GM_AFRICA_-_an_A-Z

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> GMW:_GM_AFRICA_-_an_A-Z

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> Sun, 22 Aug 2004 19:32:25 +0100

 

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> ---

> FOCUS ON AFRICA

> http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=37 & page=1

>

> The following guide to GM in Africa provides a very

> useful A-Z of the diverse involvement and policies

> towards GM crops of countries in Africa.

>

> It is taken from a map accompanying the article

> Twelve Reasons for Africa to Reject GM Crops

> (Seedling Magazine, 17 August 2004)

>

> The map is available in the pdf version of the

> article:

>

http://www.grain.org/seedling_files/seed-04-07-04.pdf

> ...

> GM AFRICA

>

> *Algeria: In December 2000, Algeria introduced a ban

> on the " import, distribution, commercialisation and

> utilisation of GM plant material " .

>

> *Angola: In April 2004, Angola introduced a ban on

> imports of unmilled GM food aid. The World Food

> Programme responded by saying that the country

> would face a significant decrease in the food aid if

> it continued the ban.

>

> *Benin: In March 2002, Benin announced a moratorium

> on GM products, but is under constant

> pressure to introduce Bt cotton. It is also

> importing food aid from the World Food Programme,

> which is thought to contain GM maize from the US.

>

> *Burkina Faso: Has been field testing Bt cotton

> since July 2003.

>

> *Egypt: Has a pro-GM policy developed with

> support from USAID. GM canola has been

> commercialised, and field trials are underway with

> GM melon, cucumber, maize, potato, squash, sugar

> cane, tomato, cotton and wheat. Many others are in

> experimental stage, including GM bananas being

> developed with ICARDA.

>

> *Kenya: Home of a number of new and proliferating

> GM-pushing research institutes, including the Africa

> Harvest Biotech Foundation International, ISAAA's

> Africentre, the African Agricultural Technology

> Foundation and the African Biotech Stakeholders

> Forum.

>

> Field trials on GM sweet potato are ongoing, and

> research on GM maize, cassava and cotton are

> underway.

>

> Undeterred by the failure of Monsanto/KARI's GM

> sweet potato project (see box on p 19 OF Twelve

> Reasons for Africa to Reject GM Crops), Syngenta has

> launched its own showcase project in Kenya

> on stem-borer resistant maize. Never mind that its

> GM maize fails to protect against the most important

> stem borer in Kenya - the one that affects 80% of

> the country’s maize crop.

>

> *Malawi: Has had a ban on importing unmilled GM

> crops since 2002.

>

> *Mali: The national agricultural research institute

> (IER) has been negotiating with Monsanto and

> Syngenta for field trials of Bt cotton.

>

> *Nigeria: No GM products being developed or field

> tested as yet, but in July 2003, the government

> committed $26 million (N3.2 billion) annually to

> developing biotechnology to promote food production.

>

> In May 2004, USAID commited $2.1 million to " assist

> leading Nigerian universities and institutes

> [including IITA] in the research and development of

> bio-engineered cowpea and cassava varieties which

> resist insect and disease pests, " and to

> " improve implementation of biosafety regulations,

> and enhance public knowledge and acceptance of

> biotechnology " .

>

> Nigeria is working on a (no doubt industry-friendly)

> model biosafety law with South Africa that other

> African countries could emulate.

>

> *Senegal: An unofficial field trial of Monsanto's Bt

> cotton was carried out by the national cotton

> company, but further efforts were abandoned

> after the cotton failed to perform.

>

> *South Africa: Owing to the strong presence of

> multinational seed companies and strong

> export-oriented agriculture, it is further down the

> GM road than any other country on the continent, and

> sixth biggest producer of GM crops in the world.

>

> In 2003, 400,000 ha of GM crops were planted to Bt

> maize, Roundup Ready soybean and Bt cotton. Nearly

> all of the GM crops grown in South Africa

> are sown on large commercial farms, but South Africa

> is presented as a showcase of the benefits of GM

> cotton for small farmers, overlooking the fact that

> the debt problems experienced by small farmers

> growing Bt cotton are so bad that the

> firms managing the project withdrew.

>

> The country is looking more and more like a

> dumping ground for GM crops rejected in the US and

> Europe. There was uproar in Feb 2004 when despite

> supposedly pulling out of developing GM wheat,

> Monsanto applied to South Africa for a permit to

> import it down the road.

>

> The country has also just approved field testing of

> Monsanto's Bt potatoes that were discontinued in the

> US after consumer rejection. Field trials ongoing on

> GM cotton, eucalyptus, canola, potato, soybean,

> strawberries and sugar cane.

>

> *Sudan: In May 2003 Sudan banned the import of GM

> food, but issued a series of temporary waivers

> enabling food aid shipments to the country to

> continue while alternatives were found. But the US

> response was to suspend food aid shipments to Sudan

> and exert enormous pressure on the government to

> rescind the ban. The government relented, and ended

> up extending the waiver for six more months,

> allowing the distribution of GM food to continue

> until January 2005.

>

> *Zambia: During 2002, Zambia rejected 27,000 tonnes

> of GM food aid from the US to feed nearly one

> quarter of its population following a prolonged

> drought. It was vilified for doing so but warnings

> that millions might starve proved unfounded.

>

> The Zambian government cited various reasons for

> its ban – from the possibility of losing export

> markets to contaminating local varieties of maize to

> uncertainties about health implications.

>

> Zambia is still upholding its ban on importing

> milled and unmilled GM products.

>

> *Zimbabwe: Ban on importing unmilled GM crops.

> Monsanto conducted some unsupervised field trials

> of GM cotton a few years back but that crop was

> destroyed by the government once they found out.

>