Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa

Rock, J., Schnurr, M.A., Kingiri, A., Glover, Stone, G.D., Ely, A., & Fischer, K. (2023). Beyond the Genome: Genetically Modified Crops in Africa and the Implications for Genome Editing. Development and Change.

Genome editing — a plant-breeding technology that facilitates the manipulation of genetic traits within living organisms — has captured the imagination of scholars and professionals working on agricultural development in Africa. Echoing the arrival of genetically modified (GM) crops decades ago, genome editing is being heralded as a technology with the potential to revolutionize breeding …

Schnurr, M.A., Rock, J., Kingiri, A., & Lieberman, S. (2022). Are genetically modified and genome-edited crops viable strategies for climate-change adaptation among smallholder farmers? Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 58, 101216

Genetic modification and genome editing are laboratory techniques that allow plant breeders to alter an organism’s DNA with the aim of enhancing the expression of beneficial traits. Both have been touted as pro-poor breeding technologies that can help smallholder farmers in low-income countries adapt to climate change. This review assesses the evidence showcasing both the …

Ely, A., Friedrich, B., Glover, D., Fischer, K., Stone, G., Kingiri, A., and Schnurr, M.A. (2022). Governing Agricultural Biotechnologies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany: A Trans-decadal Study of Regulatory Cultures. Science, Technologies, & Human Values.

Comparative studies of agricultural biotechnology regulation have highlighted differences in the roles that science and politics play in decision-making. Drawing on documentary and interview evidence in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, we consider how the “regulatory cultures” that guided national responses to earlier generations of agricultural biotechnology have developed, alongside the emergence …

Schnurr & Dowd-Uribe. (2021). Anticipating farmer outcomes of three genetically modified staple crops in sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from farming systems research. Journal of Rural Studies, 88, 377-387.

The research presented in this paper offers a different evaluative approach for new GM crops by taking inspiration from farming systems research (FSR). We use the conceptual starting point of FSR scholarship—the farming system—to conduct an exploratory predictive analysis of three GM crops currently in the experimental pipeline: Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) …

Addison, Schnurr, Gore, Bawa & Mujabi-Mujuzi. (2021). Women’s Empowerment in Africa: Critical Reflections on the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI). African Studies Review, 64(2), 276-291.

This commentary unpacks the underlying assumptions underpinning the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). The WEAI has emerged as a popular survey tool designed to measure women’s inclusion, agency, and empowerment in the agricultural sector. By revealing key flaws and assumptions underpinning this survey tool, our goal is to contribute to the critical literature on empowerment which …