Beyond seeds and genetics: Assessment of the social impacts of genetically engineered crops in Africa under a critical lens
Genetically engineered (GE) crops are at the centre of efforts to achieve important social goals in Africa, notably improved food security and poverty alleviation. Recent research, however, has identified a disjuncture between the lofty goals of GE crop programs in Africa and the approaches used to assess their impacts. These findings come as calls for funding and attention to improve impact evaluation and assessment in agricultural development are growing.
This day-long workshop will gather experts in the evaluative sciences, biotechnology development for Africa, and innovation studies to identify the socio-economic assessment gaps of African GE crop interventions, and suggests ways to adopt more appropriate assessment approaches in line with their broad social goals.
PROGRAMME & SPEAKERS
9:00 – 9:15 Introductory comments
Brian Dowd-Uribe, University of San Francisco & MAK’IT Fellow 2022-2023
9:15 – 10:15 Panel discussion: GE crops in Africa and Socio-Economic Assessment
Joeva Rock, University of Cambridge, UK
Klara Fischer, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Dominic Glover, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK
Helena Shilomboleni, University of Waterloo, Canada
10:15 – 11:00 Q&A
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 12:00 Keynote lecture
Pierre-Benoît Joly, President, Occitanie-Toulouse Centre, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), France (tbc)
12:00 – 12:30 Q&As
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:00 Panel Discussion: Building Improved Assessments of GE crops in Africa: Barriers and Opportunities
Sélim Louafi, French Center for International Research and Development (CIRAD), France
Enoch Kikulwe, Bioversity International, Kenya
Genowefa Blundo Canto, JRU ‘Innovation’, CIRAD, France
Benoît Joseph Batieno, Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA), Burkina-Faso
15:00 – 16:00 Q&As
16:00 – 16:30 Closing remarks
Patrick Caron, Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions (MAK’IT), France
Brian Dowd-Uribe, University of San Francisco & MAK’IT Fellow 2022-2023