The food emergency in 2002-03 in Southern Africa presented the world with a controversy that had remained latent in the region ever since genetically modified food hit the market in developed countries in the 1990s. When a number of countries suffering from food shortages rejected food aid in the form of genetically modified grain, the highly polarized debate over biotechnology came to the surface. Pro-biotech and anti-biotech camps forcefully argued about the role of modern biotechnology in Africa's economic development, often excluding African policymakers from the dialogue and leaving the public uncertain about where the truth lay.

To enable African countries to make informed choices regarding biotechnology, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and IFPRI jointly established a stakeholder initiative. Through the African Policy Dialogues on Biotechnology (APDB), "African countries can engage in dialogue and develop a consensus on the controversies, risks, challenges, and myths surrounding the growth and development of biotechnology in Africa," explains John Mugabe, the executive secretary of NEPAD's Science and Technology Forum and chair of the APDB.

The first dialogue roundtable took place in Johannesburg in April 2003 with the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) the key subregional partner.The second dialogue, which took place in Harare, Zimbabwe in September 2004, led to an agreement on a Statement of Commitments, whereby participants agreed to a number of key recommendations; such as the need to build institutional arrangements to manage intellectual property rights, and the need to strengthen African countries' capacities in biotechnology-related fields.

"The dialogues are unique in combining carefully managed but highly participatory discussions, encapsulating a wide range of stakeholder groups, and feeding directly into national and regional policy processes," says Steven Were Omamo, research fellow in IFPRI's Development Strategy and Governance Division. Indeed, the dialogues are closely integrated with two major regional initiatives: the NEPAD Expert Panel on Biotechnology that makes recommendations to the African Union's ministers of science and technology and heads of state; and the Biotechnology Advisory Committee recently created by the Southern African Development Community's Council of Ministers.

An Africa-wide meeting is scheduled for June 2005, to coincide with the release of IFPRI and FANRPAN's book, Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food Security in Southern Africa, edited by Steven Were Omamo and Klaus von Grebmer. The book is a collection of the proceedings and background papers from the dialogues. For more information on the APDB, go to www.ifpri.org/africadialogue.