FAO to help Africa strengthen capacity in GMOs

The UN Food agency is helping African states strengthen their capacity in monitoring Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), officials said on Thursday.

Association of National Biosafety Agencies in Africa (ANBAA) Chairman Dr Willy Tonui told Xinhua in Nairobi that the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will share with Africa states international guidelines on handling GMOs.

"The aim is to improve food safety in Africa and so the partnership comes at an ideal time when the region is increasing uptake of GMOs," Tonui said during the Agri-Biotech and Biosafety sensitization meeting.

So far Burkina Faso, Sudan and South Africa have commercialized GMOs while several others are currently conducting field trials.

"The training will ensure that Africa's biosafety regulators can determine the composition of food before they give approval for use of biotech products," the chairman said.

Under the collaboration, the African continent will receive technical capacity building in the area of GMOs.

Tonui said biosafety regulators need expertise to ensure that before GMOs are released into the market, they meet safety criteria. He noted that African countries are not on the same level in terms of biotechnology expertise.

FAO will begin capacity building in East Africa before rolling out to the rest of the continent. ANBAA is also spearheading the harmonization of biosafety laws across the region.

This will mean that once a country has approved a certain GMO product, all other nations will accept the GMO product.

"This will help to promote trade among African countries," Tonui, who is also the Kenya's National Biosafety Authority CEO said. Endit