Angry African Reaction to GM Seed Industry Arrogance

[nosmokes]

Fascinating article looking into how Monsanto and biotech is trying to subjugate Africa in the same manner that it did the Indian sub-continent and some of it's surprising alllies, including the old '60s revolutionary group CORE and the Gates foundation.
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Angry African Reaction to GM Seed Industry Arrogance

""We in the alliance will not incorporate GMO's in our programmes. We shall work with farmers using traditional seeds."

By Trevor Wells


According to the Africa News Network the Zambian Government today reacted angrily to a presumptuous press release by the industry front "African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum" (ABSF).

The Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ben Kapita, said, "We have always said that Zambia will not be used as a dumping place for GMO products."

The press release issued by the industry backed ABSF confirms "the stay away from GMO's" approach of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) announced by the newly appointed Chair Kofi Annan.

This hands off approach was confirmed at the annual conference of the Grantmakers Without Borders (GWOB) . Roy Steiner, Senior Program Officer Agricultural Development, Gates Foundation and Gary Toenniessen of the Rockefeller Foundation, reaffirmed,clearly and uncategorically that " AGRA is not investing in GM breeding."

The aggrieved industry front organisations belonging to ABSF are:
• AfricaBio
• Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI)
• Biotechnology-Ecology Research and Outreach Consortium (BioEROC)
• International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

Up to the appointment of Kofi Annan this happy quartet had it all their own way promoting corporate profit in the name of the poor.

Six months prior to the appointment of Kofi Annan they were proudly claiming to be the only truly legitimate representatives of African farmers.

Things looked even better for them when the Gates Foundation employed Monsanto's "African Expert" Robert Horsch. AGRA was sure to be in their hands.
Florence Wambugu's AHBFI website flies a banner "We support the Gates/Rockefeller New Green Revolution for Africa."

What went wrong?

Why are they not on AGRA's membership list?

Why did Kofi Annan announce that AGRA will not touch GMO's?

Why have they been snubbed? And for sure they have been snubbed. Precisely, cleanly, surgically snubbed.


BioEROC from Malawi is new on the block, but back in 2002 the original trio attempted to masquerade as independent organisations to gain access to the Panel of the Biotechnology and GMO Commission of the Civil Society Forum at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

The International organisers rejected their repeated attempts on the basis that they belonged to the Industry Forum and were well known as professional industry lobbyists.

Having failed to gain access to the panel they then attempted to hijack the whole proceedings by staging a walkout of the Forum together with TJ Buthelezi 's farmers' association, Kisan Coordination Committee and Federation of Farmers Association from India.


Let us examine the Mother organisation, Africabio. I say Mother because Monsanto is the Big Daddy.

Africabio operates as a secret society and persistently refuses to reveal their membership. It is known however that several of their members were on the advisory committee to the the GM regulatory authority of the South African Government at the time that the controversial anti-biotic resistant GM potato was guided through the regulatory system.
Industry has tight control over the voting of this organisation. In fact Monsanto with all it's subsidiaries and has total control.
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complete article here