Food for Africa

Jennifer Thomson is one of the world’s leading advisors on genetically modified crops. In Food for Africa she traces, through anecdote and science, her career and the development of this area of research — from the dawn of genetic engineering in the USA in 1974, through the early stages of its testi...

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Huvudupphov: Thomson, Jennifer
Materialtyp: Online
Språk:engelska
Utgiven: UCT Press 2024
Länkar:ONIX_20240215_9781775820482_55
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author Thomson, Jennifer
author_browse Thomson, Jennifer
author_facet Thomson, Jennifer
author_sort Thomson, Jennifer
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Jennifer Thomson is one of the world’s leading advisors on genetically modified crops. In Food for Africa she traces, through anecdote and science, her career and the development of this area of research — from the dawn of genetic engineering in the USA in 1974, through the early stages of its testing in Europe and regulation in South Africa, to the latest developments in South Africa, where an updated Bioeconomy Strategy was approved in early 2013. As a young scientist she chose to study bacterial genetics, negotiating her way in a very male-dominated arena. It led to her path-breaking involvement in the development of GM research in South Africa — where approximately 80% of maize grown currently is genetically modified for insect and herbicide resistance ­— and the spread of this technology to other parts of Africa. Experiments conducted with smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique now mean that insect-resistant cowpea, disease-resistant bananas, virus-resistant cassava, drought-tolerant maize and vitamin-enriched sorghum can be grown in Africa successfully. This book describes a remarkable personal and scientific evolution and looks to a future in which GM technology allows for the possibility of achieving food security throughout Africa by means of staple crops grown in difficult conditions by smallholder farmers.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1341942024-02-15T07:46:38Z Food for Africa Thomson, Jennifer Jennifer Thomson is one of the world’s leading advisors on genetically modified crops. In Food for Africa she traces, through anecdote and science, her career and the development of this area of research — from the dawn of genetic engineering in the USA in 1974, through the early stages of its testing in Europe and regulation in South Africa, to the latest developments in South Africa, where an updated Bioeconomy Strategy was approved in early 2013. As a young scientist she chose to study bacterial genetics, negotiating her way in a very male-dominated arena. It led to her path-breaking involvement in the development of GM research in South Africa — where approximately 80% of maize grown currently is genetically modified for insect and herbicide resistance ­— and the spread of this technology to other parts of Africa. Experiments conducted with smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique now mean that insect-resistant cowpea, disease-resistant bananas, virus-resistant cassava, drought-tolerant maize and vitamin-enriched sorghum can be grown in Africa successfully. This book describes a remarkable personal and scientific evolution and looks to a future in which GM technology allows for the possibility of achieving food security throughout Africa by means of staple crops grown in difficult conditions by smallholder farmers. 2024-02-15T07:46:36Z 2024-02-15T07:46:36Z 2013 book ONIX_20240215_9781775820482_55 9781775820482 9781920499815 9781775820499 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/134194 eng image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International https://www.booksdirect.co.za/item/food_for_africa https://openuctpress.uct.ac.za/uctpress/catalog/view/2/2/8 UCT Press 10.58331/UCTPRESS.2 10.58331/UCTPRESS.2 9ab8d8c8-92ff-4470-a14e-e60f2c992ea5 9781775820482 9781920499815 9781775820499 172 Cape Town open access
spellingShingle Thomson, Jennifer
Food for Africa
title Food for Africa
title_full Food for Africa
title_fullStr Food for Africa
title_full_unstemmed Food for Africa
title_short Food for Africa
title_sort food for africa
url ONIX_20240215_9781775820482_55
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