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WFP says seeks non-GM food aid for Zambia |
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| ZAMBIA: October 9, 2002 | ||
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LUSAKA - The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said that 12,000 tonnes of GM-free maize had begun arriving in Zambia and the agency was seeking another 16,000 tonnes from within southern Africa.
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Zambia, one of six countries in the region battling severe food shortages, banned all genetically-modified food aid in August, citing health concerns. The ban remains in place until the government establishes through its own tests if GM foods are safe for human consumption. Aid agencies have been scrambling to find GM-free food aid for the country. WFP spokeswoman Jo Woods said 12,000 tonnes of GM-free maize had begun arriving in Zambia from South Africa, where it was purchased. "We would like to buy 16,000 tonnes (maize) from within the region and get it to Zambia quickly. We are currently looking at different options on where to buy this food," Woods said. She said about $7 million in donations from Japan and the Netherlands would be used to buy 16,000 tonnes of GM-free maize for Zambia. "We hope this food will arrive by mid-November after buying it," Woods said. The WFP estimates that more than 14 million people in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique are faced with famine. The U.N says drought and mismanagement has caused the region's worst hunger crisis in many years.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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