Monsanto and its supporters are forever promoting the idea that GM crop adoption is the way to greater farm productivity and profitability, but the experience of farmers growing GM maize in South Africa point to a far more complex and disturbing reality. Just a year ago all the talk was of South African farmers suffering millions of dollars in lost income after some 82,000 hectares of genetically-manipulated maize failed to produce seeds. And Monsanto was left rushing to compensate the farmers in an effort to hush up the disaster. http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2504 A year on and nearly a third of South Africa's maize farmers are again threatened with financial ruin – this time because of a glut in maize production. The knock on effects of the current crisis on rural South African communities could be catastrophic, reports the African Centre for Biosafety in a new report. Download the report here: http://www.biosafetyafrica.net/index.html/images/stories/dmdocuments/SA_GM_farme… — — The dirty politics of the global grain trade – GM maize farmers face ruin in SA Biosafety in South Africa – Briefing Papers http://www.biosafetyafrica.net/index.html/index.php/20100908332/The-dirty-politi… Recently, the South African press reported on the possible bankruptcy faced by maize farmers. The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released a new report titled “The dirty politics of the global grain trade – GM maize farmers face ruin in SA,” which provides an analysis of why South Africa's record 13 million ton harvest of maize, at least half of which is GM, has threatened financial ruin for up to 30% of its maize farmers. The paper addresses the following issues: the political economy of maize in South Africa; new GM markets for South Africa; the real beneficiaries of the maize mountains; and regulatory issues, including the extent to which South Africa's GMO permit system contributes towards speculation in the GM maize trade and the price of food. The paper can be found on the website of the ACB at www.biosafetyafrica.org.za South Africa's maize farmers recorded a bumper harvest in 2010, yet now they face ruin. The price of maize has fallen precipitously in the last 12 months owing to a crisis of over-production of both GM and non-GM maize. A mass exodus from the maize sector is anticipated, with as many as 30% of farmers facing potential liquidation. continued. added by: JanforGore
