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"id": 243156,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/243156/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Mango",
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"speaker": {
"id": 288,
"legal_name": "Christine Mango",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was giving an example of what is done elsewhere and eventually it impacts negatively on us. We have not tested the genetically- modified maize sufficiently, and yet we are being urged to adopt them for the sake of food security. We need to conduct enough tests to prove what is good and can be adopted in our situation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when most of these new inventions are brought here, we have no capacity to fight them legally. There have been cases of farmers elsewhere who have tried to fight against some of these inventions legally and they have been unable to do so. It is known that Africa has no capacity to fight against any of these new inventions when they are pushed down on Africa. Therefore, we need to be very careful before we adopt many of these things because we have no capacity of fighting them. Once the maize is planted, the pollen will spread out to our indigenous maize crop and we will have no way of preventing this from happening. You cannot say that you will isolate the genetically-modified crop from the indigenous crops because you have no way of preventing the pollen from diluting the local breed. As long as we do not have that capacity, we cannot be safe. We are not safe from anything. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, all these inventions are good, but we have to test them, domesticate them and know their advantages and disadvantages in our environment. Therefore, we have to domesticate any good invention. The genetically-modified foods might be very good, but why is it that the European Community and America do not consume them? Why the resistance? When you look at the list of the countries that have accepted the genetically-modified foods, you will find that countries which have the capacity to test them have refused to consume them. They are saying that Africans are dying of starvation and, therefore, this will not make a difference. Are we just going to remain consumers of other people's technology, regardless of what injurious effects it can have on us? If the genetically-modified maize was invented for feeding animals, are we animals? That is the truth. The whole story is that they were multiplying the maize to make good feeds for the animals. Since when did Africans become animals? We need to resist a lot of these things, so that we are not used as the dumping ground. We have heard that genetically-modified potatoes have been introduced here. For example, the yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes have been introduced here, which do not measure to our local sweet potatoes. They are very susceptible to pests. The local pests do away with those sweet potatoes a lot faster than they do with our local sweet potatoes. Therefore, before we spread this technology, we should set up testing laboratories with credibility because, sometimes, some of our people can be compromised. July 12, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2015 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to have integrity and transparency in testing any of these new technologies before we adopt them. It is very important to know what we are consuming and sending out to our people before we adopt them, particularly when it comes to food. There could be other deleterious effects on the human being and this takes a long time before its effects are seen. Therefore, we need to have testing laboratories, be it for drugs, food or anything. We must set up testing mechanisms to find out the long-term and short-term effects. We should not be excited because new technologies have come and, therefore, it is for us to adopt them because some are fake. Even when DDT pesticide came, it was hailed as a revolution but it was later rejected. I beg to oppose."
}