GMO UPDATE: ANGOLA, GM RICE IN CHINA
Angola implements ban on GM seeds
The Angolan Cabinet Council published a decree on 21 January banning imports of genetically modified (GM) seeds or grains except for food aid. The decree implements a decision announced in early 2004 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 4 April 2004), specifying the rules to for the control of importation, entry, use and eventual production of GM organisms in the country. In particular, the decree states that all imports of food aid in the form of GM grains or seeds must be milled right after they arrive in the country and before they are distributed to beneficiaries. Similar conditions on imports were set by Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho in 2002.
The milling requirement has raised fears that the approximately 900,000 Angolans that still rely on UN World Food Program handouts will see a reduction in their rations. "Some donors have already expressed their intention to reduce donations (since the ban) because of the extra costs the milling would imply," World Food Programme spokesperson Cristovao Simao said. He noted that the US had planned to donate 19,000 tonnes of US maize to Angola when the intention to introduce the ban was announced in early 2004, but had then reduced this to just 14,000 tonnes of sorghum.
GM rice debate continues
Field testing of pest-resistant Bt rice has begun in China amidst debate between scientists, environmentalists and government officials on whether to commercialise GM rice. "The output of the new rice strain is similar to those of traditional varieties, but for each mu (0.065 hectares) of new GM rice, I can save up to 80 yuan (US$9.66) in pesticide and labour costs, which are about 30 percent of my total costs," according to Xia Guoyuan, a farmer who is testing the crop. Huang Jikun, Director of the Agricultural Research Centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has estimated that Bt rice could reduce pesticide use by farmers by 70 to 80 percent and thereby reduce the health and environmental risks posed by dangerous pesticides.
Environmental groups, however, have suggested that the risk of gene transfer between GM rice and common rice would be very high if GM rice were commercialised, raising the risk of contaminating traditional rice varieties, in particular given that China is a centre of origin for rice. Pang Cheung Sze, an official with Greenpeace China, warned that the commercialisation of GM rice could even lead to the disappearance of traditional rice strains in China.
Estimates on the timeline for Chinese commercialisation of GM rice vary from one year to several, with different sources suggesting that the Chinese government is at different stages in the experimentation process for biosafety certification (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 20 December 2004).
"Field trials complete–GM rice may soon be commercialised," CHINA DAILY, 27 January 2005; "Iran produce first-ever modified rice," PERSIAN JOURNAL, 27 January 2005; "Angola GMO ban to hurt food aid imports," BUSINESS REPORT AND INDEPENDENT ONLINE, 25 January 2005; "Government rules import of GM organisms," ANGOLA PRESS, 23 January 2005.