Peter Theuri
While ambitious scientists and starry-eyed supporters of science anticipate great leaps from key advancements in research within Africa, internal sabotage, coupled with external demonization of the continent’s efforts, keep dimming chances of notable, harmonized progress.
At the African Biennial Biosciences’ Communication (ABBC 2025) Symposium in Lusaka, Zambia, this past August, three scientists presented case studies that showcased a disturbing trend where Africa’s scientists have struggled to make any notable inroads amid targeted attacks that demonize their work.
The first explored the cost of delays in adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa. Developed to withstand key challenges- drought, pests, diseases- these crops could easily provide a lifeline for a continent which suffers effects of climate change on a larger scale than any other, and whose populations have, for years, largely struggled with food security.
Yet, noted Vitumbiko Chinoko, the Project Manager for Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB Africa) at African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Africa drags her feet at adoption even as its population’s predicament worsens. It is projected that by 2030, 582 million people will be chronically undernourished, more than half of them in Africa.
The continent, he noted, experiences an average lag of 12 to 15 years in GM crops’ commercialization, compared to 5 to 10 years elsewhere.
Such delays, said Chinoko, have deprived farmers of potential benefits, prompting reflection on the balance between investments in biotechnology training and the tangible returns from timely adoption.
Chinoko narrowed down on Kenya, and quantified an average five-year delay across three key technologies– Bt maize, Bt cotton, and GM potato. He then modeled potential adoption and climate benefits.
For Bt maize, whose commercialization could have occurred in 2019, the delay cost was estimated at USD 67 million (Sh8.6 billion) between 2019 and 2024, with potential gains of USD 218 million (Sh28.1 billion) by 2029. Bt cotton, ready by 2015 but released in 2020, lost USD 1.2 million (Sh155 million) and 650 tons in potential production. GM potato, projected for 2028 commercialization, could yield USD 247 million (Sh31.9 billion) in combined farmer and consumer benefits over 30 years, but a five-year delay could erode USD 89 million (Sh11.5 billion) of these gains.
Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, Laboratory Director of Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership in Gaborone, and Kim Waddilove, Communications Officer, Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence, presented a disturbing case study on external efforts to rubbish Africa’s research.
In November 2021, a new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, was discovered. It was quickly identified as being significantly more transmissible than its predecessor, Delta. It was Dr Moyo that led the team of scientists that first identified this marauding variant.
For this amazing discovery, Dr Moyo and team were not presented a bouquet to thank them. They were shocked by what happened next; he says it exposed deep inequities and misinformation in global health communication. Dr Moyo and Waddilove recounted how African scientists, who first detected and transparently reported the variant, were met with blame, leading to discriminatory travel bans that punished openness rather than rewarding it.
Suddenly, Africa was seen as that errant, blemished sibling who does not belong to the party. The variant got nicknamed ‘The African variant’.
“This (labeling of Omicron as an ‘African variant’) reinforced long-standing stereotypes that African science is less trustworthy or that Africa itself is a site of disease rather than innovation. Such framing not only distorted the truth but also contributed to stigmatization and discrimination on a global scale,” said Dr Moyo.
This presentation showed the speedy nature of misinformation and politicized narratives in both movement and influence, and the consequent suffering of verified science.
“The labeling of the variant distorted the truth, reinforced damaging stereotypes, and eroded confidence in African scientific leadership,” Dr Moyo noted.
In the Kenya’s GM case study by Chinoko, it was noted that progress remains impeded by misinformation, litigation, and inadequate extension services –issues compounded by populist politics and unchallenged media narratives.
“Misinformation campaigns targeting agricultural biotechnology in Kenya have significantly slowed the progress of GM crop and livestock development. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of media coverage on GMOs in the country contains unchallenged misinformation,” said Chinoko.
Chinoko urged for urgent action to prevent further regulatory delays, strengthen biosafety institutions, invest in research and development, and enhance farmer education. Timely commercialization of GM crops is critical for Kenya’s food security, economic growth, and climate resilience.
Dr Moyo and Waddilove called for stronger, evidence-based science communication, fairer governance, and institutional protection for scientists facing public backlash. They insisted on the need for a rebuilding of global trust “where transparency, collaboration, and equity form the foundation of scientific progress and crisis response.”
They also insisted on the need for clearer communication from the scientific community, with conflicting interests from different players in society likely to lead to skew messages.
“The Omicron episode teaches us that communicating science is never without risk. When science intersects with politics, media, and public fear, even accurate and timely findings can be misrepresented,” Waddilove said.
As it explores ways to influence the global community to embrace its research, Africa needs an inward look to identify, and be ahead of, unwarranted dissent that could render scientists’ painstaking work useless and condemn millions to avoidable spread of disease and food insecurity.
Africa needs to identify how best to bridge science and policy, protect its scientists, address delays in commercialization, and enhance media capacity in science reporting.