Abstract
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional trade bloc on the African continent, consisting of 19 member States, with a population size of about 400 million people. Agricultural products are an important part of trade in the COMESA region. There are several products that are of potential importance, as they are available globally as GM crops are/or being developed in some COMESA countries and Africa in general. Putting in place functional biosafety regulatory regimes is a prerequisite for the introduction and trans-boundary movements of GM crops. In most COMESA member States, the regulatory requirements for trade in GM-crop commodities are unclear. The COMESA Ministers of Agriculture have long realized the need for a regional approach, and launched the Regional Approach on Biotechnology and Biosafety policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (RABESA) Project in 2003. One of the major achievements of the RABESA project is the drafting in 2009 of the regional policy on cultivation, trade, and emergency food aid concerning GM crops. The process of policy formulation has undergone intensive consultations with key stakeholders in an inclusive, participatory, and interactive manner. The draft policy has gained support from the regulatory authorities and technical experts, and now awaits endorsement by the COMESA policy organs.
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- 1.
The COMESA Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety has been adopted by the 32nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers, 23–24 February 2014, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Abbreviations
- ACTS:
-
African Centre for Technology Studies
- AGOA:
-
African Growth and Opportunity Act
- ASARECA:
-
Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
- AU:
-
African Union
- AU/NEPAD:
-
African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development
- BCH:
-
Biosafety Clearing-House
- CAADP:
-
Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program
- COMESA:
-
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
- CPB:
-
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
- EAC:
-
East African Community
- FFP:
-
Feed, Food, or Processing
- FTA:
-
Free trade area
- GM:
-
Genetically modified
- GMO:
-
Genetically modified organism
- IFPRI/PBS:
-
International Food Policy Research Institute/ Program of Biosafety Systems
- ISAAA:
-
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
- LMO:
-
Living modified organism
- LMO-FFP:
-
Living modified organisms as food or feed, or for processing
- NTB:
-
Non-tariff barriers
- PoE:
-
Panel of Biotechnology and Biosafety Experts
- RABESA:
-
Regional Approach on Biotechnology and Biosafety policy in Eastern and Southern Africa
- REC:
-
Regional Economic Community
- SADC:
-
Southern African Development Community
- SSA:
-
Sub-Saharan Africa
- USAID:
-
United States Agency for International Development
- WTO:
-
World Trade Organisation
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Acknowledgements
The COMESA Biotechnology and Biosafety Program has been financially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The partners that have supported COMESA in the implementation of the RABESA Project since inception include the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the Program for Biosafety Systems [International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)/Program of Biosafety Systems PBS), the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA AfriCenter), and the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).
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Belay, G., Kimani, V., Wafula, D. (2014). Harmonization of Regional Biosafety and Regulatory Services to Remove Future Trade Barriers in the COMESA Region. In: Wambugu, F., Kamanga, D. (eds) Biotechnology in Africa. Science Policy Reports, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04001-1_12
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