Zambia, one of several southern African countries hit by a severe food shortage, on Tuesday confirmed it would not accept genetically-modified (GM) food aid, the World Food Programme (WFP) said here.
Christiane Berthiaume, WFP representative, said the Zambian agriculture minister Mendia Sikatama had announced the country’s final decision early on Tuesday, but she said that the UN food agency had not yet been officially notified.
She said the move followed a visit by Zambian scientists to the US, Europe and South Africa to look into the issue of GM foods. ”We respect this decision. It’s the right of every government to accept or to refuse food aid,” Berthiaume told reporters. She warned the move would complicate the UN agency’s work but added it would continue to work with the government to find alternatives to help the nearly three million Zambians in need of aid between now and next March.
The Zambian government has repeatedly rejected food aid which is genetically modified over recent months. It has said the food must first be proven safe for human consumption and the environment.
Four other affected southern African countries — Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe — have accepted the GM relief aid on condition that it is ground, which prevents it from sprouting in the soil. Swaziland has not raised any objections. Berthiaume stressed the WFP had not put pressure on the Zambian government.
”We have never, at any time, threatened to leave or stop our collaboration with the government,” she said. And she repeated the UN agency’s position that it handed out food conforming to the donor country’s safety guidelines only if it was accepted by the recipient country.
WFP currently has 15 000 tons of US maize in Zambia representing two weeks of supplies and as yet has not been instructed what to do with the stocks, Berthiaume added. Incidents of looting of the rejected GM aid have already occurred, she said, adding the agency was worried about further possible problems if it had to withdraw supplies from Zambia.
Some 2,9-million people in Zambia are going to be in need of aid when the food shortage reaches its most acute phase from December until the next harvest in March, according to the latest estimates, WFP said.
– Sapa-AFP