Sustainable Agriculture and Food: Four volume set (Earthscan Reference Collections)

Agricultural Biotechnology in Southern Africa: A Regional Synthesis 479

Table 19.1

(continued)

Areas of application

Techniques/category

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Tissue culture (TC)

Used in disease elimination and micropropagation for cassava, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes and horticultural crops

Used on a limited basis in sugar cane research

Used in cassava and Irish potato production, micro-propagation and disease elimination

Genetic modification (GM)

At the research level for cassava improvement (virus resistance).

Bt

cotton trials have been

conducted.

GM sugar cane is nearingfield trials. Awaiting adoption of a biosafety framework

None

Fermentation technology

Used for food and feed production

Widely used in the brewing industry

None

Marker-assisted selection

None

None

None

Artificial Insemination and embryo transfer

Used for cattle breeding

Used on a limited basis

None

Molecular diagnostics and molecular markers

At the research level for use in animal disease diagnosis and diversity studies

Serological techniques are still used for diagnosis

Serological techniques are still being used

Biological nitrogen fixation

Used for legumes only

Used for legumes

Used on a limited basis, for legumes

Manpower training

Training is done in the natural and agricultural sciences (Bunda College of Agriculture). Most of the training is theoretical. No explicit biotech courses are offered

No explicit biotechnology training is offered

Limited training is done in the natural sciences and agriculture (Eduardo Mondlane University)