The European Commission said Tuesday it was donating 15-million euros ($15-million) to Zambia to buy 33 000 metric tons of corn in response to the country’s food crisis.
Meanwhile, the European Union has advised Zambia to reconsider its decision to reject genetically modified food donated by the United States.
Zambia, with about 2,9-illion people threatened with starvation in the coming months, said the food’s safety had not been fully established. In a press statement issued in Lusaka, Ambjorn Berglund, head of
the EC delegation in Zambia, said several GM corn varieties have been approved for human consumption in the United States and Europe.
”EU scientists have until now found no evidence to show that the GM maize varieties they have looked at are harmful with regard to human health,” Berglund said.
The Zambian government has also expressed it feared losing its export market to Europe if GM corn aid was planted by farmers. Berglund dismissed that concern, saying that planting GM corn would have no impact on a country’s ability to export other agricultural products to Europe.
However, if Zambia was concerned about trade consequences, it should simply mill the donated corn before distributing it, Berglund said. – Sapa-AP