[R-G] Zimbabwe urged to take GM grain

[Macdonald Stainsby]

Well, everyones favourite "corrupt despot" (or worse) has now taken the lead in
refusing to import GMO's. The rhetoric from the ZANU-PF has continued to be
about "the land" since the elections. Has there been any movement on this issue,
or has it just been a continuance of the talk?  No one should trust Mugabe after
his last 20 years, but this article was certainly heartening. And what of the
land reform? If it is carried out (beyond ZANU-PF members), is that not better
than anything the MDC was going to do?

YFTR,
Macdonald

Wednesday, 24 July, 2002, 12:55 GMT 13:55 UK
Zimbabwe urged to take GM grain
BBC Online

Zimbabwe could suffer from a famine by September if
the government continues to refuse food aid containing
genetically-modified organisms (GMO), according to a
senior United States aid official.

In June, the United States gave 8,500 tonnes of maize
to Zimbabwe but a further 10,000 tonnes was turned
away by the government because it did not have a
certificate saying that it was GM-free.

In the wider region, arguments over genetically
modified food are threatening to derail efforts to
help the 12 million people across southern Africa who
are facing a critical food shortage, according to the
BBC's Martin Plaut in Zambia.

But few in Zimbabwe are really aware of the arguments
over GM foods.

BBC reporters there say that most people just want
food.

They do not know what GM food is and are not worried
about its quality when they are so hungry.

But they could be influenced if the government issued
warnings that GM food might be unsafe, says the BBC's
Lewis Machipisa in Harare.

A number of Zimbabwe's neighbours are also concerned
about the possibility of their own crops being
contaminated by the American aid.

The government's stance over GM food was limiting the
amount of food the United States Agency for
International Development (USAid) could supply, the
agency's assistant administrator Roger Winter said,
according to the Reuters news agency.

"We do not have other products that do not have GMO in
the volumes and within the time frames that are
necessary to keep the food pipeline full,", he said.

He also stressed that the food was safe.

"It is the same food that Americans eat every day. It
is the same food that has been approved by our
Environmental Protection Agency," he said.

Mr Winter argues that countries across southern Africa
affected by the food crisis have a stark choice.

"Famine and food-related deaths are not pretty. I
argue that they are certain in this case if there is
not an adequate food pipeline. You are going to start
in all likelihood seeing serious impacts of at least a
localised nature as soon as September."

Mozambique is refusing to allow its ports to be used
for trans-shipment to Malawi and Zimbabwe, two of the
worst-hit countries in the region.

For Richard Ragan, the UN World Food Programme
representative in Zimbabwe, this could mean
re-thinking the whole transport strategy.

"If GMO maize can't transit Mozambique, and it's
likely it would have to come in from Dar es Salaam, so
that means that we have to begin to consider different
options with respect to both rail and trucking
opportunities in the region," he said.

One possibility would be to grind the maize before it
arrives in southern Africa.

This could not only be costly, but also logistically
difficult, according to the BBC's Martin Plaut.

And aid agencies worry that the United States might
not accept conditions being imposed on its donations.

Mr Winter says that if US-supplied food is not
accepted, it would cause massive problems because,
"the volumes that the US is offering to supply cannot
be made up for by any other country or group".
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Macdonald Stainsby
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In the contradiction lies the hope.
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