Co-hosted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries Resources, the Ministerial Conference on “Harnessing Science and Technology to Increase Agricultural Productivity in Africa: West African Perspectives” was held from 21-23 June 2004, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with the participation of the Presidents of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Ghana.

The conference was a follow-up event to the Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technology held in June 2003, in Sacramento, California, US.
During the conference, the four West African Presidents signalled their support for genetically modified crops in solving food production problems, but added that they wished to ensure consumer safety and would proceed cautiously. Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Toure said “We cannot and must not wait on the sidelines of this global debate and ignore scientific and technological innovations that are crucial to progress. But our obligation to the people to provide safe food means we must proceed with caution.” Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja added that “this technology has revolutionised agriculture and could also be used to improve the performance of African agriculture. But it seems fundamental that it should be studied in minute detail, to ensure we are fully aware of the environmental, economic and social impacts of this revolutionary but still-unknown innovation.”
Among other notable outcomes of the conference include the recommendation for the creation of a biotechnology database that would allow West Africans to access and share information about GM crops and their potential to increase crop yields. The conference also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the USDA and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) concerning the sharing of food technologies. Launched recently in Nairobi, the AATF is a public-private partnership that aims to increase the incomes and food security of sub-Saharan Africa’s rural poor through promoting both classical plant breeding and genetic modification (GM) technology.
West African NGOs have criticized the use of biotechnology, stating that “Faced with the dangers that GMOs represent for our health, our land and future generations, we cannot in good conscience move forward without a clear understanding of its consequences for health of humans, animals and plants. Relying on GM food is only a short-term solution that will, in the long run, only breed dependence on multinational corporations.”
According to Agence France Presse, Mali’s Agriculture Minister Seydou Traore said the US has announced plans to fund a second West African biotechnology conference in early 2005 in Bamako, Mali.
Links to further information
Ministerial Conference Website
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 23 June 2004
ENS, 22 June 2004
SciDev.net, 18 June 2004
Eldis GM Food Aid site