Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model

It is widely acknowledged that pressure groups play influential roles with regard to decision making on the agricultural and food use of genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, there has been relatively minimal examination of whe...

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Main Authors: Takeshima, Hiroyuki, Gruère, Guillaume P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154798
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author Takeshima, Hiroyuki
Gruère, Guillaume P.
author_browse Gruère, Guillaume P.
Takeshima, Hiroyuki
author_facet Takeshima, Hiroyuki
Gruère, Guillaume P.
author_sort Takeshima, Hiroyuki
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description It is widely acknowledged that pressure groups play influential roles with regard to decision making on the agricultural and food use of genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, there has been relatively minimal examination of when these lobbying efforts actually influence GMO policies, and how such influence changes when other exogenous constraints associated with GMO improve. Using the model of competition between pressure groups developed by Becker (1983), this paper shows that if anti-GMO lobbying appears to be working, it is likely because conditions in SSA are unfavorable to the introduction of GMO. This result is validated by a discussion of existing capacity constraints for the development, regulation, and dissemination of GMO in SSA countries, and of how these constraints may make conditions less favorable despite the reported potential benefits of GMO. The findings of this paper confirm the importance of relaxing capacity and institutional constraints, and suggest that these constraints should be addressed before considering a possible lack of political will for promising GMO in SSA countries. Political influence may not have as much of an impact on the slow adoption of GMO by SSA countries as insufficient scientific and institutional capacity.
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spelling CGSpace1547982024-10-25T07:57:46Z Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model Takeshima, Hiroyuki Gruère, Guillaume P. genetically modified organisms It is widely acknowledged that pressure groups play influential roles with regard to decision making on the agricultural and food use of genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, there has been relatively minimal examination of when these lobbying efforts actually influence GMO policies, and how such influence changes when other exogenous constraints associated with GMO improve. Using the model of competition between pressure groups developed by Becker (1983), this paper shows that if anti-GMO lobbying appears to be working, it is likely because conditions in SSA are unfavorable to the introduction of GMO. This result is validated by a discussion of existing capacity constraints for the development, regulation, and dissemination of GMO in SSA countries, and of how these constraints may make conditions less favorable despite the reported potential benefits of GMO. The findings of this paper confirm the importance of relaxing capacity and institutional constraints, and suggest that these constraints should be addressed before considering a possible lack of political will for promising GMO in SSA countries. Political influence may not have as much of an impact on the slow adoption of GMO by SSA countries as insufficient scientific and institutional capacity. 2011 2024-10-01T14:03:56Z 2024-10-01T14:03:56Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154798 en Limited Access Walter de Gruyter GmbH Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Gruère, Guillaume P. 2011. Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model. Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization 9(1): Article 7. https://doi.org/10.2202/1542-0485.1325
spellingShingle genetically modified organisms
Takeshima, Hiroyuki
Gruère, Guillaume P.
Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title_full Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title_fullStr Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title_full_unstemmed Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title_short Pressure group competition and GMO regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Becker model
title_sort pressure group competition and gmo regulations in sub saharan africa insights from the becker model
topic genetically modified organisms
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154798
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