2003 articles

1.Requaio exhorts Lula not to genuflect to multinationals
2.Zambia to export over 50,000 tonnes of surplus maize: official
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Requaio exhorts Lula not to genuflect to multinationals

The Brazilian newspaper Cascavel Gazeta do Parana (in Portuguese) reports that during the opening ceremony of the IV Parana Flavor Fair in Curitiba, Brazil, Governor Roberto Requiao criticized the Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues, stating  that he had become a pesticide salesperson who showed signs of enforcing the entrance of transgenic products in the Parana State.

Requiao, the Governor of Parana, pleaded with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to prioritize the country's interests by not yielding to Monsanto and other multinationals.

In a related article, Foz do Iguacu Jornal do Iguacu reports that Governor Requiao criticized the decision of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) to suspend the state law that banned transgenics, stating the decision is "absurd" and  that the Parana Government will issue a further statement on the issue after examining the STF decision.

Requiao also stressed that transgenic soybeans remain banned from being exported through Paranagua Port and blamed the federal government for allowing transgenics into the country.
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2.Zambia to export over 50,000 tonnes of surplus maize: official
Agence France Presse, December 13, 2003 Saturday 
LUSAKA, Dec 13 BODY: Zambia will export over 50,000 metric tonnes of maize to neigbouring countries, Deputy Agriculture Minister Chance Kabaghe said on Saturday.

Kabaghe told AFP that Zambia produced a surplus of 120,000 tonnes of maize this year. "We will export slightly over 50,000 tonnes," Kabaghe said. He said Zambia has already exported 20,000 metric tonnes of maize to Zimbabwe, which is currently facing food shortages because of political and economic upheaval, and drought. Zambia has also produced a surplus of 8,000 tonnes of seed, which will be exported to countries in southern Africa, Kabaghe said.

The country was among six nations in the region hit by severe food shortages since last year, but in June Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana announced it had produced enough grain to feed its people. More than two million out of Zambia's ten million people faced the threat of starvation last year.

Zambia's government last year refused to accept genetically modified food (GMO) donated by the US government as part of its contribution to international relief efforts. It claimed GMOs had been proven to be unsafe for human consumption and the environment.