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chapter 5
• Development of consortiums at various institutions that meet and work together
virtually.
• Liaison with various technology-driven initiatives with appropriate technology
transfer.
INVOLVEMENT IN CURRENT AFFAIRS SINCE ESTABLISHMENT
GMO crops
The Genetically Modified Organisms Act, 1997 (Act 15 of 1997) came into effect on
1 December 1999 and is aimed at ensuring that all activities with respect to geneti-
cally modified organisms (GMOs) are carried out in such a way that the possible
harmful effects on the environment and human and animal health are limited. The
Act makes provision for appointing a registrar and two regulatory bodies, namely
an advisory committee and the executive council, as well as inspectors, in order to
execute the objectives of the Act.
South Africa has been a party to the
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
, an international,
legally binding set of rules that applies to the transport and handling of live modified
organisms, since 2003. The complete
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
was included as
an addendum to the GMO Act in 2006, but unfortunately without clear guidelines on
how it should be interpreted in South African law.
In principle, Grain SA supports all technological development that can improve the
efficiency and competitiveness of South Africa’s grain industry, provided people,
animals and the environment are not harmed. The use of GMOs can contribute
considerably to a profitable and sustainable agricultural sector in South Africa that
is internationally competitive. However, the potential risks that they hold for human
as well as animal health should be considered carefully.
That is why the introduction of reliable and effective safety measures is vital to uti-
lise the benefits of modern biotechnology to the maximum, but at the same time to
limit the associated risks to the minimum. Grain SA is of the opinion that a statutory
control system can only succeed if it can be effectively policed. As Grain SA has
qualms about the latter issue, it is in favour of a non-statutory control system that
is developed and managed by the industry.
As a matter of fact, the use of GMOs in South Africa is subject to measures in the
Act and the regulations made in terms of the Act, by which the responsible devel-
opment, production, use and employment of GMOs are promoted and regulated.
In terms of the legislation, exemption for the use of GMOs must be obtained be-
forehand, failing which it is not permitted in South Africa.
There are two types of exemption, namely a general exemption and a commodity
clearance.
When a general exemption is granted, it means in the grain industry that GMO seed
may be imported, that seed companies may market it and that it may be planted.
Most of the maize and soybeans grown in South Africa have been genetically modi-
fied in some way. Genetically modified crops in South Africa – maize, soybeans and
cotton – are either resistant to insects or are tolerant of a wide variety of chemical
herbicides, or both.
A commodity clearance, on the other hand, authorises the use of the relevant GMO
product, for example as food or feed, but the product may not be planted. It is also
the type of exemption that major role-players in overseas markets try to use to
obtain approval for the distribution of their GMO products in South Africa. Those
role-players have a certain advantage over South Africa in that they obtain access
to the most recent technology first.
Grain SA’s view is that the importing of GMO products that are not intended for
planting in South Africa should be opposed, as this would place South African pro-
ducers in an uncompetitive position. Consequently the organisation’s view is that
GMO products should be imported only in terms of the general exemption.
However, this is not always successful, as was proven in a recent case in Decem
ber 2015 that involved the
Animal Feed Manufacturers Association
(AFMA). AFMA