ABSTRACT
The only countries in Africa which have commercialized genetically modified crops are South Africa, since 1998, and more recently Sudan, and very recently Nigeria. It is estimated that the economic gains for South Africa since 1998 have been in the order of US$2.3 billion. A number of other countries have biosafety laws in place or pending, but the various committees and authorities tasked with implementing the regulations are in most cases inexperienced and vulnerable to both bureaucratic lethargy and political pressures. The status of drought-tolerant and insect-protected maize, insect-resistant cowpea and bacterial-resistant bananas and the potential for new gene edited crops will be discussed.
