Zambia Rejects GMO Crops

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The Zambian government has rejected calls to use GM crops in the fight against poverty and hunger in the southern African nation.

The Zambian government has rejected calls to use GM crops in the fight against poverty and hunger in the southern African nation.


A press statement endorsing the use of GMOs appeared in the Times of Zambia on July 30. Endorsers included: AfricaBio, the Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International, Biotechnology-Ecology Research and Outreach Consortium (BioEROC) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application (ISAAA).


Zambian minister of agriculture and cooperatives, Ben Kapita, responded on behalf of the government: “We have always said that Zambia will not be used as a dumping place for GMO products.”


Biotechnology supporters contend that African agricultural productivity could suffer in comparison with members of the global community that embrace GM technology.


On April 3 the Zambian parliament had adopted a biosafety bill aimed at preventing the entry of GMOs into the country.


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