简体中文
World Biz
Zambia farmers resist plans to reintroduce GMOs
Last Updated: 2018-12-07 16:28 | Xinhua
 Save  Print   E-mail

Farmers in Zambia on Thursday revealed that there was a ploy by some organizations to legitimize Genetically Modified Organizations (GMOs) in the country.

The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), an umbrella body of both commercial and small-scale farmers, said it was aware of maneuvers by some organizations that were trying to propagate the importation of GMOs into the country.

"These authorities are trying to scheme ways of legitimizing Genetically Modified Foods in the country at the expense of what we have safeguarded for years," Jervis Zimba, the association's president said.

"It is important to note that this country is a non-GMO country, and any maneuvers towards legitimizing GMOs will have far reaching implications that we can comprehend," Zimba said.

The farmers, he said, will not subscribe to GMOs and will reject processes that seek to sneak into the country or dump GMOs onto the market as this may affect farmers.

According to him, the government should be wary of the activities of some of the organizations that have already started propagating statements in support of GMOs.

"ZNFU will fight and thwart all efforts bent on legitimizing GMOs. This country has made huge sacrifices to reach this far and the Union will not sit idly while wrong things are being done," he added.

In 2002, Zambia banned GMOs, with late President Levy Mwanawasa describing them as "poison."

He later rejected GMO maize donated by the United States government at the height of a food shortage caused by drought.

0
Share to 
Related Articles:
Most Popular
BACK TO TOP
Edition:
Chinese | BIG5 | Deutsch
Link:    
About CE.cn | About the Economic Daily | Contact us
Copyright 2003-2024 China Economic Net. All right reserved