A conference on genetically modified food in Lusaka, Zambia ended yesterday, with proposals for greater food labeling and renewed low-tech efforts to fight hunger in Africa.

However, some accused the three-day conference of being hijacked by activists opposed to genetically modified food.

An estimated 2.9 million Zambians, nearly 30 percent of the population, are in danger of starvation in the coming months.

The Zambian government decided in October to reject tens of thousands of tons of genetically modified corn donations, saying it had questions over the food's safety. Several United Nations (UN) agencies had declared the food safe.

In its final declaration, the biotechnology conference said there were better, low-tech alternatives to genetically modified food to solve Africa's food problems.

’African countries can address food security through maximising existing resources, tackling distribution problems, promoting local foods which are low-tech and highly resistant,’ said Phillip Makhumula of the Consumer Association of Malawi.

The conference also said there was a reasonable suspicion that modified foods damage food security, trade, the environment and health.

Diran Makinde, dean of agriculture at the University of Venda in South Africa, said anti-GM activists had dominated the conference and its recommendations.

He called the recommendations vague and said they did not include the opinions of those supporting modified food. ‘It is unethical to starve millions of people who need to be fed on assumptions based on nonscientific evidence,’ Makinde said.

The conference also called for the immediate labeling of all food containing modified ingredients, whether it is for sale or is donated aid.

The meeting also called on African governments and food safety bodies to debate the ethics of biotechnology. – Sapa