Articles
INTEGRATION OF NEW BIOTECHNOLOGIES INTO EXISTING SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OF AFRICA FOR SOLVING THE CRISIS IN FOOD PRODUCTION
The specific fundamental problems have been due to lack of improved planting materials, prevalence of numerous diseases and destructive pests, environmental constraints, and totally inadequate storage, processing, and distribution systems.
Developing countries of Africa, where the food crisis is most felt in the world, have a primary goal of improving their food production capabilities.
Biotechnology, that has helped to advance agricultural production research and has sustained commercial production in developed countries in the past decade is uniquely countries of Africa.
Biotechnology has been used to bypass or shorten the time for certain stages in agricultural development.
In this paper, suggestions for integrating the new biotechnologies into the existing social organization of developing countries have been made based on the history of research on Cameroon, Biotechnology covers an array of techniques providing new abilities to manipulate germplasm or genetic systems in plants.
While much attention has been focused in recent years on the advances and potential of biotechnology for genetic engineering in plants, relatively little attention has been given to institutional arrangements that enhance the integration of biotechnology in agricultural research and commercial production even in the developed countries.
There is little doubt that purposeful and directed integration of biotechnology into conventional crop improvement programs particularly in the developing countries of Africa will increase the opportunities to maximize the use of available facilities, personnel, and funds.
The main objective for such an integration of biotechnology into existing developing countries is that the end product should benifit the small-scale farmer and the general pulbic.