By Edward Dankwah, GNA
Accra, Oct. 6, GNA – Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, says Ghana must strengthen its biosafety regulatory system and make regulatory processes clearer and more predictable to attract investment and accelerate the development of the biotechnology sector.
She said while regulation was essential to safeguarding human health and the environment, uncertainty surrounding regulatory responsibilities and processes could discourage investors and slow the commercialisation of scientific innovations, saying, “Regulation is not the enemy of investment. Uncertainty is.”
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the 2027 Biosafety and Biotechnology Expo (BBExpo) in Accra, organised by the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), on the theme, “Biosafety Regulation as a Catalyst for Biotechnology Investment in Ghana.”
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings said modern biotechnology was already transforming agriculture, healthcare, industry, and environmental management, creating opportunities to improve crop productivity, develop vaccines and innovative treatments, manage waste, and convert agricultural and industrial residues into useful products.
She said Ghana’s focus should therefore shift beyond generating scientific knowledge to translating research into technologies, enterprises, jobs, and practical solutions that improved the lives of citizens.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said Ghana’s ambition to become a hub for vaccine development and manufacturing in Africa made regulatory preparedness particularly important.
She said the establishment of the National Vaccine Institute under the National Vaccine Institute Act, 2023, provided an important institutional foundation for building national capacity for vaccine research, development, and local manufacturing.
The Minister said Ghana already had a foundation for responsible biotechnology development through the Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831), the Biosafety Regulations (Management of Biotechnology), 2019 (L.I. 2383), and its status as a Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said an investor should not have to navigate the structure of government before understanding how to establish and operate a biotechnology enterprise.
“Where mandates intersect, institutions must coordinate. Where responsibilities overlap, they must be clarified. And where regulatory pathways involve several institutions, those institutions must work together to provide a coherent and predictable process,” she added.
She identified five priorities for Ghana’s biotechnology sector: ensuring that the regulatory framework keeps pace with scientific advancement, institutionalising coordination among agencies, investing in regulatory capacity, building public confidence, and developing a visible pipeline of investment opportunities.
She encouraged young scientists to use the proposed BBExpo as a platform to showcase their research, ideas, and technologies, where the Expo should serve as a platform where “regulation meets research, research meets enterprise, and enterprise meets investment.”
The Minister also urged industry and investors to consider Ghana as a destination for responsible biotechnology investment, assuring them of government’s commitment to creating a regulatory environment where requirements were clear and processes coordinated.
Mr Kwame Dei Asamoah-Okyere, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NBA, said the maiden BBExpo was scheduled for Accra in October 2027.
He said the two-day Expo would bring together regulators, researchers, industry players, students, farmers, and the public to explore modern biotechnology applications in healthcare, agriculture, industry, and environmental management.
The CEO said despite the Authority’s work in laboratory and Institutional Biosafety Committee certifications, risk assessments, Board decisions and monitoring of confined field trials, awareness of biosafety regulations remained low among the public and some institutions and industries.
He said Ghana’s ambition for vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities, as well as advances in the next-generation pharmaceuticals using living cells and gene-editing technologies, made biosafety regulation increasingly central to national development.
“The BBExpo will provide a platform for stakeholders to openly engage on biotechnology and regulation, with the first day of the 2027 event dedicated to professionals, regulators and industry, and the second day open to the general public,” he added.
Mr Asamoah-Okyere said the NBA intended to make the Expo a biennial national platform to showcase developments in biotechnology, their regulatory implications, and solutions to national challenges.
He called on regulators, researchers, industry, development partners, and the media to support the initiative, while urging the public to use the Expo to ask questions and demand accountability.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
6 October 2026
GNA