Anxious wait for final word on GM food aid

The Zambian government on Wednesday said a final decision on whether it would accept genetically modified (GM) food aid was "imminent". Officials, however, could not confirm an exact date when the announcement would be made. "We are expecting a final decision this week or early next week. The team of scientists who had been sent to the United States and the EU on a GM fact-finding mission have already briefed government on the issue. Everybody is extremely anxious that a decision be made public as soon as possible," deputy director for policy and planning, Julius Shawa, told IRIN. Close to three million Zambians are in urgent need of food relief until next year's harvest, mainly due to two succesive droughts. President Levy Mwanawasa's administration has, however, categorically rejected GM food aid, citing health risks. But as the food crisis deepens people have become increasingly desperate. Two weeks ago, IRIN reported that hungry villagers from Mumbwa, a rural town about 50 km west of the capital Lusaka, looted over 500 bags of GM relief maize after they were told that food distribution would be stopped until the government had approved its safety. In recent weeks the government's apparent delay in making a final decision over GM has drawn fire from local lobby groups and opposition politicians who have warned that people are now dying from starvation. "Obviously the government is concerned about reports of looting. Rural areas have suffered greatly and we have received some pressure from our colleagues in rural government to resolve this issue. In the interim, we have provided some maize to the most needy areas mainly taken from regions which experienced a surplus this season. Also, we have sourced some non-GM maize from other countries," Shawa said. Some NGOs have supported the government's concerns over the possible side-effects of modified food and have called for increased funding to alleviate the food shortages. "Whatever the government decides, we will respect. It is not a problem of GM food but rather a problem of insufficient food. As far as waiting for a final decision on the issue, the government has already said it would not accept GM food. We suspect that any future decision will simply be a modification of the earlier one," Patrice Charpentier, food distribution coordinator for Care International, told IRIN. "We are concerned that the current donors who are prepared to help with non-GM food shortages may not be in a position to fill the food pipeline 100 percent," Charpentier said. "Fortunately during the month of October in the Southern province, which was the hardest hit by the drought, we succeeded in distributing a 50 kg bag of maize to each family which is close to the normal family ration. However, we are worried about November and December. As yet we don't have enough supplies. If the GM food is approved for distribution this will obviously supplement the shortfall," Charpentier added. This week Zambia received US $50 million from the World Bank to manage the hunger crisis. However, the concessionary loan would not be used to purchase non-GM maize. Instead, the money would be used to help deliver food and water to villages where wells and boreholes have dried up.