African Agriculture Ministers Discuss GM Foods
Angola Press, October 30, 2004

Nairobi, Kenya, 10/17 - African ministers of agriculture meeting here Friday to brainstorm the continent`s agricultural master plan have stepped up opposition to the use of the genetically modified (GM) foods.
The ministers said there is an urgent need to develop a continental capacity to determine the safety of GM foods while most institutions are allowed to develop their capacity to scrutinise the seeds.
"I am afraid of GMOs. Let`s not be in a situation where the whole of Africa will depend on one company producing the seeds," said Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori during the meeting of agriculture ministers.
Participants, who are discussing how to bring a common Agricultural Policy for the East and Southern Africa region under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Agriculture Minister`s forum into operation, said history has proved that agricultural productivity could be enhanced without the use of the GM seeds.
"We must sustain our agricultural production. Africa should feel the shame of begging for food from Europe and the United States. We must also make the difference between water and rain," said Zambian Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana.
Zambia weathered strong international opposition in the face of hunger and suffering of its people to reject the World Food Programme`s maize donations, arguing that accepting GM foods would endanger the lives of its people.
"There were riotous moments when we took back the GM foods and we were confronted by the UN and the US. We took away the food and told our people to go to work, now we can boast of huge maize surplus," Sikatana noted.
The introduction of the GMO food and seeds, which are produced through a chemical process involving the incorporation of disease-resistant components into the seeds to enable them grow faster and resist adverse conditions, has been the subject of a heated international debate which has seen countries divided over the issue.
"We need a common position on the GMOs so that African countries can take a common stand on these foods. We need informed decisions based on factual knowledge not fears until Africa develops its own capacity," COMESA Secretary General Erastus Mwencha told PANA after the first session of the two-day meeting.
The African ministers are discussing the implementation of the common agricultural policy, which is seen as a prerequisite in addressing the decline in agricultural production in the continent.
"The cornerstone of this programme is a partnership between governments and the private sector to promote maize without borders as a key element of shifting attention from national to regional food security," Mwencha said.
Africa`s failure to produce sufficient food for its people is attributed to internal and external factors such as productivity, finance, investment and technology coupled with land use policies.
COMESA wants African countries to increase agricultural spending by 10 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to boost food production.