Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3228, USA.
N Biotechnol. 2013 Jan 25;30(2):124-30. doi: 10.1016/j.nbt.2012.09.001. Epub 2012 Sep 15.
High relative poverty levels in Africa are attributed to the continent's under performing agriculture. Drought, low-yielding crop varieties, pests and diseases, poor soils, low fertilizer use, limited irrigation and lack of modern technologies are among the problems that plague African agriculture. Genetically modified (GM) crops may possess attributes that can help overcome some of these constraints, but have yet to be fully embraced in the mix of technology solutions for African agriculture. Cognizant of this, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt are steadily growing GM crops on a commercial scale. Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda are increasingly field-testing these crops with the view to commercialize them. These countries show strong government support for GM technology. Progress by these first adopter nations provides an insight as to how GM crops are increasingly being viewed as one of the ways in which the continent can invigorate the agriculture sector and achieve food security.
非洲相对贫困水平较高，这归因于非洲大陆农业表现不佳。干旱、低产作物品种、病虫害、贫瘠土壤、低施肥量、有限的灌溉以及缺乏现代技术等问题困扰着非洲农业。转基因（GM）作物可能具有一些属性，可以帮助克服其中一些限制，但尚未完全被纳入非洲农业技术解决方案中。意识到这一点，南非、布基纳法索和埃及正在稳步将转基因作物商业化种植。肯尼亚、尼日利亚和乌干达等国也在越来越多地对这些作物进行田间试验，以期实现商业化。这些国家对转基因技术表现出强烈的政府支持。这些早期采用者国家的进展表明，转基因作物越来越被视为非洲振兴农业部门和实现粮食安全的途径之一。
