Over 400 African Civil Society organizations have issued a statement sent to the African Union (AU) last week which urged banning the cultivation, import and export of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa. They request is that this be discussed at the next AU summit, January 2013, which is themed “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance.”
The statement notes the lack of long-term data about effects of GM crops, and the threats that the system of privatized agriculture has on African food sovereignty. Elizabeth Mpofo, Chairperson of the East and Southern African Farmers Forum (ESAFF) points out that “corporate-owned, genetically modified seed won’t solve any of our problems. We have our own varieties, we have our own knowledge. We need to be supported so that we can flourish in the agricultural systems that are our heritage.”
