I write as a concerned citizen of Zimbabwe, giving notice of my intention to file a court injunction barring the Government of Zimbabwe ,the Ministry of Agriculture and the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) from importing genetically modified seeds into Zimbabwe.

Genetically Modified (GM) or transgenic crops will significantly accelerate the decline of biodiversity in Zimbabwe’s flora and fauna. Chapter 19:13 of the Zimbabwe Seed Act renders such importations illegal and it is a criminal offence for a Zimbabwean firm to import and transport GM products without the consent of the Biosafety Board.

Zimbabwe is a repository of maize’s genetic diversity and the historical, social, cultural, botanical, ecological, and agricultural impact of tampering with the cornerstone of the African diet must not be left to officials who still believe in clairvoyants.

Zimbabwe’s maize breeding program, which began in 1932, was the first program outside of the United States to produce double-cross hybrids for commercial use. Zimbabwean bred maize varieties increased crop yield potential and tolerance to diseases and drought.

This once successful maize seed program was anchored in an exceptional liaison between government and local private seed producers. In turn, this enabled the local seed companies to provide nearly every farmer in the country with hybrid maize suited for local growing conditions.

The ZCFU through its President, Mr Wilson Nyabonda, and its Vice President, Mr. Robert Marapira, have proposed to the Minister of Agriculture, (MOA) Dr Joseph Made, for the immediate importation of genetically modified (GM) seed to mitigate the perennial self-inflicted seed shortages in Zimbabwe.

“GM seed will make Zimbabwe’s small-scale farmers perpetually dependent on foreign donors for seed and herbicide and still attain diminished yields”.

The ZCFU and the MOA erroneously inferred that, “GM maize could be the short-term solution to the country food shortages”. This assertion, in their words, showed that “a hectare of land planted with GM seed could harvest 15 tonnes compared to natural seed”, is based on misleading and flawed research data.

“It does not rain mealies”. Zimbabwe was home to the 10 tonne Club – a society of farmers who had attained yields surpassing 10 tonnes per hectare using local open pollinated and hybrid seed varieties. “Africa is unique among world agro-regions in that 95 percent of its maize is consumed by humans rather than being used as livestock feed with consumption of maize accounting for 68 % of total calories in the national diet”.

The problem with seed production in Zimbabwe is not the lack of competent farmers, but lies anchored in the ill-advised policy of allocating productive seed farms to non-farmers who lack the basic skills required for the efficient husbandry of a specialised seed crop. Even after the chaotic fast track land acquisition, the majority of Zimbabwe’s smallholder farmers still cultivate maize in marginal areas characterised by low soil fertility and inadequate moisture availability. The solution is to allocate fertile land to the landless smallholder farmers and revert to the production of local varieties that require less water and are less prone to the mid season drought.

Zimbabwe was the epicentre for the Green Revolution in the 60’s with the release of the world’s first commercially successful single hybrid maize variety SR 52. Since then, Zimbabwe has always been a consistent net exporter of maize seed to the rest of Africa. Over the years, local maize breeders have released hybrids and open pollinated varieties suitable to Zimbabwe’s peculiar climatic and agronomic practises, including short-season triple-crosses suited to drought-prone areas and resistant to grey leaf spot.
The ZCFU assertion that,“GM seeds mature faster than the natural seed and they need less water looking at a possibility of the country receiving less rainfall meaning that if such a thing was to occur the country would be guaranteed of a good harvest,” is disingenuous and without foundation.
Seed corporations demand farmers buy seed from them each year—replacing the millennial practice of farmers selecting seeds best suited for their specific environments.

“Unfortunately, GM toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; there is no GM toxin that only kills crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects”.

Zimbabwean agriculturalists fervently oppose the importation of GM seed into Zimbabwe, unless and until the Zimbabwe Biosafety Board (BRI), Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS), Agricultural Research Trust (ART), Crop Breeding Institute (CBI), and the Rattray Arnold Research Station have conducted thorough trials.

Umbrage with the arbitrary importation of GM seed is rooted in the following:

1 Zimbabwean smallholder farmers would become dependent on GM seeds and this would threaten the self-sufficiency of rural economies.
2 The effect of the insecticidal maize on non-target organisms has to be fully investigated before any importation.
3 Pollen from biotech crops, carried by bees, could adversely affect swarms important for pollination in Zimbabwe’s agricultural crops.
4 The effect of GM produced foods on humans and its downstream harmful effect on Zimbabwe’s natural vegetation is unknown.

In May 2009, South African farmers suffered millions of dollars in lost income when 82,000 hectares of genetically manipulated maize failed to produce hardly any seeds. The plants looked lush and healthy from the outside. The international producers of the GM seed has offered compensation to only the farmers who bought the seed and the smallholders farmer who received donated seed will not be compensated.

GM technology is the intellectual property of international chemical companies who have recently filed patent infringement lawsuits against smallholder farmers who may have harvested GM crops. Their claims were that the farmers had obtained licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to the chemical companies. The possibility of interbreeding GM crops with natural crops is also real. The affected farmers claim that their natural “unmodified” crops were cross-pollinated from someone else’s GM crops planted a field away.

“Historically, farmers have altered the genetic make-up of plant and animal species by selecting individuals that possess desirable traits for reproduction, cross-breeding, and cross-pollination. These interventions have taken place within the limits imposed by nature. GM technology has enabled the transfer of genetic material not just from one species to another, but even from plants to animals and vice versa”.

By transferring genes from a bacterium known as Bacillus thuringiensis, the biotech industry has developed plants that produce their own Bt pesticide.

GM plants and technologies are protected under law by patents and ownership laws and the owners of this seed technology have created “terminator” plants that produce sterile seed. This is meant to protect their corporate patents and profits by preventing farmers from saving seed for the following year’s planting and forcing them to buy seeds from seed companies.

The long-term national objective must be of attaining agricultural sovereignty for Zimbabwe. Knee jerk reactions to an agrarian predicament—created by violently removing professional seed maize producers from their farms—are unsustainable.

Phil Matibe – www.madhingabucketboy.com