GM maize as subsistence crop: the South African smallholder experience

In 1997/98, South Africa became the first country in Africa to have a GM crop produced on a commercial level, with the release of insect-resistant (Bt) cotton. Bt maize was approved for commercial production in 1998/99, and Bt yellow maize was planted in that same season. The first plantings of Bt white maize two years later in 2001/02 established South Africa as the first GM subsistence-crop producer in the world. Commercialization of herbicide-tolerant (HT) maize followed in 2003/ 04, and “stacked” traits Bt+HT (BR) maize was released for the 2007/08 production season. Adoption of GM crops by South African commercial farmers has been impressive. In the 2009/10 production season, approximately 69% of the total South African maize area was planted to GM maize, with Bt maize alone covering 43% of total area. GM cotton covered 92% of South Africa’s total cotton area in 2007/08, and unofficial estimates report the 2009 area at close to 100%. The area under HT soybeans increased from 5% to more than 80% in only six years. The investment focus of the pre-democratic South African government has translated into the geographically inequitable establishment of key support services such as roads; railways; agricultural training centers; and research, extension, and financial services. Smallscale and subsistence farmers in certain areas in the former homelands (such as Transkei and Ciskei in the Eastern Cape) and designated tribal areas (such as KwaZulu [Zululand] in northern KwaZulu-Natal [KZN]) have faced—and still face—various production and marketing constraints that are similar to those of other smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though largescale commercial growers produce the bulk of the national maize crop (generally more than 95%), the GM maize experience of smallholder farmers in South Africa is of great interest to African decision makers throughout the continent, to international food and agricultural organizations, and to the technology innovators. This article sheds light on eight years of research investigating the socio-economic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The main objective of the article is to highlight methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socio-economic impact assessments and, importantly, to contextualize research findings reported in this article and possible future articles. The next section presents an overview of how GM maize was introduced to smallholders in South Africa, which is important for understanding research challenges. The research area, surveys, and data are summarized, followed by research challenges and how these were addressed. Limited project findings are presented in the form of a discussion on the characteristics of early-adopting farmers and an illustration and discusMarnus Gouse University of Pretoria The South African smallholder GM maize experience has been—to date and internationally—the only example where a subsistence crop is produced by smallholder resource poorfarmers using GM seed. Their experience is thus of great interest, especially to African decision makers, international food and agricultural organizations, and the technology innovators. This article sheds light on eight years of research investigating the socio-economic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The main objective of the article is to highlight methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socio-economic impact assessments and to contextualize research findings. Limited project findings are presented in the form of a discussion on the characteristics of early-adopting farmers and the yield impacts of GM maize adoption over the eight season period, emphasizing the variability between seasons and to show how methodological limitations impact research findings.