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 The drought, which extends to South Africa, the continent's
biggest maize producer, has been exacerbated by an El Nino weather
pattern and follows dry spells last year that affected countries
from Zimbabwe to Malawi.
Aid agency Oxfam has said 10 million people, mostly in Africa, face
hunger because of droughts and poor rains.
That has brought GM crops to the fore, especially maize, a staple
crop grown and consumed in most sub-Saharan countries.
Many African countries have banned GM crops, arguing that they will
cross contaminate other plants, pollute the environment and could
have long-term health effects for humans.
Zimbabwe, for instance, says although GM crops may initially be
resistant to pests, the resistance could breakdown over time.
GMO advocates, however, say the fears are not scientifically proven,
adding that poor African farmers are likely to benefit most from
reduced use of pesticides, lower production costs, higher yields and
high prices for crops.
 The African drought's impact is particularly serious for Zimbabwe,
where the economy has struggled for five years to recover from a
catastrophic recession marked by billion percent hyperinflation and
widespread food shortages.
Zimbabwe does not accept GM maize imports, and when it has accepted
emergency GM maize aid, it has been milled under security watch.
"GM crops are one of the alternative solutions for reducing hunger
on the continent among many others which include good agronomic
practices," Jonathan Mufandaedza, chief executive at National
Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe, a government agency, told
Reuters.
The United States, Brazil and India are the world's largest growers
of GM crops while in Africa, South Africa is the only country
producing GM maize on a commercial scale.
Sixteen percent of Zimbabwe's population require food aid this year.
The government plans to import up to 700,000 tonnes of maize and
with its usual sources of maize like Zambia and Tanzania facing
lower harvests this year, Zimbabwe could end up receiving GM maize
after all.
This year, South Africa, which produces more than 40 percent of
Southern African maize may need to import up to 5 million tonnes of
maize due to drought, the country's largest producer group, Grain SA
said this week.
Perceptions are shifting, with Burkina Faso in West Africa, and
lately Sudan having started to grow GM cotton commercially, Getachew
Belay, an African expert on GM crops told Reuters.
"Historically, Africa has been a laggard to accept new agricultural
technologies. For GM crops, much of the problem lies in the
perception, exaggerated fear and conflicting messages sent to policy
making," said Belay.
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GM POLICY FLIP-FLOPS
In 2002, Zambia experienced a severe drought that left millions in
need of food aid but it rejected GM maize offered by donors, citing
inadequate scientific information.
But last month, Zambia's Higher Education Minister Michael Kaingu
told parliament his country was embracing GM crops.
"We recognize that modern biotechnology has advanced worldwide and,
as a nation, we cannot afford to ignore the benefits of this
technology. We are alert and prepared to deal with possible adverse
risks," said Kaingu.
It is a growing trend on the continent and Belay said Ethiopia had
amended its biosafety laws to allow tests on GM cotton, thanks to
pressure from the textile industry that is advocating for the
production of cheaper cotton in that country.
Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Swaziland, Nigeria and Ghana have all been
carrying out trials on different GM crops, he said.
Agrichemicals groups such as Monsanto , the world's largest seed
company, and Syngenta are well placed to benefit from increased use
of GMOs in Africa. Monsanto conducted trials of GM maize and cotton
in some African countries, including Zimbabwe between 2001 and 2005.
But the transition from tests to commercial growing has been slow, a
reminder of the die hard attitudes towards GM crops.
Belay said a major factor that could influence Africa to start
growing GM maize was whether China would grow GM rice, which it has
developed but not released for production.
"The real issue seems to me is lack of capacity, both physical and
human, to enforce regulation, thus attitude is changing from
'rejection' to a kind of 'wait until we have capacity to
regulate!'," said Belay.
(Additional reporting by Chris Mfula in Lusaka and Nqobile Dludla
and Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg; Editing by James Macharia and Toby
Chopra)
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