GM sweet-potato trial failure shows need for better approach

An international coalition favoring sustainable development questions the Obama Administration’s continued funding of genetically modified (GM) research with the stated aim of increasing food production in Africa.

In the 1990s, USAID, together with Monsanto, helped spearhead a 14-year, $6 million project through the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to develop a genetically modified, virus-resistant sweet potato. The project has proven to be a failure.  Local varieties outperformed GM varieties in field trials. Researchers in Uganda developed a virus-resistant hybrid through conventional breeding techniques at a tiny fraction of the cost. The US continues to fund GM work with KARI.

Full story: US Working Group on the Food Crisis