tural exploitation to drop or reduce the number of plant health
treatment per year.c) Possibility of launching new products for new prospects :a transgenic
plant is a plant in which one or more new characteristics have
been transferred. With the transfer of genes, new products can be
developed that would better respond to farms’ and consumers’
needs. This is the case where gene grafts were integrated in rice
and wheat plants to increase their nutritious value, or where genes
producing a precursor of vitamin A were injected in rice plants to
create ‘golden rice’. As rice feeds more than fifty percent of the
world population, GMOs could help reduce the deficiency in vita-
min A in underdeveloped countries.
d) Potential sources of considerable agricultural progress :the yield loss
is without doubt one of the greatest problems faced by agriculture.
In spite of plant health treatments, it still remains a major problem
all over the world. According to statistics issued by the National
Institute of Agricultural Research, 38 % of the production of main
cultures (rice, wheat, barley, potato, corn, cotton, coffee and soya)
is lost for the world of agriculture. Transgenic plants seem to be a
potential source of considerable agricultural progress.^6
- Risks Associated with GMOs
Not only advantages are associated with GMOs – there are also risks :a) Dependence risk relating to sector prior to agriculture :where it has
been introduced, the cultivation of GMOs has disrupted farmers’
behaviours. These changes generate a risk of dependence in the
following areas :^7 Economic :for their treatment, a majority of
transgenic plants need plant health products elaborated by the
very company that markets the said transgenic seed. This situa-
tion is quite restricting for farmers as they are forced to buy costly
‘complete kit’ constituted of plant health seeds. Legal :the cultiva-
tion of GMOs generally goes together with relationships under
contract with partners. In fact, some suppliers of transgenic seeds
impose contracts on farmers obliging the latter to supply exclu-
sively to them during a relatively long period. Others forbid farm-
ers to use part of the harvest as seeds. Biological : biotechnological
industries have identified genes that make some harvest unpro-
ductive. This is the case of the sterilisation gene known as ‘Late
Embryogenesis Abundant’ by Delta & Pine (subsidiary of Mon-
santo). This gene sterilises seeds emerging from the previous har-
vest. This situation obliges the farmer to renew his/her seed stocks
every year, which is very costly.
Congolese Leaders Face Genetically Modified Organisms 299