Abstract
Africa constitutes a large proportion of the world’s most food-insecure countries. The continent also has the highest population growth rate globally, implying that the threat of food insecurity on the continent is likely to continue for decades to come. Environmental stresses such as incessant droughts caused by climate change negatively affect crop production in Africa. Genetic engineering, a technology that has been embraced in some parts of the world, can improve tolerance of crops to both biotic and abiotic stresses. This review paper aims to establish the extent of the utilization of genetically engineered crops in Africa. The paper also critically examines the impact of utilization of the technology on the continent. The prospects and challenges of the use of genetic engineering in crop production are also reviewed. Findings from the study show that, despite the potentially immense benefits of genetic engineering, a few countries on the African continent have adopted the use of genetically engineered crops. The research establishes that the adoption of genetic engineering in crops can have both positive and negative impacts, although prospects of widespread adoption of the technology are high.
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Banda, A. et al. (2021). Extent, Impact and Prospects of Genetically Engineered Crops in Africa. In: Babalola, O.O. (eds) Food Security and Safety . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50672-8_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50672-8_27
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