AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

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AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

• Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on
  Agriculture and Land Affairs
• Public hearings on the GMO Amendment Bill
• January 17th 2006

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The Team

• Mr. F. Guma
• Group Executive Horticulture
• Dr. P. Lukhele-Olorunju
• Group Executive - Grain and Industrial Crops
• Dr. A. Magadlela
• Research Manager Livestock Production

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The Mandate of the ARC

• The ARC was established in terms of the
  Agricultural Research Council Act (Act No 86 of
  1990) and bears the statutory mandate to
• Conduct research,
• Develop technology, and
• Transfer technology that promotes agriculture and
  the agricultural industry.
• The ARC forms part of the National System of
  Innovation and receives core strategic funds for
  the purposes of the execution of this mandate
  through Parliament.

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The Mandate of the ARC

• The execution of this mandate requires the ARC
  to peruse a variety of technologies in the quest
  to ensure food security and the creation of
  employment generated by the agricultural sector
  in an environmentally sustainable manner.
• Biotechnology and genetic engineering are but
  part of the arsenal of technologies utilised by
  our researchers in pursuing this goal.

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The Productivity Challenge

• The continuing growth in the human population
  combined with the limits of the availability of
  productive agricultural land requires an increase
  in the output/unit area of such agricultural
  land.
• Gains commensurate to this challenge achieved
  through classical breeding techniques, and allied
  advances in plant/animal management, are no
  longer up to this pace, and require the
  establishment of technologies that can reduce the
  duration of this developmental cycle.
• The nature of the biologically governed system of
  agriculture, leads to the system becoming open to
  the vagaries of mutations/unintended
  consequences, as a result of the pressures being
  applied.

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Biotechnology

• The ARC accepts the following broad definition
  of biotechnology as being
• Biotechnology is a body of techniques that uses
  biological systems, living organisms, or
  derivatives thereof, to make or modify products
  or processes for specific use.
• The ARC recognizes and applies all iterations
  and generations of technology in this field, in
  its development of products that are of benefit
  to the people of South Africa.

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Genetic Engineering

• In our understanding
• The term genetic engineering encompasses a range
  of techniques aimed at the identification of
  genes that trigger certain physiological
  responses within living organisms, and the
  development of processes through which these
  codes can be transferred to other living
  organisms.
• Living organisms created from such a process are
  known as Genetically Modified Organisms GMOs,
  and represent an unknown threat to society
  because their genetic constitution is the result
  of direct human intervention in previously
  unfathomed processes of the natural order.

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Genetic Engineering - Concerns

• Major concerns with respect to this technology
  are related to the following
• Food safety with particular reference to the
  potential effects of the disruption of the
  natural order of the way in which foods are
  made available to consumers.
• Environment - can these products evolve into
  super weeds that can grow out of control,
  and threaten the existing biodiversity of
  the countries into which they have been
  introduced into.

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ARC Opinions GMO Debate

1. The business of science and the subsequent
   development of the products of that science into
   technologies that enter the public domain, needs
   to be attenuated by a regulatory process that
   takes public concerns into account.
2. The nature of regulatory process that is
   applicable to these situations has to be based on
   models of best practice applied within the
   international community and shown to be void of
   influence arising from other interests.
3. The urgency of meeting the challenges of
   increases in agricultural productivity/output in
   areas where the practice of agriculture is the
   only means of existence and/or opportunity for a
   better life, should not be denigrated.

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ARC Opinions GMO Debate

1. In the context of the operations of the ARC,
   biotechnology is essentially a tool to be used in
   the manipulation of plants, animals and other
   life forms in order to achieve a desired product
   or process. The recognition of biotechnology as a
   tool is essential to the ethic and rationale with
   which publicly funded bodies like the ARC should
   approach the use of biotechnology in the delivery
   of its founding mandates.
2. The ARC adheres to all the regulations of the GMO
   Act and has established a good working
   relationship with the office of the Registrar.
   All laboratories conducting any research governed
   by the Act are registered with the Department and
   permits to conduct any research are applied for
   according to specific regulations. Several
   personnel of the ARC serve as scientific advisors
   to the Registrar.
3. 3. As a state funded science based institution
   with a mandate for the application of science and
   technology to address the challenges faced by
   agriculture, the ARC cannot ignore the
   opportunities afforded by biotechnology to
   resolve some of these challenges, nor can it
   shirk its duty to be at the forefront of ensuring
   the application of best practice in assessing the
   health and biosafety risks of this new technology.

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ARC Opinions GMO Debate

1. The ARC has been involved in the development and
   testing of GM products. All field testing of
   these products have been conducted under permits
   issued by the Registrar of the GMO Act. These
   have included strawberries and potatoes that have
   been developed by the ARC as well as other crops
   such as maize and tomatoes from commercial
   companies or other research institutions tested
   under contract.
2. The ARC wishes to embark on a sustained
   contribution to the IFSN Programme through
   acceleration of cultivar development with
   emphasis to significant resistance to pests and
   diseases and drought accelerate the development
   of indigenous vegetables to higher levels of
   productivity and initiate the process of
   biofortification of staple crops to improve
   nutrient availability levels eg. Sorghum, maize,
   wheat, sweet potatoes. Post-harvest losses could
   also be addressed through this technology.
3. On the livestock side, the ARC would like to
   invent and manufacture new vaccines unique to
   Southern Africa, improve indigenous livestock
   breeds, perform immuno-diagnostics to detect
   multiple pathogens.

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ARC Opinion Amendments - GMO BILL

1. The ARC will have to comply with regulations on
   transboundry movement of GMOs.
2. Research on public goods and 2nd economy may be
   complicated due to the framework of liability
   ARC may not be equipped or insured to take
   responsibility for the outcome of their research.
3. International exchange of experimental GMO
   materials among scientists is complicated by the
   regulations, and may cause a burden on research
   activities.
4. Effort has to be made to support research
   institutions to comply with the new regulations
   training of researchers and technicians and new
   infrastructures are imperatives for the ARC.