PRESS RELEASE, 27/02/2019 The ZAAB has been engaging with the NBA and governing ministry regarding GMOs since 2010. Major concerns at the time were: unregulated and unlabeled imported food containing GMOs; the lack of institutional capacity and funding to adequately address the wide range of issues and challenges related to modern biotechnology use; and the increasing foreign lobby push for Zambia to change its non-GMO position. The NBA have worked hard to better regulate imported processed foods containing GMOs and enhance public communication. Given the […]

ATT: P.S Ministry of Higher Education Maxwell house, Los Angeles Boulevard P.O Box 50464, Lusaka, Zambia C.C: P.S. Ministry of Agriculture P.S Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries P.S Ministry of Justice P.S Ministry of Commerce P.S Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Honorable Members of Parliament House of Chiefs Dear Sir / Madam,  Zambia Must Continue To Uphold The Highest Biosafety Standards  Zambia’s approach to the use Modern Biotechnology[1] and the use of genetic engineering in the food and agriculture system has rested on the […]

The citizens of Zambia, have repeatedly stated their absolute objection to Modern Biotechnology and the production of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Today, this position is reiterated as we support the global call for a moratorium on Gene Drive releases, including applied research such as open field trial releases, until there is further understanding of the potential risks and technical issues. We request our National Representatives to do the same at the upcoming 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on […]

  Dear representatives of the people of Zambia to the Convention of Biological Diversity, We wish you well in your travels to Egypt and the critical negotiations you will undertake on behalf of the citizens of Zambia. We understand the nature of the discussions at this year’s CBD COP will be highly controversial and critical in determining the future course of humanity’s use and manipulation of genetic resources – and in turn –  the impact of nature on humanity. Of particular concern to us, are […]

To whom it may concern, Please find from the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) some comments on the draft revised Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy, as made available to the National Biosafety Authority, The Governing Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and concerned stakeholders of Zambia. The comments follow the short notice “Stakeholder Consultative Meeting on the Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy”, that three ZAAB representatives participated in, held 25-26 September 2017 in Livingstone. We trust that these written comments will further submissions made […]

Zambia has been a pillar of strength and model on biosafety in the region. Many people remember famously the firm stand taken by our government against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the early 2000s. Since then, health conscious and environmentally responsible citizens throughout Africa have seen Zambia as a shining example of good leadership in sustainability and social justice. In the last decades, biotechnology and agro-chemical corporations (Monsanto/Bayer and Syngenta/ChemChina predominately), have made exorbitant profits. They now hold global lobbying power to influence national scale […]

Article prepared by Ms Bridget O’Connor of the Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre, a member of ZAAB There has been debate among scientists, extension staff and farmers about the invasive worm that is attacking Zambian maize this year. It is not like anything seen before in Zambia. Stalk borer? African armyworm? Bollworm? It is now confirmed by many scientific quarters that it is the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), an alien invasive moth native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. According to Dr Georg Goergen […]