GMO products spread in Southern Africa : Study

Genetically Modified Organism products and seed are fast spreading into most Southern African countries which lack the technological capacity to screen and detect GMOs, a new study has revealed.

A preliminary GMO Spread Survey report done by the Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Community Technology Development Trust, Tobacco Research Board and other research institutes in Zambia, Namibia and Swaziland even shows areas where GM crops are suspected to be grown. The 12-month GMO Spread Survey was done in five Southern African countries that included Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe between January and December 2006.

Sources said the survey was conducted to identify potentially modified products in these selected countries and to identify modes and mechanisms of entry as well as distribution of GMOs in the five countries.

A total of 229 questionnaires were distributed and survey responses of about 27 percent were achieved mostly from experts in the field of biotechnology. "The results obtained from this survey are preliminary and should not be generalised for countries where the survey was done. Rather these are the views of the respondents. "These results, though, are indicative of the situation in the region and give a reflection of the population," the GMO Spread Survey preliminary report stated.

The major concern cited in all the countries under the study was human health and safety (30 percent), followed by fear of contamination of indigenous resources by GMOs (26 percent). About 10 percent of the respondents were worried that GMOs would be used to undermine the country's economic and political sovereignty, while 5 percent were concerned at the lack of policy to regulate biotechnology.

Suspected GMO products in the five countries included maize, cotton and soyabean, livestock feed, tobacco, bananas, potatoes, poultry products and vegetables.

The report noted that there is no distinction between yellow and white maize despite the fact that South Africa, the identified source of maize food aid, targeted yellow maize for GMO production. South Africa has embraced GMOs and as the region's strongest economy, scientists say it could be the portal for them entering the rest of the continent- no matter what individual nations may do, industry watchers and activists say.

Most African countries still have reservations about genetically modified foods and seeds, and only a few countries allow them legally despite having no capacity to prevent their spread. In the five countries under the GMO Spread Survey, locations where suspected GMO plants are believed to be grown were those mostly under research and food aid recipient locations, in addition to border areas.

Opponents of GMOs in Africa fear that the continent's farmers could lose market access to Europe. European consumers are quite sensitive to GMO foods despite commercial claims that they are safe. Agricultural experts say if Africa turns to GMO seeds and foods, Europe may not buy them. Most African countries also have concerns about possible unknown side effects of using GMO products and seed.

Researchers of the GMO Spread report said a policy framework needs to be developed to cater for official border areas as well as illegal and unconscious ways of importing GMO products for farming purposes. They also suggested that awareness be raised among officials at border posts in addition to farmers regarding the possible contamination of their field crops by GMOs.

Most people in these five countries and others in the anti-GMO camp are worried by the unregulated movement of foodstuffs through informal trade networks across South Africa's porous borders which fast spread into the entire region. "South African borders are porous and people take food home with them for sale or for consumption," says Leslie Liddell, director of the NGO Biowatch South Africa. "Millions of people from neighbouring countries come to South Africa to work and there is huge movement across borders."

There is growing concern about the transfer of genetic material through cross-pollination, its impact on other species and the effects on human beings, animal and plant health. Opponents of GMOs fear that transgenic crops could cause loss of biodiversity by displacing wild species and could also "contaminate" organic crops.

Those who support GMOs say that Africa, which experiences frequent food shortages, would benefit from the higher yields they say are associated with the technology, better tasting products, GM drugs and vaccines.

"GMO foods are not dangerous to human health," Professor Yogeshkumar Naik, a member of the Biosafety Board (Zimbabwe) and researcher at the National University of Science and Technology, was quoted as saying. He said the reason why Zimbabweans regard GMO foods as dangerous is that there was poor understanding of the technology.

The GMO Spread study highlights the importance of undertaking training courses, research that reassures consumers about the food they eat, building a database on GMO information and strengthening biosafety boards that will enforce regulations in line with the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the draft African Union Biosafety Model Laws.

Zimbabwe Herald