Biosafety regulatory systems are essential in
realizing the benefits of the safe application of modern biotechnology, Mr Samuel Timpo, the Deputy Director of the AU-NEPAD African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE), has said.
Speaking during a study tour of South Africa by African biosafety regulators, Mr Timpo said biosafety laws were critical for every functional regulatory system but many African countries that had signed up to the Cartegena Protocol did not have the regulatory system in place.
"The absence of biosafety regulations, limited capacity and lack of access to accurate information has been identified as the critical
limitations to the growth of biotechnology," he said.
The one week study tour is sponsored by the AU-NEPAD African Biosafety Network of Expertise and facilitated by African Bio, a
non-governmental organization that are into the biotechnology.
It is attended by biosafety regulators from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
The tour is aimed at promoting the sharing of knowledge and experience among regulators from countries with new and emerging biosafety systems on one hand and industry practitioners in countries that are conducting field trials and have commercializing biotech crops.
The tour will also create a network of regulators and practitioners to facilitate cross-learning and the haring of lessons in future.
Mr Timpo said laws and institutions assisted in achieving acceptable and conflicting interest and that the AU-NEPAD high level African Panel on
modern biotechnology had recommended that biotechnology and biosafety should be co-evolved so that the technology and regulations would help promote innovations.
Africa, he said, was faced with the challenge of demand for regulatory services which outstripped resources available whilst the
political landscape also posed a serious challenge.
He called for efforts in biosafety capacity building and sustained collaborative relationships and the need to sustain collaborative relationships to move the agenda forward.
Dr Dave Keetch of the Africa Bio said millions of farmers around the world continued to accept and cultivate Genetically Modified Crops (GM) and in 2009 recorded 14 million farmers planting 134 million hectors in 25 countries. Out of this figure, 13 million were small and resource-poor farmers from developing countries.
GM crops mainly grown include maize, soyabean, cotton, canola, papaya, squash, and sweet pepper whilst GM soyabean continued to be most important crop of the global GM crop area followed by maize, cotton and canola.
Dr Keetch listed some of the benefits of GM crops as increase crop productivity, conserves biodiversity, promotes self-sufficiency, reduces
environmental footprint of agriculture, increase stability of production, provide economic, health and social benefits and mitigate some of the
challenges of climate change.
He said trends of events predicted that 20 million farmers will be planting 200 million hectares of GM crops in 40 countries by 2015 whilst GM rice and drought-tolerant trait will also drive the future adoption of the technology.
Dr Keetch said African agriculture was currently at crossroads where persistent food shortages were compounded by new threats from climate change and Africa had three opportunities that have the potential to transform its
agriculture into a force for economic growth.
These he listed as advances in science and technology, the creation of regional markets and the emergency of new leaders dedicated to the continent's economic improvement.
Dr Keetch urged African leaders to embrace the idea of biotechnology as a one of the tools that will improve and turn round the agriculture in Africa for the better.
From Linda Asante-Agyei, GNA Special Correspondent, South Africa Courtesy African Biosafety Network of Expertise