Agriculturegenetic Engineering News

"Revolutionizing Agriculture: CRISPR-Edited Crops Transforming Africa's Farming"

Researchers in Africa are making strides in developing gene-edited crops tailored to the needs of local farmers, with projects including engineering sorghum to resist a parasitic plant and editing maize, pearl millet, and groundnuts for improved traits. While there are challenges in bringing edited crops to the farm, such as cost and market access, the potential benefits for small-scale farmers are driving government and international support for these initiatives. The use of CRISPR gene editing in Africa raises questions about intellectual property battles and foreign market acceptance, but local farmers express comfort and trust in crops developed by local researchers.