South Africa : State GMO-friendly, but private organic efforts growing

South Africa's three major food retailers are actively courting the organic produce market while, somewhat paradoxically, government agencies are hoping to have the first genetically modified (GM) crops on supermarket shelves soon. The scene has been set for a battle for the soul of consumers, as well as the farmers that supply their food.

Supermarket chain Pick 'n Pay said in mid-April that it would not stock a government-backed GM potato, which the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) hopes to commercialise, until the council could provide conclusive scientific evidence on the biosafety of the product. The retailer recently co-founded a massive job creation initiative known as the Organic Freedom Project (OFP) in a bid to boost the local availability of organic produce as well as organic crops for biofuels. The project aims to activate at least 20,000 hectares within seven years for cultivation based on crop rotation. At least half the land has been identified.

Pick 'n Pay says its involvement is designed firstly to create jobs - OFP aims to generate 100 000 jobs by 2014 - and secondly to encourage consumers to eat more healthily. Warren Lupke, Pick 'n Pay's general manager of fresh produce and organics, says the group does not want to send a mixed message to consumers by stocking GM produce until there is conclusive evidence of its safety. However, it recognises the contribution that biotechnologies can make to improving the quality, quantity and nutritional value of food.

Because most GM crops are engineered for either resistance to insects or tolerance to herbicides, organic food is, by definition, non-GM. However, not all non-GM food is organic. The confusion for consumers is that GM food has not been scientifically proven to be either good or bad for human health.

The big local retailers are taking their lead from Europe, where demand for organic food is growing at 42 percent a year compared with growth of between 2 percent and 3 percent for food grown with fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides that are not natural. Woolworths began stocking organic fruit and vegetables in 1999 in response to the growing international trend, while Shoprite Checkers is understood to be actively seeking organic suppliers.

At the other extreme, South Africa's GM-friendly policies contradict the widespread rejection of GM crops in the EU. South Africa is the eighth-largest producer of GM crops, primarily maize, soya beans and cotton, and the department of agriculture has granted field trial permits for GM canola, potatoes, wheat, groundnuts and sugar cane. The commercialisation of GM potatoes is in the pipeline following efforts by the ARC, in collaboration with Michigan State University, to develop potatoes resistant to the tuber moth for domestic farmers.

The council is completing the research needed to submit its application to take the crop to market, including biosafety risk assessments. "We will apply to the registrar once the results are conclusive," said the ARC's head of business development and international relations, Sayinile Ginindza. She said the GM potato project aimed to establish the processes and mechanisms for distributing the potato to both commercial and subsistence farmers.

This stands in direct opposition to the aims of the OFP, which is modelled on a Brazilian organic initiative that created 1 million jobs for shack dwellers over four years.

Woolworths said South African consumers were becoming aware of the importance of food production methods and their potential impact on the environment. However, while customer interest and demand for organic products was growing, it was "still relatively small compared with conventional products". Supply problems persist, but Woolworths reckoned this would change as more conventional farmers converted to organic, joining South Africa's estimated 400 certified organic farms already in operation. Until then, the cost of organic produce would be a major factor in determining consumers' preferences.

Lupke reckoned South Africa was at least five years away from having sufficient stocks of locally produced organic fresh produce, partly because of the time it took to convert land that had been farmed with chemicals to soil that was certifiably organic.

According to David Wolstenholme, the managing director of the OFP, farmers have been contacting the project on a daily basis since its launch to inquire about converting to organic farming. He believed it was possible for organic produce to achieve a market share of about one-third from less than 1 percent now. The OFP plans to use the vast surface tracts of virgin soil owned by its co-sponsor, Anglo Coal, for organic farming. The mining company has undertaken to create new jobs for miners on retirement after its mines have been closed, and said it was committed to rehabilitating the land used for coal mining.

Business Report