Farmers Biotech Success
Small-scale farmers are an integral part of AfricaBio's programs. AfricaBio has been working with Small-scale farmers for over 6 years to assess the impact of agricultural biotechnology on sustainability, food security and economic development in resource poor communities
Small-scale farmers who have shared their biotechnology success with AfricaBio:
Motlatssi Musi – Olifantsvlei, South Africa
As a passionate farmer for over 20 years, Motlatsi had his fair share of maize stalk-borer difficulty which affected his produce.
It was about four years ago when he decided to plant genetically modified (GM) insect resistant maize to compare the yields and quality of the final product with conventional maize. He found the results to be extremely impressive this made him stick to producing GM maize. The added advantage of growing GM maize was that no spraying equipment is required to control the maize stalk-borer, making it the best available option for a resource poor farmer.
Motlatsi decided to increase his production by not only enlarging his production area but by introducing a stacked gene variety of white maize to his farming enterprise.
“Although market prices may vary, we still see the monetary value of planting GM crops,” says the confident farmer who believes that GM crops are the future.
“I used to get five tons of maize per hectare using conventional seed,” Mr. Musi says. “Farmers without a tractor could only get about 1.5 tons. But now that I’m planting GM maize, I’m getting seven tons per hectare, and my expenses are down because I’ve been able to reduce labour and pesticide costs.”
His crop yield has increased by 40% since the days of planting conventional maize.
After his first harvest of GM maize, Mr. Musi was able to buy a second-hand hammer mill. In 2006 he bought a one-row planter and a pump to get water for his crops from the nearby river. In 2007 he was able to provide money to his children, including funds to enable one of his children to study medicine. In 2008 he donated maize to an organization that distributes it to old age homes, child care centers and hospices.
“My aim is to do South Africa proud,” Mr. Musi says. “This is the future of agriculture world-wide.”
Ms. Malerato Mokoma – Bloemfontein, South Africa
Ms Mokoma started producing GM insect resistant maize on 10ha during the 2006/07 season. To compare yields and productivity, Mokoma planted 5ha of conventional and 5ha of GM maize which is resistance to stalk borer (Bt maize). When yields were compared after harvesting, the normal conventional cultivar gave her 15bags/ha as opposed to 40bags/ha from Bt maize. This means that she had a 38% yield increase from the genetically modified maize variety. The following season Mokoma did not hesitate to produce another 10ha of GM maize. With no doubt, Malerato indicated that she would continue producing GM maize and increase her planting area. “We need to embrace new technologies in order to succeed in farming”, said Mokoma.
Dr. Geeu – Delmas, South Africa
Dr. Geeu became curious about farming when he heard a patient of his talk about his enthusiasm for farming. Inspired by this, he began farming in 2004. He found that growing conventional maize can be rather expensive. “When maize grows too high for a tractor,” he says, “It becomes difficult and labour intensive to spray pesticide.” He learnt about biotech maize in the magazine Farmers Weekly, and he began planting insect resistant GM maize the next year. He quickly saved money that he otherwise would have spent on pesticide and labour. As farming has become more than a hobby for Dr. Geeu, he has been educating himself about it. “We have a problem in Africa regarding food security,” he says. “Scientists play a great role in helping us to better what we do. If we rely only on conventional farming, we’ll run out of food.” Dr. Geeu plans to retire from medicine and become a full-time farmer.
Morgan Tsime – Doornkop, South Africa
After hearing about biotechnology, Morgan decided to try it out since he believes “seeing is believing”. Two years ago he decided to plant half a hectare of conventional maize and half a hectare of GM (maize stalk borer resistant) maize to obtain a clear comparison. He compared the difference between the two varieties in terms of yield and quality. According to Morgan, the difference was clearly visible. He could see the damage made by maize stalk-borer on the conventional variety in contrast to almost no damage to the GM variety. Morgan went on to increase his production area the following season. Morgan is confident that he will continue to produce GM maize and will soon be in a position to buy a tractor due to the increase in profit he gets from producing GM maize. “The market has a high demand for GM maize, so we don’t have to worry about that” said Morgan. His neighbouring farmers developed an interest in producing GM maize to such an extent that they too are starting to grow GM crops as seeing sometimes really is believing.
Sello Moloisane – Hammanskraal, South Africa
Moloisane is a 71 year old farmer who’s been growing maize and wheat for over 50 years. Two years ago, he was introduced to GM maize production. According to Moloisane, this has made a great difference in his farming enterprise in the sense that increasing yields meant increase in profit.
After planting two hectares of both conventional and GM maize, he realized that the crops emerge and grow in a similar way but the yield showed significant differences. This season, he intends to plant 8ha of GM maize.
Furthermore, the proud farmer states that he’s given himself the task of conveying the message to all maize producers within close proximity, because he believes in increasing food production for the nation. “I’d like to demonstrate and prove the benefits of GM crops to my neighbouring farmers”, says Moloisane. He then concluded by saying, “I wish we could get genetically modified wheat with drought tolerance.”
Duduzile “Dudu” Manganyi – Phake, South Africa
Dudu started planting GM maize by establishing a trial on 2ha, two seasons ago. Dudu plants all her maize by hand and does not have any fancy machinery which makes growing maize very time consuming. When asked about her observations in terms of the difference made by GM maize, she simply replied by saying “GM maize effectively controls the maize stalk-borer this has reduced the time I spend in my field and increased my yields”. This she said proves to her the advantage of GM technology.
At harvesting, yields were compared and it was found that GM maize outweighed the conventional variety by 28bags/ha to 16bags/ha respectively.
In attempting to spread the word, Dudu is currently receiving training on how to spread the news to other farmers effectively. Since Dudu produces her GM maize on the premises of a local school, she has also taken the initiative of teaching both the teachers and the children of the school about biotechnology. Her involvement in community projects serves as a stepping stone in assisting the community by establishing small gardens. This does not only ensure food security but also creates jobs for local citizens.
In conclusion, Dudu said “I am happy to grow any crop that is genetically modified”.
Andries Nkosi – Balfour, South Africa
Mr. Nkosi, a third-generation maize farmer, produced about 4.5 tons per hectare using conventional maize seed, and lost as much as half of his crop to maize stalk-borers. He paid R43,000 per season to control pests on 100 hectares of land. “I nearly gave up growing maize,” he says. When he learned about GM maize at a seminar, he realized it could help him produce more. He planted GM maize on 10 hectares of his farm, and got 6 tons per hectare. Over time he has expanded his GM maize planting to 110 hectares, and soon got 8.8 tons per hectare. This season he’s planting 300 hectares with biotech maize. He uses 10% of his harvest to feed his livestock, and sells the rest. Whereas he formerly got a profit of 15-18% growing conventional maize, he has made a 27% profit growing GM maize, which enables him to pay off debt and grow his business. He plans to put irrigation systems in place soon as he can now afford some farming luxuries. His six employees get a monthly salary, bags of maize, and a bonus at the end of the year. His neighbouring farmers, inspired by his success, are starting to plant GM maize themselves. “Food is scarce globally,” Mr. Nkosi says. “For many people, a bag of maize is a luxury. Biotech crops will help alleviate these problems.”
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