As global agriculture faces climate shocks and shifting regulations, plant breeding remains a critical foundation for farmer resilience. Dr Mahlane Kgatle breaks down how gene editing, biosecurity, and responsible innovation can protect productivity and help SA’s agricultural sector thrive.
Agricultural genetics has been fundamental to the development of modern farming. Long before genetically modified organisms and gene editing emerged, farmers and plant breeders were selecting and improving plants with desirable characteristics such as higher yield, disease resistance, quality and adaptation to local environments.
Over generations, conventional breeding and hybrid breeding have contributed significantly to improvements in agricultural productivity and resilience. More recently, molecular breeding and biotechnology have expanded the tools available to breeders to address increasingly complex production challenges.
What genetic innovation means for SA farmers
For farming communities, the importance of genetics is ultimately practical. Improved varieties can help farmers manage production risks, respond to climatic conditions, improve yield stability, manage pests and diseases and produce commodities that meet specific market requirements.
Recent developments in Germany and the European Union provide an important example of the growing international focus on the next generation of agricultural genetic technologies. The European Union has adopted a new framework for certain new genomic techniques (NGTs), with different regulatory requirements for different categories of genetic changes.
The framework recognises that some targeted genetic changes may be comparable to changes that could occur through conventional breeding, while more complex genetic modifications remain subject to more comprehensive requirements.
These developments should not simply be viewed as a move towards less regulation. Rather, they demonstrate the importance of developing scientifically informed approaches that recognise differences between technologies and genetic changes, while maintaining appropriate safeguards for human health, agriculture, biodiversity, the environment and consumer confidence.
Related stories
- Plant breeding wins support when South Africans see the benefits
- The future of climate-resilient and genome-edited crops
- Biotech crops in South Africa: A modern farming revolution
- Beyond maize: Why neglected crops are SA’s climate-smart future
For South Africa, international developments provide an opportunity to remain informed while continuing to build on the country’s established scientific and regulatory systems.
South Africa has considerable experience in the assessment and management of agricultural biotechnology, supported by research institutions, regulatory oversight and risk-assessment processes. These systems are important safeguards that allow agricultural technologies to be considered carefully before their application and introduction into production systems.
Genetics as a foundation of agricultural productivity
Plant breeding has continually evolved. Farmers first relied on selection and conventional breeding, followed by hybrid breeding to improve yield and vigour. Molecular approaches subsequently provided breeders with additional information to identify desirable traits, while genetically modified crops introduced specific characteristics such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance.
Gene editing represents another development within this broader continuum of genetic improvement.
These technologies provide different tools that may be appropriate for different breeding objectives. Their value depends on the trait being targeted, the production environment, the characteristics of the resulting variety and the needs of farmers and markets.
The importance of genetics becomes even greater as farmers face climatic variability, changing pest and disease pressures, increasing input costs and evolving market requirements. Genetic improvement can provide an additional tool for managing these challenges, although genetics remains only one component of a broader production system. Importantly, genetics does not operate in isolation.
Crop performance is influenced by the interaction between genotype, environment and management. A genetically improved variety may offer greater yield potential or improved resistance, but its actual performance depends on whether it is suited to the production environment and supported by appropriate agronomic management.
SA’s experience with agricultural biotechnology
South Africa already has substantial experience with agricultural biotechnology. Genetically modified maize, soybean and cotton have provided farmers with traits that can support insect management, weed management and production stability. These technologies have become part of modern production systems and have contributed to South Africa’s experience in applying biotechnology within commercial agriculture.
This experience also highlights the importance of a sound regulatory framework. South Africa’s GMO Act provides an established system for the regulation of genetically modified organisms, supported by scientific assessment and institutional oversight. Such a framework provides important safeguards by ensuring that potential risks to human health, agriculture and the environment are appropriately considered.
The strength of this approach lies in responsible assessment rather than technology adoption for its own sake. Agricultural innovation must be accompanied by consideration of environmental interactions, biodiversity, food and feed safety, trade requirements and consumer interests.
At the same time, biotechnology does not replace good agricultural practice. Improved genetics must be integrated with appropriate soil management, planting dates, cultivar selection, pest and disease management, water management, climate information and other agronomic practices. The greatest value is achieved when genetics and management work together.
The emergence of gene editing
Gene editing is now extending the range of tools available to plant breeders. It enables targeted changes to genetic material and may provide opportunities to develop traits of agricultural importance, including improved resistance to pests and diseases, adaptation to environmental stresses and improvements in quality characteristics.
An important scientific consideration is that gene editing encompasses different types of genetic changes. Some may result in changes that could also occur through conventional breeding or natural genetic variation, while other applications can involve more complex genetic modifications. The characteristics of the resulting organism therefore remain important when considering potential agricultural, environmental and food-safety implications.
South Africa’s existing regulatory framework provides an important foundation for responsible consideration of these technologies. As scientific understanding develops, continued assessment and monitoring can help ensure that emerging applications are considered within appropriate regulatory and biosafety requirements.
International developments can provide useful scientific information without requiring South Africa to simply replicate approaches adopted elsewhere. Different countries operate within different agricultural, environmental, economic and regulatory contexts. South Africa can therefore learn from international experience while maintaining its own established safeguards and decision-making processes.
Development, monitoring and affordability
For farmers, the key issue is ultimately not the sophistication of the technology but the value it provides within the farming system.
Several countries are developing approaches for assessing or using certain gene-edited crops under defined conditions. These developments are relevant to South Africa because changes in international breeding technologies may eventually influence seed availability, cultivar choices, commodity markets and trade.
Canola provides one example. Developments in gene-edited canola could eventually become relevant to South Africa through international seed markets and winter-crop production.
As canola becomes increasingly important to farmers managing climatic and economic pressures, developments in crop genetics could influence future cultivar availability and production options.
These developments therefore warrant continued technical monitoring. They do not necessarily mean that new technologies should immediately be adopted in South Africa. Rather, they provide an opportunity for researchers, industry and farmers to understand emerging technologies, evaluate their performance and consider their potential relevance within South African production systems.
Affordability will also be important. A new variety must provide sufficient agronomic and economic value to justify adoption. Seed cost, availability, performance, technical support, market requirements and compatibility with existing farming practices will all influence whether farmers benefit from a new technology.
This is particularly important for developing farmers and smaller farming enterprises. Agricultural innovation should not only focus on what is technically possible, but also on whether appropriate technologies can contribute to inclusive and sustainable agricultural development.
From technology to the farm
The journey from genetic research to agricultural impact involves several stages:
- A trait must be scientifically characterised,
- incorporated into a suitable cultivar,
- evaluated under relevant environmental conditions and assessed for agronomic performance,
- it must then demonstrate value within a farming system,
- where applicable, it must meet the relevant regulatory and market requirements.
This highlights the importance of research trials, farmer participation, extension support and reliable technical information. Farmers need to understand not only what a new variety can potentially offer, but also how it performs under specific production conditions and what it means for their costs, risks and markets.
The agricultural value chain therefore has an important collective role. Researchers contribute scientific evidence, breeders develop suitable varieties, regulators assess potential risks, extension services provide technical information, and farmers evaluate technologies within their production systems.
Caution and responsible innovation
Agriculture operates within complex biological and environmental systems, and technologies must be considered with appropriate attention to potential impacts on health, biodiversity, the environment, trade and production systems.
Caution should therefore remain an important part of agricultural innovation. At the same time, continued scientific monitoring of international developments allows South Africa to remain informed about emerging technologies and their potential applications.
This balanced approach supports responsible innovation, understanding what a technology can offer, identifying potential risks, evaluating its performance and ensuring that its application remains consistent with appropriate regulatory and biosafety requirements.
Looking ahead
South Africa is well positioned to participate in the next phase of agricultural genetic innovation. The country has strong agricultural research capacity, experienced farmers, established breeding programmes and a regulatory system designed to ensure that biotechnology is considered responsibly and with appropriate attention to safety and risk.
International developments such as those emerging in Europe provide useful information about how other agricultural systems are approaching new genomic technologies. South Africa can monitor these developments while continuing to rely on its own scientific evidence, regulatory requirements and agricultural priorities.
Ultimately, agricultural genetics should be judged by its contribution to the farm. Where improved genetics can contribute to productivity, resilience, resource efficiency, quality or reduced production risk, it can become an important component of sustainable agricultural development.
The responsibility is to ensure that emerging opportunities are considered carefully, scientifically and within the appropriate regulatory framework. By maintaining strong safeguards while remaining informed about scientific progress, South Africa can support responsible agricultural innovation while keeping farmers, farming communities, food security and sustainable production at the centre of the discussion.
- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Food For Mzansi.
READ NEXT: Chilli farming: Why high-value crops are SA’s missed opportunity
