A ROW over genetically engineered maize is overshadowing efforts to tackle the famine that threatens the lives of at least 14 million people in several southern African countries. Negotiations were under way earlier this week to settle the dispute.
Robert Mugabe鈥檚 government in Zimbabwe is refusing to accept thousands of tonnes of maize from the US, ostensibly because some of it is genetically modified. Offered by the US Agency for International Development through the Rome-based World Food Programme, the maize was due to arrive in Africa this week aboard the USAID-chartered ship, the Liberty Star.
Negotiations have already been soured by reports that Mugabe鈥檚 government is denying emergency food aid to people in areas that oppose his government. Andrew Natsios, USAID鈥檚 administrator, last week warned that food aid would be stopped altogether if this form of political repression continued.
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Now Harare has said that it doesn鈥檛 want USAID鈥檚 maize, despite the spectre of famine looming over six million of its citizens. 鈥淭he position is that no GM foods are allowed in Zimbabwe,鈥� a spokesman at the Zimbabwe High Commission in London told New 杏吧原创 earlier this week. 鈥淪cientifically, they haven鈥檛 proven to be safe.鈥�
The spokesman also said that Zimbabwe鈥檚 beef sales to Europe could be under threat if any of the maize is fed to animals. Yet New 杏吧原创 has established that there are no restrictions in Europe on the sale of meat, milk or eggs from animals raised on GM fodder.
An editorial last weekend in the Zimbabwe Herald 鈥� regarded as the mouthpiece of the government 鈥� also expressed concern that 鈥渧egetables鈥ould be contaminated with genes from such grain鈥�. But interbreeding between grain and vegetables is impossible.
However, the maize seeds could be spilt, contaminating fields, or farmers could deliberately plant them. There鈥檚 been extensive contamination of Mexican fields via such routes (New 杏吧原创, 15 June, p 17). But there鈥檚 no evidence that this 鈥済ene flow鈥� has had any harmful effects on the environment or people. And while such contamination might affect exports to Europe, at present Zimbabwe doesn鈥檛 send any maize to Europe.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been eating GM maize here in the US for six years without any problems. By saying no to aid, he鈥檚 increasing the risk that thousands of Zimbabweans are going to starve,鈥� says Per Pinstrup-Andersen of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC, winner of last year鈥檚 World Food Prize. 鈥淭he reason for Mugabe鈥檚 resistance is pure politics. He wants to show Western countries he doesn鈥檛 need them.鈥�
Other countries in the region, such as Malawi and Zambia, have already agreed to accept the maize, although Zambia is setting up an advisory board to monitor the fate of the material. Mozambique, whose ports will receive the material, is wary about having to transport it through its territory.
As New 杏吧原创 went to press, it looked likely that a compromise would be reached 鈥� milling the maize before distribution, so it can鈥檛 be planted. 鈥淏ut it delays things, and that鈥檚 the problem,鈥� says Luis Clemens, a spokesman for the World Food Programme鈥檚 office in South Africa. 鈥淚t becomes an issue of timing and cost.鈥�
The US seldom has milled maize available, USAID deputy administrator Roger Winter told a press conference in Johannesburg last week, and to mill it in the US would increase the cost by a third. 鈥淚f they want to mill it locally, that鈥檚 their business.鈥�
Both sides were locked in negotiations earlier this week to find a way forward. 鈥淥ur experts in Harare are waiting for the UN鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organization to make proposals,鈥� said the Zimbabwean spokesman in London.
Some charities think the request to mill the maize is reasonable. 鈥淲e should not [reject] grain even if it鈥檚 GM, when it鈥檚 at the expense of people鈥檚 lives,鈥� says Alice Wynne Willson of British charity ActionAid. 鈥淏ut a food crisis should not be used as a bargaining chip for introducing GM technology. People are losing their right to say no because they are hungry.鈥�
She also points out that while the US grain is welcome in a crisis, its production relies on government subsidies. That enables USfarmers to sell grains at prices that undermine markets in Africa.
There鈥檚 no doubt that local mismanagement and corruption have played a big part in many southern African countries鈥� failure to cope with the current drought. But experts agree that it鈥檚 been made worse by factors such as subsidies, the AIDS epidemic and the lack of infrastructure.
鈥淎s it is, it costs more to send maize to Malawi from Ethiopia than from Argentina,鈥� says Pinstrup-Andersen. Parts of Ethiopia had bumper harvests this year. But prices dropped by 20 per cent because they couldn鈥檛 transport it elsewhere in the continent.
And the disparities in subsidy rules applied by lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have made things worse, says agricultural economist Laurence Cockcroft. These institutions forced countries such as Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia to dismantle the boards that managed the distribution and sale of grain, on the grounds that they were 鈥渟ubsidised鈥� and disrupted the workings of the free market. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been disastrous,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 sacrifice food security on the altar of free-market economics.鈥�