BIOSAFETY ACT: KEY TO AFRICA’S FOOD MARKET

The continent of Africa in its wake to the popularity of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) had countries like Kenya and Nigeria on the list of signatories to the Biosafety act. This law by implication has opened the markets of these countries to major suppliers like South Africa whose exports have been affected by an initial ban. South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso are the few African nations on the list.

Biotechnology is a methodology applied on biological resources to improve products and services, a method employed centuries back.

Interestingly, GMOs are resistant to pests and diseases which cuts out the cost of applying expensive and harmful chemicals to eradicate it. With the introduction of certain genes or molecules, crops could protect itself. Africa stands a chance of improving the quality and quantity of food crops.

West African Sahel regions and East African nations had been on the fore warn of experts to fortify their food security programme in the face of the resurgent famine hitting these nations. With Nigeria’s burgeoning population for example, which holds a market in millions of dollars, there is need to revamp the food sector.

There is need to improve the capacity of rural farmers through the deployment of appropriate technologies as key to agricultural revolution in developing nations.

A wider application of biotechnology extends to bioremediation, bioenergy and biodegradation among others.

Biofuel is an emerging research in the face of rising tension in climate change. The discovery of what high quality ethanol can be derived from sorghum and ethanol leaves a significant solution other than inconveniencing cautions in protecting our fragile climate.

This would afford rather heavily industrialized states engage bioexchange with the “go-green policy” in emission of carbon dioxide while more oxygen is pumped out.

Africa at the time has began modifying its staple crops, which are under siege by a diversity of pest and diseases and other abiotic stresses, yet the local population survives on these as source of daily food-maize, corn, potatoes, banana and cassava (now suffering from cassava mosaic and cassava Brown Streak disease).

The world at the moment celebrates 15 years of commercial production of biotech products but African countries to which such technology could be a saving grace are still dragging feet.