By Sylvester Thompson
Mr Ikechukwu Ikoh, Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), says Africa is positioned to benefit from the technology of genome editing.
The minister said this while declaring open the Policy-Science Practice Dialogue to enhance the domestication and use of genome editing science in Africa and mini launch of the Continental Community of Practice (CoP) on Thursday in Lagos.
He said genome editing was a revolutionary technology that led to the emergence of several editing strategies with application in agriculture, health, environment and industry.
According to him, it is the responsibility of responsive governments to strengthen capacities to keep up with the dynamism of the technology.
Ikoh maintained that Africa has recorded giant strides towards sustainable and responsible application of biotechnology by creating the enabling policy and regulatory environment.
“Currently, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Eswantini, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia are involved in the genome editing intervention project that is supported by the Centre of Excellence in STI of the AUDA-NEPAD
“These countries have been identified based on the established structures that support the domestication and use of biotechnology and genome editing tools.
“Nigeria has been particularly proactive, being the first country to amend its Biosafety Regulations to include the guidelines on genome edited crops’’, the minister said.
Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), remarked that the Genome Editing project was aimed at fostering a broader understanding of the subject.
He said this would enhance the uptake of the tool to optimise agriculture in agriculture, support the development outcomes, such as adapting to climate change and reducing poverty and sustainability of food systems.
Mustapha said: “The project seeks to build on, and complement ongoing AUDU-NEPAD efforts towards enhancing regulatory capacities on Biosafety through the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE).
“These efforts have resulted in the institutionalization of Biosafety and regulatory capacities in African countries such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Nigeria and Zambia.’’
The NABDA D-G stated that Agenda 2063 recognised that technological advancements from biotechnological innovations in plants and animal breeding have the potential to advance continental agricultural sustainability goals and transform African societies.
He said for Nigeria, the extant Biosafety guidelines were robust and explicit on genome edited products, providing the necessary regulatory environment for the introduction of the genome editing tools for innovation of products and services.
Mustapha said the hosting of the AUDA-NEPAD genome editing research project in NABDA would position the agency to take a leading role in driving the technology, while building the required manpower and infrastructure.
Dr Olalekan Akinbo, Head and Supervisor at Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), South Africa made a presentation, saying that there were crops of interest in Africa.
He disclosed that these crops were called orphan crops because they were yet to be taken advantage of by getting the interest of industries who would invest in them.
Akinbo said these crops were important to the African continent and mentioned cassava as one of such crops, disclosing that Ethiopia and Nigeria already started working on the crop via genome editing.
Akinbo said the Agenda 2063 was the agreement among Heads of State within the continent to drive the continent on the direction towards what would be expected of Africa by year 2063.
Dr Rufus Egbeba, Director-General of National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), gave a presentation on: Regulatory Framework on Genome Editing: Nigeria as a case study.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)