Bill Gates, the billionaire founder and former CEO of Microsoft, stood in the heart of a vast wheat field in Dugda Woreda, East Shewa Zone, Oromia region. The lush green expanse of wheat stretched as far as the eye could see. Beside him, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, beamed with pride, gesturing toward the bountiful harvest now flourishing where, just a few years ago, the land was said to have been barren and untouched.
A few days later, reflecting on his journey, Bill Gates shared his thoughts in a travel account. “The farm cluster we visited is a great example of how they’re doing it,” he wrote. “Three years ago, the fields there weren’t farmed at all. Today, nearly 2,400 farmers are working almost 100,000 acres of wheat, and they’re using innovative approaches to get the most out of the land.”
Over the past decades, Ethiopia has introduced a series of investment climate reforms across various sectors, including liberalization efforts and updates to laws and regulations. These measures aim to create a more favorable environment for partnerships and investments in the country, though they have not been universally well-received.
If we take the Prime Minister’s statements at face value, the technology used for Ethiopia’s wheat farms appears to focus on disease-resistant wheat varieties and early warning systems to prevent crop diseases. While these advancements highlight innovation in farming practices, it’s unclear from the provided information whether genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are part of the approach.
Whether these are GMO wheat varieties is indeed relevant, especially considering Bill Gates’ advocacy for Africa to adopt GMOs as a solution to food security challenges. During his visit to Nigeria, following his trip to Ethiopia, Gates renewed his call for the use of GMOs claiming they would improve agricultural productivity and combat hunger across the continent.
While the Ethiopian wheat farms might be employing advanced breeding techniques and heavy use of pesticides, it remains unclear whether GMOs are part of the approach, as specific details have not been disclosed. Many African countries, including Ethiopia, have historically been cautious about GMOs, but policies have evolved in recent years. The Abiy administration seems to unquestionably embrace the technology despite tangible concerns about its impact on health and ecology. In a recent article in the Mail & Guardian about Bill Gates’ influence on agriculture in Africa, Simon Allison, the Africa editor of the paper, and the founding editor-in-chief of The Continent, critiques Gates’ approach, arguing that his initiatives have reduced crop diversity and created dependency on commercial seeds. “Because they cannot reproduce themselves, new seeds must be bought every year from industrial agriculture companies such as Bayer and Syngenta, along with all the chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides,” the article states.
Despite this, no genetically modified wheat is grown commercially in Ethiopia. Dr. Tadesse Daba, lead researcher and national coordinator at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB-Eth) under the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, confirms that GM wheat has never been imported into the country. He notes that Ethiopia’s lowland wheat seeds are produced domestically by local companies and the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute. However, this may change; the Abiy administration appears ready to adopt GMOs when the technology becomes available. In fact, just a few days ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a type of genetically modified wheat developed by Argentina’s Bioceres Crop Solutions (BIOX.O) for safe cultivation in the United States. The determination clears the U.S. market for the production of HB4 wheat, which is reported to be modified to tolerate drought. This makes the United States the fourth country to approve the production of HB4 wheat, following Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia and Chile have approved HB4 wheat for food and feed use. Given Abiy’s enthusiasm for it, it is only a matter of time before Ethiopia might approve it.
Excellent and uplifting news.
as far as ,we African knows we are still dependent on imported Agriculture Fertilizer. despite a healthy issues on GMO,
today we are introduced GMO seed which we are going to dependent on industrial agricultural GMO seed companies , along with all the chemical feltilize, pesticides ,herbicides ….
Ethiopia will never be safe under Abiy. His main concern is feeding his wild ego and to hold on to power at all costs. He will allow GMO (that is bow to Bill Gates’ international scheme to promote agribusiness) if that served his short-term purposes. Above all, Abiy will never tell the public the truth about his secret deals. The only hope is for patriotic Ethiopians to expose Abiy’s lies so the next generation will remember what happened.
stop bill gates at the gate
Great effort from the government!
Regarding GM wheat, there is no commercialised GM wheat in this world. There might be recent authorisations but are not brought to market in the same scale as we see today for GM corn or soybeans. So, long way to go before we see GM wheats in the GM friendly countries, late alone in Ethiopia.
Lastly, GM crops are proven to be as safe as their conventional counterparts. Over 30 years of cultivation experience in Americas or Australia can be used as a great example. So, please stop the fear mongering. It is one of the best and safest technologies available to fight weeds and pests in agriculture.
Why do we need gm crops? Who is it for? for our farmers or someone else’s interest?
During the 1980s famine, western donors advocated eliminating teff from the diet, arguing it was less nutritious than wheat and suggesting a shift to wheat production for better food security. Fortunately, wise individuals like Melaku Worede and Tewolde Gebre Egziabher protested against this idea. Today, we recognize teff as a treasured, gluten-free cereal.
Td, Tell to European union.
which ban Gm crop production in their own land
May God help you sterilise your own brain. Africa is 100 bigger in size compared to Europe. We don’t need to emigrate or go anywhere if we manage to feed ourselves. If Gate is helping to get us there. We just need to be grateful.
Everything is not always what it looks like on the outside. Weed and pest pressures are not the same in Europe and Ethiopia or America. So, the solutions would not be the same too. However, some don’t care about this. Just to stay ahead at any cost, they fabricate pseudoscience to undermine the power of the GM technology. Wait and see when the pests arrive Europe. They switch their narrative on GM 180 degrees . Long live
Kebe Everything is not always what it looks like on the outside. Weed and pest pressures are not the same in Europe and Ethiopia or America. So, the solutions would not be the same too. However, some don’t care about this. Just to stay ahead at any cost, they fabricate pseudoscience to undermine the power of the GM technology. Wait and see when the pests arrive Europe. They switch their narrative on GM 180 degrees . Long live
Why is the westerners always underate Africa by making our continent a hungry continent that lack food and yet the will be coming to Africa exploiting Africa resources. Bill gate is an American why not used his gmo seed in America so that America will be great in agriculture production or is he against making America great in all time. I pity people most especially those ignorant African leaders and there subject that have skull but no brain in them. Your generation to come will pay for this moves you embark with GMO seed.
Gates and the lot want Africa as a dumping ground for their excess and gov subsidized grains. Gates is a philanthropist but also a ruthless operator. He wants Africans to remain in Africa and not migrate to Europe so European culture and blood will remain pure. Not kidding. Gates is in the business of sterilizing African women (he did plenty of that under Tplf’s Tedros Adhanom when the latter was Minister of Health!)
May God help you sterilise your own brain. Africa is 100 bigger in size compared to Europe. We don’t need to emigrate or go anywhere if we manage to feed ourselves. If Gate is helping to get us there. We just need to be grateful.
Ted, you need to teach yourself to read without mixing in your little ideas. Now I understand why you would choose Gates to get you somewhere instead of you getting there by yourself.
Absolutely amazing for Mr.Gates to physically come out there. Hope there can be success for all parties involved!