Zambia says no to GM food
2002-10-29 13:18
Lusaka - Zambia said on Tuesday it would not accept genetically modified (GM) maize to help alleviate severe food shortages facing three million people in the country and that the long-awaited decision was final.
Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana said Zambian authorities decided to ban the use or consumption of GM foods after local scientists reported that insufficient evidence was available to demonstrate their safety.
"The major recommendation of the study team of scientists is that government should maintain its earlier position not to accept GM foods in the country. Government has accepted this recommendation... we will not allow GM foods in Zambia," Sikatana told a news conference.
Zambia, one of six southern African countries where some 14 million people are facing food shortages, rejected proposed donations of US-sourced GM maize in August, saying it wanted its own scientists to explore the safety of transgenic foods.
The country's reluctance to take the GM maize despite suffering food shortages has brought the country to the centre of a worldwide debate over the safety of genetically altered foods.
The United Nations' World Food Programme estimates three million people are threatened by food shortages in Zambia.
Europeans are sceptical about agricultural biotechnology, and consumer opinion errs towards rejecting GM food.
The United States treats GM grains no differently from conventional crops and says they pose no threat.
Sikatana said Zambia did not have suitable bio-safety legislation to accept genetically modified foods.
"There is a risk of contamination of the local traditional crop varieties by GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which may have a disruptive effect on the long-term sustainability of the local production systems," Sikatana said.
Aid agencies blame food shortages in the region on poor harvests caused by drought and political problems. The WFP says 14.4 million people in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho are under threat.
The WFP appealed to international donors to provide seeds to the region to help avert a similar crisis next season. It said the window of opportunity for planting seeds for the coming growing season was closing rapidly.
"If the international community doesn't act soon, that window will slam shut and consequently, the region will continue to suffer from lack of food in the coming year," the WFP said in a statement issued in Johannesburg.