The domestication of local species may be a far more cost-effective strategy for ensuring food security than focusing purely on biotechnology, says Patrick Worms, a senior science policy advisor with the World Agroforestry Centre.

Worms was attending a workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during which African and European scientists discussed current biotechnology research by African scientists, such as efforts to create crops with improved vitamin content.

Africa Investor reports that Worms spoke about the iconic African baobab tree which has a fruit that is high in micronutrients and vitamins yet it has never been domesticated. He outlined how domesticating such species could be very valuable in ensuring food security.

"We’re going to need biotechnology; we’re going to need agro-ecology; we’re going to need agroforestry; we’re going to need fertilizers and irrigations and tractors and whatever science human ingenuity can throw at the problem," said Worms.

Agricultural biotechnology is seen as able to contribute to sustainable agriculture and provide nutrition to people across Africa. The scientists attending the workshop, from the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), called for increasing the amount of African-led research into agricultural biotechnology.

In the face of climate change, “biotechnology could help in breeding crop varieties that resist pests, crops that use less water, crops that use less fertilizers," said Fatima Denton from the climate policy centre at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA).

Read the full story: EU, African science groups support biotech development