This article refers to the problems of restricted market access and liability but doesn't deal with the problem of increased farmer endebtedness as a result of GM crops in South Africa. http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5287
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S.African farmers weigh pros and cons of GMO crops
By Ed Stoddard
Wed Jan 25, 2006
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-01-25T121324Z_01_ALL544045_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-FOOD-SAFRICA-GMO-20060125.XML

BOTHAVILLE, South Africa (Reuters) - South African farmer Andre Kilian sees plenty of advantages to genetically modified (GMO) crops, making him a rare voice on a continent where the technology has struggled to find favour.

Opponents say GMO foods have not been adequately tested and could pose unknown risks to human health.

But producers like Kilian say they hold many pluses, particularly in a region which regularly suffers from food shortages.

"About 20 percent of my maize crop is GM," said Kilian.

"They help to increase your yields and reduce your input costs. If you have a crop that is resistant to being eaten by pests you don't have to spend money on spraying with insecticide," he told Reuters.

Africa's largest economy is bucking the trend on the continent as one of few nations to embrace the controversial gene-altering technology.

The government has signalled it will reject activist calls for stricter controls on the sector.

Market watchers say data suggests that about 20 percent of white and yellow maize seed sales in 2004/05 in South Africa were GMO, although analysts believe the actual percentage that has been sown is lower than that.

Out on the lands, farmers are weighing the pro and cons.

"I have controls on what I can sell. I must provide GM-free soya meal to a mill that provides foodstuffs to Woolworths and all of my other crops, even my maize, must be GM-free," said North West province farmer Willem Jooste.

Woolworths is a local retail grocery chain that caters to higher-income earners, which raises another point -- what people who have health or other concerns about GMO foods are willing to pay to avoid it.

"I think in 5 years time we will see a premium on GM-free maize in this country. It may be 30 rand a tonne, it may be 50 rand, but it will be there," said Jooste.

LIMITED MARKETS

But apart from the feared health risks, there is another downside for farmers to becoming more GMO-friendly.

Countries in South Africa's neighbourhood, including Zimbabwe and Zambia, have banned GMO imports, saying they could mix with indigenous crops.

Many of these countries have also experienced chronic food shortages in recent years and South African maize has often been used to fill the gap.

If more South African farmers grow GMO maize, they could therefore lose valuable export markets -- something an ailing sector, battered by frequent price slumps, can ill afford.

"It can certainly limit our market access into Africa and this is a concern," said Bully Botma, chairman of producer group Grain SA.

South Africa may also find some of its food products unwelcome in the European Union if it increasingly embraces gene technology.

But Grain SA is by no means opposed to GMO, hoping it will become more popular with time.

"Maybe in five years' time the opposition to GM foods will have waned and everyone will want the stuff. And it is difficult to quickly transfer that kind of technology to farmers," said Nico Hawkins, an agricultural economist with Grain SA.

"We need to remain competitive," he said. But while farmers welcome the move towards GMO, they object to the potential of being held liable should any harm result from it.

"We are also concerned about the current legislation, which can hold the farmer liable for any problems from GM crops including those related to health which may arise down the road," said Botma. "The owner of the technology should be liable, not the farmers."

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