Agritech dialogue: The high price of Africa's GMO hesitation

Genetic modification of crops confers them with resilience against a number of environmental challenges, key among them drought, pests and diseases. [iStockphoto]

When British doctor Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had previously caught cowpox could not get smallpox, he used cowpox to create a smallpox vaccine. This caused a strong public backlash.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), even the medical fraternity then, circa 1796, called the vaccine ‘a ridiculous idea’, with a rumour circulating that the vaccine would turn people into cows.