Culturas geneticamente modificadas: opção viável para desenvolvimento da actividade agrícola e combate a insegurança alimentar em Moçambique

Abstract

The world today is experiencing a situation of food insecurity that reaches worrying levels. In 2002 figures from the World Food Program indicated that around 800 million people were in need of food worldwide, with the vast majority of these people belonging to developing countries (PVDs). In Mozambique, although around 80% of the population is involved in agricultural activity, annually over half a million of its population are faced with food deficiency. Genetically Modified (GM) cultures have been presented as a possible solution to the problem of world hunger. However, this type of solution involves a great deal of controversy. In the southern region of Africa, this issue became highly publicized after Zambia refused food aid in the form of GM products. From this point on, this debate, which was generally restricted to the scientific community, started to be shared by individuals belonging to different social strata and different areas of work. Since all people are consumers, this matter has come to concern everyone. At the same time that Zambia refused food aid, Mozambique was plagued by a food crisis. Given the same type of aid, the country opted to accept GM maize on the condition that it is ground so that it cannot be grown. Behind this precautionary attitude, there were huge fears about the possible effects that the cultivation of GM crops could have on the environment, the viability of its use in agricultural activity, its impact on food safety and health, etc. the work is motivated to contribute to the intense and relatively recent debate that has been generated at national level, trying to understand the extent to which some of these fears are realistic, analyzing the possible impact of the adoption of the cultivation of GMOs on food security and activity in the country. (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)