Lands and Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said Zimbabwe would not accept any food aid containing genetically modified organisms.
He also said there was nothing to discuss with the United States because the Zimbabwean people would not be used as guinea pigs.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 02HARARE2021, ZIMBABWE’S BIOTECH BROUHAHA
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 002021
SIPDIS
USAID FOR ANDREW NATSIOS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR CGURNEY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
PARIS FOR NEARY
ROME FOR FODAG
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2012
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE’S BIOTECH BROUHAHA
Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly Jemison for reasons 1.5 (b) a
nd (d).
¶1. (C) Summary. On 1 September, while attending the WSSD in
South Africa, Lands, Agriculture, and Rural Resettlement
Minister Joseph Made proclaimed that Zimbabwe would not
accept food aid containing genetically modified organisms.
He also said there was nothing to discuss with the U.S. since
the Zimbabwean people would not be used as guinea pigs. The
latest development in the biotechnology-derived food aid saga
is not surprising, but does stymie our efforts to get food
into Zimbabwe. This latest contradiction between Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo
suggests a lack of consensus and objectives within the
Cabinet on the issue of food. The ambiguity over
biotechnology-derived foods, in addition to Zimbabwe not
signing the memorandum of understanding with the WFP for a
17500 MT maize swap, puts into question the GOZ,s commitment
to securing and providing food for its people and forces us
to consider alternatives, such as providing wheat in lieu of
maize. Before that though, WFP Director James Morris arrives
in Zimbabwe today,September 4, for meetings with Zimbabwean
officials that, we hope, will lead to a clear GOZ decision to
go forward with the maize swap arrangement. END SUMMARY.
——————–
MADE REJECTS BT FOOD
——————–
¶2. (U) On 1 September, while attending the WSSD in South
Africa, Lands, Agriculture, and Rural Resettlement Minister
Joseph Made proclaimed that Zimbabwe would not accept food
aid containing genetically modified organisms. He also said
there was nothing to discuss with the U.S. since the
Zimbabwean people would not be used as guinea pigs. While we
have not seen a full text of Made’s remarks, other press
accounts made it seem that he was referring only to unmilled
biotechnology-derived (BT) maize.
¶3. (U) Until this outburst, Zimbabwean officials had only
rarely cited human health regarding the import of BT food,
and never in their discussions with us. Zimbabwe,s
scientific community had already approved the use of BT foods
for human consumption but had reservations about BT seed
germination, cross-pollination, and its potential effect on
the environment as well as commercial trade with the E.U.
——————–
MOYO ACCEPTS BT FOOD
——————–
¶4. (C) On 29 August, Regional WFP Coordinator Judith Lewis
told USAID that she had spoken with July Moyo, Minister of
Public Service, Labor, and Social Welfare, and he indicated
that he would get the maize swap completed quickly. He also
said he was not aware of any problems and thought the
transfer was a done deal. In addition to Moyo accepting BT
foods as safe, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa began his
speech at a World Health Organization technical meeting of
health ministers in Harare last week, with comments that BT
foods are very safe for human consumption. More recently on
September 3, Moyo stated to U.N./WFP officials that Made,s
statements at the Summit do not necessarily reflect final GOZ
policy on this subject. NOTE. Minister July Moyo had offered
in writing to swap 17,500 tons of U.S. BT, whole-kernel maize
for an equivalent amount of maize in its own reserves. The
GOZ would then mill and distribute the U.S. maize while WFP
would distribute the Zimbabwe maize. This was intended to be
a one-time deal but would most likely set a precedent for
potential future swaps. END NOTE.
¶5. (C) In spite of Moyo,s stated willingness to accept the
maize swap, Zimbabwe has not signed the memorandum of
understanding with the WFP, according to Victor Angelo, the
UN Resident Representative. In a meeting with the Ambassador
on September 1, Angelo also denied press reports that the GOZ
has stopped efforts to import grain and would rely solely on
donated food.
———————-
ALTERNATIVES TO MAIZE
———————-
¶6. (C) If the issue of BT maize cannot be resolved, we will
need to consider other alternatives. Judith Lewis has
suggested an alternative to maize in the form of an exchange
of U.S. Emerson Trust wheat with the GOZ for maize for WFP.
Under such an arrangement, the wheat would go to private
sector millers and be distributed through the local market
channels. We understand why WFP would want to secure the
swapped maize for distribution but question if this might be
an unnecessary wrinkle. Transferring the maize from the GOZ
to WFP does nothing to address the overall maize deficit but
may help circumvent grain trading restrictions. In this
zero-sum game simply providing U.S. wheat through private
sector channels might be the best recourse, and at least
close the gap in urban areas, but we would have to look
closely at how this would effect local markets and
competition. Given that wheat and bread are running out in
urban areas and that the October wheat harvest will be far
below average (Made admitted this in an August 30
conversation with Victor Angelo), provision of wheat would be
addressing an increasing food security concern.
¶7. COMMENT. (C) Over the last year, Zimbabwean Cabinet
ministers have frequently contradicted one another. On top
of this, there now appears to be a stalemate within the
Zimbabwe Cabinet regarding either accepting outside, BT, or
U.S. donated food aid. There are clearly those who want as
little outside food as possible so that GOZ can control the
distribution. There could also be a contingent that is
blocking approval to burnish their anti-imperialist
credentials.
¶8. (C) Even if the GOZ finally signs the MOU and allows the
17500 MT swap, Zimbabwe will still need 1 million tons of
maize over the next several months to avert widespread
starvation. The GOZ has not done enough to facilitate these
imports and there are certainly “radicals” in the Cabinet and
ZANU-PF who prefer to minimize the internationally donated
food so that ZANU-PF and the GOZ control the bulk of food
deliveries to the population. The Government is also under
pressure to cover petrol imports and other obligations, and
the little foreign exchange that is available will not be
able to cover everything. If Zimbabwe ultimately rejects the
swap, the likelihood that the country would accept further
donations of BT maize in the near term is remote, and we
would have to pursue alternative actions, such as the Emerson
Trust wheat possibility. END COMMENT.
SULLIVAN
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