African regulators say the continent has the proper legal regime to oversee the safe use of GMOs
Joseph Opoku Gakpo*
My note: What manifestations of self-satisfaction! What a waste of time setting up regulatory gas plants! And what responsibility do we – we sated Europeans – have in this disaster linked to our hysterical rejection of GMOs and to the propaganda that we have unrolled, through governments, institutions and interposed NGOs, in Africa?
African biosafety regulators told the United Nations Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022 that African countries have an appropriate legal regime to regulate the application of the technology. genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to agricultural production.
Regulators from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Sudan said their countries have established appropriate regulatory systems that ensure consumers benefit from GMOs.
They were speaking at a side event organized by an academic consortium led by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agricultural Biotechnology Applications (ISAAA), at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference. The 15e meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity discussed a new framework for the protection of biodiversity (Global Diversity Forum Post-2020), including the role that biotechnologies (GMOs ) can play in the protection of the planet.
Protect biological diversity
Dr Naazik Ahmed, director of Sudan’s Biosafety Department at the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, said his country had laws governing the approval of GMO use since 2005, following the ratification of the Cartagena Protocol. This protocol, which supplements the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, aims to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by GMOs. About 173 countries have ratified it so far.
Ms. Ahmed said that following the ratification of the Cartagena Protocol, Sudan approved a framework for a national biosafety law. He then set up a National Council for Biosafety, following which he approved his first GM crop, Bt cotton.
« The government adopted Bt cotton following a long process of risk assessment and community consultation “, she said. ” All the farmers in Sudan have now adopted GM cotton because it is better than conventional cotton and they have declared that they will not grow other varieties once more. »
Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
Dr. Ahmed added that approval processes for other GM crops are ongoing and efforts are being made to put in place proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
Dr. Roy Mugiira, National Biosafety Authority of Kenya, also indicated that Kenya was one of the first countries to ratify the Cartagena Protocol. ” Subsequently, we developed the National Biotechnology Development Policy. This was a policy document for a framework on how the country will interact with this new technology “, did he declare.
Kenya then passed a National Biosafety Act in 2009 and created a National Biosafety Authority. In 2011 and 2012, Kenya issued regulations to govern the conduct of business relating to contained use, research, testing, environmental release, export, import, transit and disposal. labeling of GMOs.
« In 2019, we approved the cultivation of genetically modified Bt cotton. We have also approved Bt maize which will be available to farmers in the next campaign in March. We are happy to see that we are making good progress. », added Dr Mugiira.
Ms. Lilian Chimphepo, who is Biosafety Registrar in the Malawi Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, also said that Malawi ratified the Cartagena Protocol in 2009.
« We developed our Biosafety Law in 2002 and our Biosafety Regulations in 2007. Then the National Biotechnology and Regulatory Policy in 2008. At one time, we had a food crisis and we received a donation from GM maize ” she says.
« But since we didn’t have a legal framework, we created one to allow us to manage GMO issues. So far, we have approved genetically modified cotton for commercialization. In 2019 and 2020, farmers grew Bt cotton. In addition to Bt cotton, we conducted confined field trials for Bt cowpea and transgenic bananas. »
Committed delegates
Mr. Eric Okoree from the National Biosafety Authority of Ghana also stated that his country ratified the Cartagena Protocol in 2003. In 2011, the National Biosafety Act was approved to govern the application of GMOs to the production agricultural.
Ghana has since approved its first genetically modified crop, GM cowpea. ” Ghana was not slow to approve GMOs. We were very determined “, he said, adding that “ the African countries that participated in the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity wanted to negotiate what the continent needed and not what was dictated to it. ».
« Africa is organized and prepared. We know what we came here for. We have engaged delegates who can argue on any GMO platform ” he added.
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