Green Genetic Engineering

This publication is a section of the WHH position paper on rural development.

Pressure for increased efficiency in agriculture is rising as global food requirements increase and the demand for agro-based products is growing. Genetic engineering can make a significant contribution to increasing and stabilising agricultural yields. But can genetic modified of agricultural crops also play a central part in providing food security for the rural poor? Facing the insufficiency of scientific knowledge in relation to the opportunities and risks of this technology and based on project experience of its partners in developing countries Welthungerhilfe has come to the following conclusion:

A sustainable increase in income for small-scale farmers in developing countries has so far hardly been proved; nor is there evidence of a significant contribution to reducing hunger. On the other hand, genetic engineering entails the risk of economic dependency and social exclusion. In addition, ecological diversity and sustainability are in danger due to uncontrolled transgenic releases, and health risks have not been sufficiently researched.