Zambia to further tighten controls on GMO imports

Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa has ordered the agriculture ministry to immediately issue a statutory instrument to curb the smuggling into the country of suspected genetically modified agricultural products. He issued the directive in Lusaka in late April (2007) when he officially commissioned the Genetically Modified Organisms National Referral Laboratory of the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research at Mount Makulu Research Station.

Mwanawasa said Zambia would maintain its stand against genetically modified organisms and would continue rejecting them. He also explained that the statutory instrument should spell out how to control the importation of agricultural chemicals and curb the smuggling of the products into the country. He said the minister of agriculture should also table a bill in Parliament so that the statutory instrument could become an Act of Parliament. "All dealers in herbicides and other agricultural chemicals should get certified because it is very important that we protect the environment. It is also important that our people are protected from eating genetically modified food which can affect their health," he said.

Mwanawasa said in 2002, the world spotlight was focused on Zambia (when it rejected GM maize food aid) and government was misunderstood as having rejected biotechnology. He brushed aside the misunderstanding, saying government was only cautious with technological transfer, especially regarding genetic modification of food crops. He said the fact that some institutions in Zambia were studying genetic engineering was not a contradiction, pointing out that genetic modification was not the only product of biotechnology.

The president said since his government was just in its first year in office at the time of the drought that caused the food shortfall that necessitated external food aid (in 2002), it was difficult to make a decision on whether to accept the donated GM maize. Some sections of society urged the rejection of the donated maize on grounds that its effects on people's health was uncertain. "The interesting part of this matter was that some of the countries which wanted Zambia to accept GM maize later came to donate non-GM maize to us after we rejected the GM one.They wanted to use Zambians as guinea pigs," Mwanawasa said.

Mwanawasa said the whole world was aware of the implications resulting from products of modern biotechnology like genetic engineering on human and animal health and the environment. "Therefore we would rather be cautious and not venture into the unknown. We fully appreciate the centre stage biotechnology is taking," he said.

Mwanawasa said in 2004, the Zambian government with the support of Norway embarked on a capacity building programme that resulted in the commissioning of the GM detecting laboratory at Mount Makulu. Government contributed 1.9 billion Kwacha (US$450,000) for infrastructure development while Norway released US$400,000 for the purchase of equipment, legislative processes, staff training and public awareness.

Zambia Daily Mail