The South African pro-GM lobbyist Jennifer Thompson is reported as telling the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference in Melbourne, Australia, that drought-resistant GM crops are the "key to solving the continent's devastating food problems." (Scientist set for GM push into Africa, The Age, August 7 2006)

In her own article, published in The Australian, she writes, "Another trait that is being developed in important African crops is drought tolerance. The lack of water is surely one of the greatest problems facing agriculture in Africa." (Use biotechnology to feed the poor, August 7 2006)

And Thompson herself, it seems, is leading the way in this important area of drought resistance. We're told Professor Thomson's own "research has led to the development of genetically modified maize resistant to the African maize streak virus and drought." (Scientist set for GM push into Africa, The Age, August 7 2006)

Thompson is based in South Africa. So too is Mariam Mayet of the African Centre for Biosafety. Curiously, Mariam reports, "I have a piece of paper, in black and white, from the National Dept of Agriculture, saying they have no record whatsover, of any research with drought resistant GM maize."