Plant virologist Joseph Ndunguru, one of the leading scientists in the development of disease-resistant cassava, explains, “People go to the Internet, and they read the information put there by European anti-GM groups, and they ask, ‘If this technology is safe, why don’t the Europeans use it?’ ” Even before actually testing out GM technology in their own country, many Africans are against it. Another force pushing to keep the laws against GM farming as they are, is the Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity, a pro-organic and natural farming group. The alliance coordinator, Abdallah Mkindi, even goes so far as to claim that scientists developing GMOs are a sham, working for multinational seed companies.
Their fear is that if regulations change, large seed companies could pose a threat to the many small farmers that make up 80 percent of Tanzania's population. Mkindi says, “Multinational companies are simply here to expand their business... GMO is not a solution to famine.” (Schmickle, 2013)