THE EDITORIAL NEWS

  STAKEHOLDERS REJECT PROPOSED PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS DRAFT BILL  ...claiming the Bill serves the corporate interest and a threat to good governance,farmers rights,country's food sovereignty and nutrition. Picture for illustrations purposes By Alfonso Kasongo A collaborative network of concerned citizens, civil society groups, faith and farmer-based organisations, working together to strengthen the growing movement for agroecology and food sovereignty in Zambia through advocacy has rejected the proposed new Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Bill,saying it is inappropriate for the country and must not be enacted. The Zambia Alliance for Agro-ecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) observes that  the proposed new seed law is a threat to country's food sovereignty ,good governance and promotion of farmers' rights.   The Alliance says, once enacted in its current form, the Bill will provide conducive environment to increased multinational seed companies' influence and control of the seed

TAKE INTEREST IN GMO, GENOME-EDITING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT .... Science ideas which are not backed by scientific evidence are ultimately rejected-NBA By Alfonso Kasongo Amidst controversy surrounding  the introduction of live genetically modified organisms and other related biotechnological bred products in the agriculture sector,Zambia's biotechnology regulator has assured the nation that the country has the capacity in form of human resource and infrastructure not only to regulate the gene science but also its application in research and development, content use as well as placing GM products on the market. This came to light when National Biosafety Communications Officer, Sandra Lombe,on behalf of the Authority Chief Executive Officer, Lackson Tonga, disclosed that Zambia currently has seven biotechnology laboratories with the capacity to detect the required amount of GMOs safe for both human and animal health and environment through risk assessments. GMOs are organisms whose