Reopening debate on GMOs not profitable – Ililonga

Reopening debate on GMOs not profitable – Ililonga
Written by Cynthia Mutalange
Sunday, February 15, 2009 7:47:11 AM

ZAMBIA Consumer Association (ZACA) executive secretary Muyunda Ililonga has said reopening debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be as unprofitable as former president Frederick Chiluba’s third-term debate. In a statement released on Friday, Ililonga stated that his association thought it would be unprofitable to reopen the debate without any good course.

He stated that the current “artificial” shortage of maize and mealie-meal should not cause people to panic and make haphazard decisions which they would regret in future.

Ililonga stated that the calls by President Rupiah Banda to reopen the debate on GMOs were unfortunate.

He further stated that instead of debating GMOs, Zambians should be debating President Banda’s economic stimulus plan for the country.

“Companies are closing, jobs are being lost; these are the matters that must come to the table. People must put their heads together and assist government with ways to solve these potentially catastrophic developments,” Ililonga stated.

He stated that it was astonishing for President Banda to call for debate on GMOs, amidst serious economic problems facing the country.

“Why should we reopen debate on a matter that we concluded? What has changed? In any case why should we debate GMOs when the country has capacity to produce sufficient non-GMO maize?” Ililonga wondered.

“As an association we actively participated in the GMO debate in 2002. We know that Zambians rejected GMO maize. It’s therefore unprofitable to reopen this debate now without real good course.”

Ililonga stated that the issue of GMO maize did not only concern the environment but also potential health risks to consumers, since there was no conclusive scientific evidence yet that such products were safe.

He stated that although the country was experiencing a maize deficit, that did not mean that farmers did not produce enough maize for the country.

“We all know that the maize was exported leaving the country with this deficit,” stated Ililonga.

Last week, President Banda said people were free to debate GMOs. President Banda’s statement followed reports that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had rejected 81 per cent of the 35,000 metric tonnes of maize imported from South Africa on account of it being genetically modified.