In 2002, President Levy Mwanawasa shocked the world when he declined to receive GMO maize from the United States of America at the height of Zambia’s worst droughts.

Instead President Mwanawasa ordered thousands tonnes of the GMO yellow maize out of the country. His argument was that there was still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the biosafety of GMO foods.

Since then, the country has made strides towards formulation of a legal framework which culminated in the creation of the National Biosafety Authority as a regulator for GMOs. Debate around GMOs has however remained fierce. Zambia has continued making progress towards embracing of biotechnology.

Recently, Zambia began the process of developing a genome editing communication strategy. The five-day consultative meeting of stakeholders who included biotechnology experts, health experts, representatives from civil society, academia and the media convened in Lusaka to develop a genome editing communication strategy.

Participants were satisfied with the outcome of the meeting which they envisage will go a long way in not only helping stakeholders communicate biotechnology issues clearly and enable the country benefit from the technology to enhance agricultural production and productivity.

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