Janine Lazarus, a reporter from Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy, facilitated the Programme. She started with an introduction to Biotechnology and food security and was followed by Prof Taylor, who spoke about Genetically Modified Plants - are they safe and do people need them. Dr Rachel Chikwamba spoke about Biotechnology and food security in a changing global climate and finally Mr. Francis Wasswa addressed the influence of climate change on food prices and the food market. He pointed out that the maize production in Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Limpopo region might decrease drastically with climate change.

The panel: Mr Wasswa, Dr Chikwamba and Prof Taylor

After the talks, the media and audience had the opportunity to put questions to the panel of experts. Most questions focused on the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the influence of politics on food security. One concern from the audience was that our country, South Africa, depends on European countries for the production of food; we should however be able to produce enough food in our own country. Discussions continued during lunch as the audience still had many unanswered questions.
 “I am glad to see that reporters could benefit from attending the MRT and report on this seemingly complex issue in a way that the average South African can understand and relate to." said Irene van Nugteren, one of the coordinators of the event.