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.