South Africa Agricultural Biotechnology Annual 2014
The production area of Genetically Engineered (GE) crops in South Africa was unchanged in 2013, at 2.9 million hectares, making South Africa the eighth largest producer of GE crops in the world and by far the largest in Africa. South Africa hosted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) conference on biotechnology and biosafety in March. The conference recognized the role of biotechnology in ensuring food security, using South Africa as a case study after more than 15 years of biotechnology adoption. The conference also reached consensus that there is an urgent need for the harmonization of biosafety policies in the SADC region. There is still no finalization on GE labeling in South Africa.
