BIOTECH: PRESIDENT OPENS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000208 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EEB/TPP/ABT (SZYMANSKI AND BOBO) AND EEB/CBA (WINSTEAD) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019 TAGS: ETRD EAGR TBIO ZA SUBJECT: BIOTECH: PRESIDENT OPENS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY REF: A. LUSAKA 117 ¶B. LUSAKA 72 ¶C. LUSAKA 41 ¶D. LUSAKA 33 ¶E. 08 LUSAKA 1186 ¶1. (C) Summary and Action Request. Over the past three months, numerous Zambian Government (GRZ) officials -- beginning with President Banda -- have privately expressed some openness to loosening Zambia's restrictions on biotechnology. Agriculture Minister Chituwo said the President had ordered a review of the country's policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). President Banda's interest marks a sharp departure from his predecessor's hard-line stance against GMOs and represents a (perhaps narrow) window of opportunity to advance U.S. objectives. GRZ officials are reticent to move the issue forward on their own accord, however, given persistent public misconception on what remains a highly emotive subject in Zambia. President Banda requested USG assistance in disseminating accurate information and reviving (and informing) the public debate. Progress on this front is important to Zambia's prospects for food security, poverty alleviation, and economic diversification and gaining Zambia's support (or at least dropping its opposition) to U.S. position on GMO in international fora. See para 7 for Embassy's planned next steps (and action request). End Summary. ¶2. (C) In a December meeting with President Banda, the Ambassador raised the issue of GMOs within the context of Zambian food security (ref E). Perhaps acknowledging the near impossibility of enforcing the GRZ's ban, President Banda noted that Zambians already consume GMOs in imported processed food. He conceded that there is a great deal of quiet support throughout Zambia for buying GMO commodities from abroad. He also expressed frustration that the GRZ must pay a hefty premium to import "GMO-free" maize during years of inadequate domestic production. Although President Banda (a farmer himself) may recognize the benefits of GM seed, he suggested that Zambia first concentrate on lifting restrictions on GM food, particularly milled grains which cannot be planted. ¶3. (C) Minister of Agriculture Brian Chituwo told DCM that President Banda ordered a review of the GRZ's restrictive GMO policy in March, but demurred to offers of USG technical assistance on the subject, saying "interested parties, like the United States will certainly be consulted." Other Cabinet members also have indicated privately their interest in relaxing the GRZ's restrictions on biotechnology, including Vice President/Minister of Justice George Kunda (ref A),Minister of Commerce, Trade, and Industry Felix Mutati, and Minister of Agriculture for Livestock and Fisheries Bradford Machila. Although these critical Cabinet members are all supportive of amending Zambia's policy, no one -- not even President Banda -- appears ready to show leadership, fearful that this will make them vulnerable to public attack or that Zambia will lose its access (non-existant access) to European markets if it lifts its bans. Emboff's arguments that European views and policies on GMO are evolving piqued Zambian interest. More and updated information might help tip the scale in Zambia. ¶4. (C) President Banda emphasized the pressing need to disseminate accurate information and requested USG support in (re-)opening the public debate by hosting roundtable events, arranging speaker programs, and publishing articles. Embassy Lusaka has already arranged the publication of an effective pro-GMO op ed in the largest circulation daily that stimulated public debate among academics, consumer groups, farmers, and even GRZ officials. Post has requested Department funding through separate BFIF (ref D) and biotech outreach (ref C) proposals. Using discretion so as not to appear on the forefront of a divisive issue, Post intends to share information with GRZ officials on the potential benefits of GM products. Post will also update GRZ officials and parliamentarians on GM liberalization in other parts of the world, including cultivation trends and the WTO ruling against the European Union. The dean of University of Zambia's agriculture department suggested to Emboff that an important first step would be to encourage the GRZ to once more permit research on GM products so that Zambian scientists could contribute to the public debate. ¶5. (SBU) Post will also work closely with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretariat, which aims to harmonize biotechnology and biosafety rules within the region. Many senior Secretariat members, including the Secretary General himself, are privately in favor of LUSAKA 00000208 002 OF 002 biotechnology, which they see as imperative to improving Eastern and Southern Africa's agricultural productivity and competitiveness. Through USAID East Africa funding, the Secretariat has hired a biotechnology advisor to open a biotechnology dialogue with regional leaders (ref B). A COMESA agricultural advisor recently told Emboff that several private sector organizations feel threatened by GM commercialization, research, and cultivation in other parts of Africa and do not want to be "left behind." ¶6. (C) Comment. Although the GRZ's enthusiasm and initiative is not overwhelming, President Banda may have cracked a window of opportunity that may not extend beyond the end of his presidency (2011). This renewed interest in GMOs is motivated by the GRZ's budgetary pressures rather than its desire to increase agricultural productivity, but overcoming the public paranoia about "frankenfoods" is a first step toward building acceptance of biotech seeds and crops. Regional peers and partners such as South Africa, as well representatives from forward leaning, lower- and middle-income pro-GMO countries such as India and Brazil, wield significant influence and enjoy considerable credibility. To this effect, partnering with other countries could be critical to the success of any outreach effort. Although progress on biotechnology may not create significant markets for U.S. exporters in the near term, it could contribute substantially to national and regional food security prospects as well as to the GRZ's efforts to diversify its economy and alleviate poverty through agricultural development. Additionally, by lifting (or loosening) its GMO bans, which by some accounts may be the most restrictive in the region, the GRZ would send a powerful signal to neighboring countries and other developing economies of the need to adapt to a changing environment. ¶7. (SBU) Game Plan and Action Request: Post's plan of action includes hosting a roundtable with parliamentarians (particularly those who represent regions of systematic food shortages); pressing the GRZ to revise its GMO policy, including lifting its ban on research, permitting importation of food relief containing GM content, lifting trade restrictions on GM food and seed, and approving GM crop cultivation; providing State House with resource materials that highlight global developments in agricultural fora and that underscore the potential benefits of GMO crops; helping facilitate a biotech event on the margins of the COMESA agricultural ministerial; developing a working group with representatives from diplomatic missions of biotech-friendly countries, including India, Brazil, China, South Africa, and Canada; sending Zambian officials on visitor programs to the United States; and continuing to place op eds in Zambian papers. To broaden the tools at our disposal as we seek to take advantage of the President's support, post requests EEB to reconsider our biotech outreach (ref C) and BFIF proposals (ref D),particularly with regard to: --funding a biotech visitor program to engage with policy-makers, civil society organization, farmers' associations, parliamentarians, and journalists; --helping to identify an appropriate interlocutor on biotechnology from lower- or middle-income pro-biotech countries that can speak to the economic benefits of adopting GM technology; --supporting COMESA's high level policy intervention; --reaching out to a wider audience by airing information programs on Zambian television; and --supporting a non-USG speaker at the Zambia National Farmers Union annual congress to address global trends in world commodity markets, as well as biotechnology's impact on global food supply. Embassy point of contact is Pol/Econ Officer Mika Cleverley (cleverleymx@state.gov). BOOTH