By Linda Asante Agyei
Accra, Dec. 17, GNA- Some African scientists and researchers have called for the establishment of a legal framework that would enhance information sharing among African countries to upscale genome editing technology on the continent.
They made a case that genome editing had the potential to transform agriculture on the continent, enhance food security, and increase the income of farmers in the wake of the climate change crisis.
The scientists, drawn from different countries in Africa, made the proposal at a three-day workshop in Accra to analyse the genome editing landscape in selected African countries in Africa.
The workshop was organised by the African Union Development Agency (AU-NEPAD) as part of an ongoing project in eight African countries to support the knowledge-based building of functional regulatory systems for biotechnology and emerging technologies like genome editing.
It was to engage countries in laying a basis for obtaining accurate and comprehensive data on existing policies, competencies, facilities, and resources to help advance Genome Editing, for countries to exchange, make presentations of the existing capacities in biotechnology and in particular genome editing landscape, discuss and consolidate the approach and methodology for the landscape analysis with stakeholder inputs.
The Project is in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063, which is to, among other things, ensure modern agriculture for increased productivity and production, to improve the standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all citizens.
At the workshop, representatives from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso shared their experiences in biotechnology and particular genome editing landscape in their respective countries.
The participants also shared ideas on approaches, instruments, and classification systems for deployment in the design and setting up of a database and explored the most appropriate tools and processes for data collection and analysis.
Genome editing is a method that allows scientists to change the DNA of many organisms, including plants, bacteria, and animals.
In the agriculture sector, genome-editing technologies enable targeted precise changes to genomes and can improve a wide range of crop plants, including those that underpin food security in low- and middle-income countries.
Ms Florence Nazare, the Acting Director of Knowledge Management and Programme Evaluation AUDA-NEPAD, told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that the uptake of genome editing technology would enhance productivity in the agriculture sector.
“The shelf life of agriculture products will be longer, and it can stimulate domestic industries because agriculture is the backdrop of many economies in Africa. If we can make agriculture very productive, it also means we are going to improve livelihoods and smallholder farmers will contribute more to the economy,” she said.
Ms Nazare said in the first quarter of 2024, the project would focus on country-led implementation, which would be guided by their own plans and strategies through national consolidation and validation by stakeholders.
Dr Seth Awuku Manteaw, Director of CSIR-Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, said effective communication and information-sharing strategy was required to boost collaboration among African scientists and institutions.
He called for the strengthening of existing data-sharing platforms and the establishment of a legal framework that would guide information sharing.
“We need to create an enabling environment for the private sector to get involved and support our projects,” Dr Manteaw said.
Dr Agoro Olayiwola, Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Nigeria, said existing platforms for collaboration that were not utilized should be revived to strengthen partnerships.
“We need to break boundaries and borders and begin to work together to enhance research and innovation,” he said.
Dr Traore Valentin Stanislas Edgar, Head, Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation, Burkina Faso, said farmers should be empowered to appreciate the significance of genome editing technology to encourage acceptability.
“The whole of Africa needs this technology, so we need to do more to share information,” he said.
Dr Zephaniah Dwamini, Director of Applied Genetics Testing Centre, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe, said the country had a lot of infrastructure in terms of research about technology but had no experience in genome editing.
He said he was confident that through the workshop Zimbabwe would learn from the experiences of other African countries and commence its own project on genome editing.
GNA