Africa not likely to achieve MDG's - Ms Ayittey

Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - Africa may not be able to meet its 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for human poverty reduction if the application of biotechnology is not considered seriously. Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Science and Environment who made the observation in Accra at the weekend explained that since cases of poverty and malnutrition are increasing, the number of under-nourished people in the region may increased to 206 million and could therefore meet the MDGs by 2147.

"Because of the non-productive farming, Africa is now the only region where human poverty and hunger continue to increase and for over 15 years, the number of some Africans living on less than one dollar a day has increased by 50 per cent."

The Minister made this known when she received office equipment for the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) as part of a three-day Biosafety training workshop for Biosafety regulators in Ghana. It was organised by the African Union NEPAD Agency, Network of Biosafety of Expertise (ABNE).

The workshop was in response to Ghana's request for biosafety capacity strengthening in application review, compliance, inspection and communication.

It was attended by 26 participants drawn from NBC, regulatory institutions, research institutions and the universities. The workshop objectives included training on the administrative handling and use and Confined Field Trials (CFT) applications, review the conduct and management of laboratory experiments and CFTs. The participants also shared experiences on best practices in site and facility monitoring, inspection and compliance for genetically engineered crops discussed strategies to effectively communicate biosafety decisions and issues to target audiences.

Ms Ayittey noted that the Ministry had identified biotechnology in the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy as one of the precision technologies that could move the country forward and would therefore pursue its implementation.

She explained that biotechnology would offer farmers new benefits such as crops with long-shelf life, delayed ripening, improved nutrition and quality and tasked the NBC and regulators to build their capacity to face the challenges that go with the use of the technology. "My personal vision for the application of biotechnology is to improve the economy, create jobs, reduce hunger and improve health delivery especially for the rural poor," she said.

The Ministry has laid the Draft Bill on Biosafety before Parliament for its consideration. The passage of the bill into law will allow Ghana to commercialise and release the products of modern biotechnology. Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives to make or modify products or processes for specific use whilst biosafety is referred to measures put in place to prevent or mitigate potential risks to human health and the environment, resulting from the use of modern biotechnology for research or commercial purposes.

Professor Diran Makinde Director of ABNE, who made the presentation, said it was meant to make national biosafety focal points secretariats functional in terms of access to science-based biosafety information via the internet.

He said Ghana, Malawi and Uganda are the countries that would benefit from the first year technical support from ABNE.

Mr Samuel Timpo Deputy Director of AU-NEPAD ABNE said ABNE sought to support African countries in building a functional biosafety system for ensuring safe use and management of agricultural biotechnology products towards enhancing agricultural productivity, food and nutritional security. It also aimed at improving environmental quality, and ultimately the livelihoods of farmers and consumers in Africa. He called for the need for regulators to implement institutional controls to ensure compliance with the Guidelines and Guidelines in strict adherence despite the Institutional Biosafety Committee's (IBC) informalities.

Mr Timpo noted that IBCs should play an active role in institutional planning including budgeting, building and facilities design whilst regional harmonisation efforts for regulations and resource use should be encouraged. The AU-NEPAD ABNE is an Africa-owned, continent-wide, science-based biosafety resource for African regulators that provides a range of services including science-based biosafety information through a web portal (www.nepadbiosafety.net) training programmes (workshops, short courses, online courses, internships and study tours), and expert consultations/technical support networking and linkages. 20 Nov. 10