again, the government has made Monsanto very happy.
Epilogue
Of course, this story will go on. All we know for sure at this point is that small farmers are suffering and will continue to suffer the most as this plot unfolds, and that Monsanto's royalties are certain to be drawn from the pockets of Argentine society.
We also know that Argentina is not an isolated case. In neighboring Brazil and Paraguay, the same pattern was set off with the runaway spread of RR soybeans. At first, Monsanto worked with the illegal GM soy producers to pressure governments to legalise the crop. Once the GM soy became legal in Brazil, Monsanto moved in to put an end to the 'black market'. With the government offering an amnesty to farmers who register their crops as GM soy, Monsanto worked out an agreement with certain producer organisations and soybean crushers, cooperatives and exporters to force Brazilian farmers to pay royalties. Under the agreement, farmers pay a fee of between US$3.45 and US$6.90 a tonne when they drop their harvests off at the elevators. The elevators are responsible for collecting the fees and, in exchange, they keep a percentage. If farmers don't declare their soybeans as "GM" they'll have their soy crops tested, leaving them liable to thousands of US dollars in fines and penalties if the tests prove positive, even if they unknowingly planted GM soybeans.
Will the next royalty grab unfold in India, where Bt cotton is out of control? Or in Mexico, where the centre of origin for maize has been deeply contaminated? What about in West Africa, where the introduction of Bt cotton appears imminent, putting the entire region on the verge of rapid contamination? Or in South Africa, where GM agriculture is expanding and where the borders to neighboring countries are even more fluid than those of southern Latin America? The situation is still uncertain, but one thing is for sure: no one should expect the biotech industry to be fair, charitable or accountable
Notes:
[1] Ley de Semillas 20247, , http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/txtnorma/34822.htm
[2] Nidera, , http://ebiz-nidera.com.ar:8087/catalogo/regalia.aspx
[3] La Opinión de Rafaela, , , http://www.laopinion-rafaela.com.ar/opinion/2004/01/22/p412209.htm
[4] Bolsa de cereales (Argentine grain exchange), http://www.bolsadecereales.com/vermedio.asp?id=1100
[5] AGM News, http://www.agmnews.com/noticias/main.cfm?notc=32461
[6] INFOBAE, , http://www.infobae.com/notas/nota.php?Idx=141067&IdxSeccion=100419
[7] La Nación http://www.lanacion.com.ar/economia/nota.asp?nota_id=638765
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