www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Namibia and four other countries in SADC will know by mid-November whether
or not Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have infiltrated their borders,
October 2006 by Wezi Tjaronda.

The Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe (BTZ) is conducting research on the
spread of (GMOs) in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe to
inform policy-makers on the spread of GMOs to enable them to take it into
consideration when formulating their Biosafety policies.

At present, only three countries in SADC - namely: South Africa, Zimbabwe
and Malawi - have Biosafety policies, yet a number of countries have been
recipients of GMOs in the form of seed, food aid and animal feed. The study
is considered essential as it will assess the movement of GMOs in the region
including inflows, food, seed and animal feed, and will establish
environmental and biological potential threats and create awareness on the
biological status of the region, thus contributing to the development of a
regionally coordinated policy framework on movement, handling and processing
of GMOs in the region.

The focus of the research study is to determine the presence or absence of
genetically modified maize (BT Maize), cotton (BT Cotton) and soya, but will
also cover sorghum, millet and sugar beans.

BTZ Executive Director, Naison Bhunhu, told New Era from Zimbabwe yesterday
that the preliminary results of the research study, which started earlier
this year, will be released mid-November at a partners' meeting to be held
in Windhoek.

The trust has completed an analysis of samples from Zimbabwe and Malawi, and
has just collected samples from Namibia as they were held up by the
clearance systems from the one country to the other.

Although countries such as Zambia have said 'No' to GMOs, policy-makers need
to consider the free movement of goods amongst countries, said Bhunhu.

"If a country says no to GMOs, it may put policies to suit that particular
stance. But with free movement of goods, this needs to be taken into
consideration," he said, adding that research will show the status of the
GMOs in these countries because, at the moment, it is believed that GMOs are
only restricted to South Africa.

Apart from this, research will also help safeguard biodiversity, people and
animals, by considering them in biosafety laws.

Bhunhu said local farmers, for instance, need to know the risks as they
might lose their indigenous crops if they happen to cross-pollinate with
those that are genetically modified.

The pilot study covering the five countries is one of the ongoing research
activities funded by the Regional Agricultural and Environmental Initiatives
Network (RAEIN-Africa).

Evident is the existence of an information gap, on the extent of
distribution of GMOs, the effectiveness of policy, regulatory and technical
instruments on how to manage the spread of Genetic Engineering (GE) products
in the region.

A research associate of the BTZ, Michael Makamure, writing in the
RAIEN-Africa newsletter Building Bridges, said the results obtained from the
study will indicate the status of the GMO spread from the districts from
which sampling was done, and will be used for a more detailed study on a
wider scale in the whole region.

The project will generate research data that will be useful to
biotechnologists, biosafety authorities and will also help in GMO food, feed
and seed management policy development in SADC countries.

In Africa, only South Africa, which has BT maize, BT Cotton and GM soya, has
commercialized GMOs. South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda and
Nigeria are leading as far as biotechnology research is concerned.

Nine countries have field trials, 20 are engaged in GMO research and
development, and 24 in capacity-building and institutions to conduct
research and development, while 27 have ratified the Cartagena protocol
which governs the safe use of GMOs.

[allafrica.com]

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