Nairobi — As parliament is scheduled to debate and approve the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) mid this year, the secretariat of the committee for the establishment of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), called it "an unnecessary rush."

Jordan Gama, the secretary to the committee, said last week that there was an unnecessary rush on the part of some government officials and local scientists, especially the Arusha-based Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI), to introduce GMOs in the country even before the biosafety law is in place.

"We should stop the rush to introduce GMOs in Tanzania until proved safe and conducive to smallholder farmers, our health and to our environment, Mr Gama stated.

He said there should be a national public debate on GMOs, and all Tanzanians should be given a chance to know what are GMOs and who is pushing for their use in the country, what is the economic impact on small-scale farmers and Tanzania's exports, especially to the European Union, and the possible health and environmental risks.

According to Gama, before the introduction of GMOs, Tanzanian small farmers should have a say, "Since genetic engineering isn't a normal technology, and once introduced, field trials could eventually have massive negative impacts on people's livelihood and environment that could be irreversible."

"The majority of the investment in the production of GM crops is in the hands of large transnational corporations that are profit-driven, and GM crops are patented by these companies, which will force the smallscale farmers in Africa to depend on them forever, said Mr Gama.

"We therefore say the country needs a 10-year moratorium on GMOs while consulting stakeholders on the technology and building capacity to handle the risks, he added.

Early this year, the Director of Research at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Jeremiah Haki, was quoted as saying a Cabinet paper on GMO policy has already been prepared and parliament is scheduled to debate and approve the approach GMO technologies mid this year.

Dr Haki further said, "Tanzania, which largely depends on agriculture, cannot afford to ignore technologies that increase crop yields and profits and reduce farm costs.

Earlier, Wilfred Ngirwa, the permanent secretary in the ministry had issued a statement saying the ministry has, "proactively participated in the development of a national policy for biotechnology that will soon be tabled in the parliament."

This policy will give overall guidance on all issues related to biotechnology including priority areas for research and development, regulatory framework, sustainable use of biodiversity and resource requirements.

Mr Ngirwa said that, in the interim, the ministry has established the Agricultural Biotechnology Scientific Advisory Committee (ABSAC) to advise the minister on issues related to GMO including their importation, safe handling and testing.

South Africa is the only African country that is already commercially producing GM crops. Tanzania is among the countries that ratified the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety, an international law negotiated under the Convention on Biological Diversity that has basic requirements for member countries to comply with when pursuing GMO technology.

Tanzania will later in the year start confined field trials of cotton in the south of the country in a government move to halt the spread of the redball worm disease that had hit the cotton crop.