Zimbabwe should reconsider GM ban, say experts

Agriculture experts have urged Government to remove the ban on genetically-modified stockfeeds and allow confined field trials of GM cotton and other crops to boost production and maintain a competitive edge on the global market.

This was said by University of Zimbabwe researcher Idah Sithole Niang at the Agriculture Policy High Level Stakeholder Validation workshop.

Presenting a paper recently titled "Strategies for Enhancing Crop and Livestock Production", Niang said biotechnology was an option to increase yields, especially in cotton.

She said major cotton producers such as India, China and South Africa were producing GM cotton while Denmark and Europe were feeding their livestock with GM stockfeeds and the produce was being traded globally.

Niang argued that Zimbabwe could still maintain her export market edge since some of the destinations were also producing GM crops.