Stakeholders Recommend Harmonization of Regional Biosafety Frameworks in Africa

Stakeholders at Feed the Future Regional Conference held on April 11-12, 2016 in Arusha,Tanzania have recommended the fast racking of regional biosafety initiatives.

During one of the key sessions on "Agricultural Policies and Standards to Advance Agriculture Trade and Access to Inputs", regional economic communities including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community highlighted progress made in the development and implementation of regional biosafety frameworks. Participants noted the need for functional biosafety systems at both national and regional levels due to unprecedented speed in the development and deployment of genetically modified organisms, which have implications on agricultural transformation efforts and cross-border trade.

The Chief Executive Officer of COMESA/ACTESA, Mr. Argent Chuula explained that the COMESA Biotechnology Implementation Plan (COMBIP) was adopted in 2015. "COMBIP strategic objectives include establishment and institutionalization of a regional level biosafety risk assessment mechanism," said Dr. Chuula. "Similarly, the East African Community is currently developing a harmonized biotechnology and biosafety policy framework. There is therefore an important need for cooperation and collaboration across the two regional economic communities in addressing biosafety issues."

The conference was convened to enhance collaboration and information sharing among USAID missions and partners to improve integration, innovation, and scaling up of results.

For more information on the meeting, contact Mr. David K.Wafula (dwafula@eachq.org), Agricultural Specialist at the East African Community Secretariat.