© afriqueavenir.orgOrganic farming provides a development model for Africa as it respects the environment and prevents food crises. By integrating traditional farming practices and using local resources, organic farming is particularly suitable for African farmers as they produce their own food and sell their products on the local markets.
But a local agricultural policy expert Roger Mpande says this has turned out to be a false start and Zimbabwe's best bet is to stick to local knowledge systems and resources.
He says the health, environmental and social impact of GMOs cannot be underestimated.
Mpande - who spoke during a Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre knowledge brief for journalists in Harare last week on why Zimbabwe should refuse to license the commercialization of GMOs - says a look at the GM products leaves a lot to be desired.
"As such they are highly relevant to smallholders although also applicable to big land holdings and offer an opportunity for every farmer to earn a livelihood," she adds.
She says this agricultural system also establishes sustainable livelihoods for farming families and their communities.
"There is also low-cost production as most inputs are locally available and generated. It gives access to new market opportunities and premium prices in most cases," she says.
According to Mpande, commercialization of GM products increases the cost of production.
"The costs are incurred through procurement of seed annually, supported by high input production systems when you look at fertilizers, irrigation and regulatory requirements," Mpande says. "It also displaces local seed industry and replaces it with multinational companies such as Monsanto and Cargill while there are cumbersome export permit requirements when you look at the need for labeling and other liabilities."
Mpande says it is important to appreciate that Zimbabwe's environment is best suited for healthy foods and the future of the food industry does not have to depend on GMOs as compared to Europe, Asia and the US. He says Zimbabwe is not ready for this kind of technology.
Major chemical companies are said to be against organic farming as it is regarded as a threat to the crop chemical industry in the world.
The organic market, says Nyakanda, is among the fastest growing market segments globally, with a growth of about an average of 20% in the last seven years.
Consumers, especially in international markets, are increasingly preferring products grown with natural methods and with due respect to environmental and social dimensions.
As a result, demand and marketing in products such as organic products, fair-trade products, and eco-friendly products is rising.
Organic agriculture, according to Nyakanda, is key as a livelihood because
"it can replace agro-chemical inputs by multiple cropping, natural enemies and rebuilding of the soil in areas where there has been environment concerns on chemical overuse and building of pest resistance".She adds that this system can also stabilize the ecosystem and allow even poor farmers to earn a living from agriculture without input constrains.
GMOs are part of the plan for de-population The elite has no regard for the suffering caused by their psychotic plans.