Overcoming barriers to trust in agricultural biotechnology projects: a case study of Bt cowpea in Nigeria

Nigeria and the cowpea legume

Cowpea (known as black-eyed peas in North America) is the most important indigenous African legume because of its ability to grow in drought-prone areas and improve soil fertility. It is the favored crop of small-scale, low-income farmers in Africa [1–3]. It is also a high-protein, low-cost staple food and an important cash crop for farmers [1]. In 2009, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) reported that approximately 7.56 million tonnes of cowpea were produced globally. Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of cowpea in the world, accounting for approximately five million of the 12.76 million total hectares of land devoted to cowpea growth [4, 2, 5]. The enormous demand for cowpeas in Nigeria has made it the world’s largest cowpea importer since 2004 [6].

However, cowpea is affected by a number of environmental stressors. The cowpea pod borer (Maruca vitrata) is particularly detrimental. Reports have shown that severe infestations of the Maruca can cause crop yield losses as high as 70-80% [7]. Insecticides against the Maruca exist but have not been widely adopted by farmers due to prohibitive costs and significant health hazards [7]. Overall, insecticides have proven ineffective in combating the Maruca.

The purpose of the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project

The Maruca- resistant cowpea was developed by an international agbiotech PPP coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a not-for-profit organization that facilitates and promotes PPPs for the benefit of resource-poor smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The Monsanto Company, a multinational agricultural biotechnology company, donated the Bt gene to AATF on a humanitarian basis under a royalty-free license [8]. The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) in Zaria, Nigeria was the body responsible for the cry1Ab gene introgression into local cowpea varieties. The cry1Ab gene is a gene derived from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces specialized proteins to kill specific insects. In this case, the gene is intended to kill the Maruca pod borer [8]. Field testing was then carried out in specific locations in Nigeria.

The main objective of the project is to “enable smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to have access to farmer-preferred, elite cowpea varieties with resistance to insect pests, especially the pod borer Maruca vitrata” [7]. The achievement of this entails three specific objectives: 1) obtain the cry1Ab gene from Monsanto, 2) facilitate regulatory compliance for the development of a Maruca- resistant cowpea variety, and 3) provide product stewardship for the altered variety [7]. The expected outcomes of the project are increased food production, increased trade between regions in Africa, and elimination of the use of pesticides that are harmful to both humans and the environment [3].

Brief literature review of the history of the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project

The Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project is rooted in a longstanding international effort by a group of dedicated scientists to apply the power of research to pressing, humanitarian issues. While the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project technically began as a project in 2003, its roots reach back to the late 1980s and early 1990s at Purdue University. During this period, scientists from the United States, Italy and Japan, among others, were investigating the potential of genetically modifying the cowpea for specific resistances [9].

In 2001, key international cowpea stakeholders convened for a conference held in Dakar, Senegal and sponsored by a number of institutes including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), IITA, Purdue University and the Rockefeller Foundation. The goal of the meeting was to investigate ways in which the availability of cowpea could be increased [10]. This diverse group of individuals formed the core of the Network for the Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa (NGICA), one of the key partners in the project [10]. In 2002, NGICA convened a workshop in Capri, Italy for those actively engaged in the funded research projects on genetic transformation of cowpea. This workshop sought to encourage discussion between researchers in order to strengthen the NGICA network [11]. Despite NGICA’s efforts to encourage scientific research, NGICA remained more of a consortium than a formal organization with an office and staff. Members included researchers from all over Africa as well as the United States and Australia, making the operation of the organization virtual.

NGICA, knowing that a formal organization was necessary to push the project forward, contacted the newly formed AATF as a potential partner. It was believed that AATF had the organizational capacity to coordinate partners and negotiate agreements that NGICA did not have. AATF took on a strong leadership role in the cowpea project and coordinated a second meeting, which was held at their headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya in 2003. The purpose of this meeting was to develop a plan for an AATF/NGICA cowpea technology transfer project. Five constraint areas were identified and a task force was developed to assess the progress of each sector and develop recommendations for the future. The areas include: seed production and access; field production; storage and utilization; marketing; and intellectual property [12]. The findings that resulted from these task forces determined the agenda for the next planned meeting.

In 2004, a Cowpea Stakeholders Workshop was held to develop a strategic plan for the improvement of cowpea [13]. This workshop integrated knowledge from different stakeholder groups and established technical milestones. Intellectual property rights issues were addressed and a plan to acquire the cry1ab gene from the Monsanto Company was developed [13, 14]. The major outputs of this included the development of a project framework for the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project including technical plans, a funding breakdown, and a management system structure.

Between 2005 and 2007, countries interested in the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project went into negotiation to formally define partner roles and develop formal partnership agreements. During the same period, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, had begun an experiment to see if genes could be inserted into cowpea varieties. In 2005, CSIRO scientists successfully inserted transgenes into cowpeas that were transmitted to their progeny [15]. In 2007, the AATF had successfully negotiated access to Monsanto’s cry1ab gene and the gene had been incorporated into the cowpea at CSIRO in Australia. Testing of this variety against pests had also begun in Australia. The variety was being tested against the Helicoverpa armigera pest, as the Maruca is not present in Australia [16].

In 2007, a meeting was held in Accra, Ghana to develop the application for genetically modified (GM) cowpea confined field trials (CFTs) in Nigeria. By this point, an initial procedure of transforming the Bt gene into a Nigerian wild-type variety had occurred in Australia. However, the challenge of bringing the seed to Nigeria for CFTs remained [16]. Nigeria at this point had ratified the Cartagena Protocol in 2000 and had developed National Biosafety Guidelines through the United Nations Environment Programme-Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) in 2005. These interim guidelines allow for the testing of GM crops for research purposes, but do not allow for commercialization. An application for CFTs was developed after this meeting and submitted to the National Biosafety Committee of Nigeria for review [16].

In 2008, despite the need to evaluate the crops in the field, the hope of experimental trials of Bt cowpea in Nigeria seemed slim. In order to keep the project moving, the partners collectively decided to initiate the first CFTs of the Bt cowpea in August 2008 in Puerto Rico [16]. The trials in Puerto Rico were important to evaluate the efficacy of the Bt events against the pod borer in the field.

Trust in agbiotech initiatives

Nigeria is in the midst of developing its regulatory capacity and is in the final stages of passing a formal biosafety law for the safe development and use of GM crops in the country [17, 18]. Such biosafety capacity provides an important backdrop for the development of biotech development initiatives such as the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project, which is the focus of this study.

While the goal of the Cowpea Productivity Improvement Project is to provide pest-resistant cowpea varieties to Nigerian farmers, a great obstacle to achieving success with such initiatives is the distrust that may exist among government, regulatory authorities, and the private sector in Nigeria. Trust is important in PPPs, in which groups must collaborate in order to complete complex, long-term tasks [19–21]. In the context of agbiotech projects, these tasks could fall under processes such as product development, regulatory approvals, communication with the public, engagement with farmers, seed multiplication, and breeding, to name a few. Yet, one barrier to establishing trust in past partnerships in Nigeria has been the awareness of corruption at the government level, such as those between civil society organizations and the government [22]. In addition, a history of corruption in Nigerian corporate governance has posed a challenge to attracting foreign investment in the past [23].

Furthermore, establishing and maintaining trust is critical in the agbiotech field as the introduction of transgenic crops can often be contentious and hindered by public distrust [24, 25]. Particularly, a frequently noted source of distrust in GM crops is a lack of information and awareness across various levels of the public sector. The lack of knowledge about GM crops among both scientists and community members in Nigeria has led to the perception that agricultural biotechnology is risky. Among community members surveyed before participating in informational workshops, the greatest concerns about genetic modification revolved around food safety, ethical issues, and cost [26]. In another survey conducted in southwestern Nigeria, half of the respondents perceived GM crops to be of high risk [27]. For these reasons, the issue of trust in the Bt cowpea project in Nigeria is a critical area worthy of being studied.

This study constitutes one in a series of eight case studies investigating the role of trust in agbiotech PPPs and the adoption of GM crops in sub-Saharan Africa. There are three specific goals of this study: 1) describe effective trust-building practices in agbiotech projects, 2) describe the challenges to trust-building in successful and unsuccessful agbiotech PPPs, and 3) determine what makes these practices effective or ineffective through the identification of barriers to trust and trust-enhancing practices. To our knowledge, it is the first globally-focused case study series of its kind to investigate the role of trust in the successes and failures in PPPs. This study provides insight for potential funders of agbiotech projects as well as for researchers, farmers and others interested in such projects.

1. Build up, not over: acknowledge existing mandates and institutions

As the promoter of biotechnology development for Nigeria, it was particularly important for the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to recognize each research institution’s mandate and existing capabilities when contributing to biotechnology efforts. A government interviewee stated that the government wants to support projects at institutes whose mandates contain no conflicts of interest. This approach not only reduces the redundancies caused by duplication of labor, but also mitigates the potential tensions that could arise among partners.

Some interviewees were concerned that the project might encourage mandate-stealing or result in institutions encroaching on other institutions’ area of expertise. At the time of the study, the cowpea project had not encountered any major conflicts in this regard.

Ambiguities in the mandates of partners and organizations involved in the project were, however, a source of distrust in the project. Interviewees stressed that conflicts over ownership and project direction can arise when various stakeholders have diverging understandings about their role in the project. An interviewee cited AATF as an example of an organization that was successful in clarifying its mandate. Their bringing transparency to their plans suggested that both sides of the partnership would be closely involved throughout the entire process.

2. Educate the public now: information dissemination in the development stages of the project

Although the commercialization of a Bt cowpea crop is many years away, educating the public was seen as vital to facilitating adoption of the crop, since public trust in biotechnology had already been low. Interviewees mentioned that there were high levels of skepticism within the community due to a lack of familiarity with the genetic transformation process or incorrect knowledge about GM crops. Before introducing a finished GM crop to the Nigerian market, farmers, journalists, politicians and society at large must first be educated about biotechnology in a language that is understandable. One communications officer noted that people will be more inclined to trust if they understand how a technology was arrived at. To this effect, information-sharing workshops were hosted for farmers, media, and community stakeholders in order to educate the public about the project and GM crops. These efforts were improved by using the appropriate language for different stakeholder groups and making the information as accessible as possible.

3. Team-building as trust-building: establish a core team that works and is results-oriented

Constructing a core team with defined roles, commitment to the partnership, common goals, and the ability to meet deadlines, manage funds, and communicate effectively is essential to building trust.

4. Partnering for a purpose: work with local organizations to serve local needs

The impetus for the cowpea project emerged from a shared recognition of the severity of the pest problem burdening cowpea growers in Nigeria and the inadequacy of regular pest control methods to effectively address it. The need for the project, then, was locally defined by those working with the farmers and addressed by different African agricultural associations. However, the idea that a foreign company is driving the project was deemed a huge challenge that may promote the perception that the private sector has come to exploit poor farmers.

Responding to a locally-defined need was linked to the success and longevity of the project. In addition, one interviewee noted the importance of local capacity-building in research development and infrastructure, which had been integrated into the project. By addressing both the Maruca pest issue and capacity building, the project served two important locally-defined needs.