By Linda Asante Agyei
Accra, Oct. 17, GNA – Ghana`s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) will by the end of October, publish its guidelines on Genome Editing and Gene Stacks with regards Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
The guidelines, drafted from zero, and validated by stakeholders with technical and financial support from African Biosafety Network of Expertise of African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD-ABNE), are currently before the Board of NBA for consultation and approval.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Eric Amanning Okoree said genome editing was an emerging and affordable biotechnology tool that had great promise to deliver high-yielding crop varieties, able to withstand various stresses such as droughts, floods, insect pests, or diseases and possessed quality traits for use as food, feed, or for processing.
He explained that though the country had a Biosafety law, it made provision for emerging technologies, which included Genome Editing and Gene Stacks with regards to GMOs.
“Biotechnology is a fast-developing business with new trends of technologies and when the law was being passed, there was nothing like Genome editing, gene drive, or synthetic biotechnology, but we have them now.”
Mr Okoree noted that the law, passed years ago, foresaw that there would be an era with these emerging technologies, therefore, these documents would go into details to outline the procedures to be followed to ensure that the products and the environment were safe and healthy, provide guiding applicants and regulators as well.
This he said would enable scientists and researchers who wanted to add a gene to any product or anything they would be working on would have to follow and be guided by these guidelines to ensure that the proper procedures and protocols are duly followed.
Genome editing is a type of gene therapy that involves making targeted and deliberate changes to a specific region in the genome.
Genome editing changes the DNA of animals, plants, and microorganisms with high precision. The technology has a wide range of applications – from new therapies for cancer and inherited diseases, to increasing the muscle mass of livestock.
It can also be used to produce plants with desired traits, such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, or enhanced nutritional profiles. However, there is a societal concern that genome editing may lead to adverse effects to human health and the environment.
Mr Samuel Timpo, Head of Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise of AUDA-NEPAD told the GNA that very few countries in Africa, namely, Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, have already published
their guidelines and Ghana would join these countries when it published its guidelines. He noted that Burkina, and Ethiopia, have gone through their validation processes and were yet to be made public saying, Mozambique have initiated a drafting the process and we expect Egypt, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, and Namibia that have expressed the interest to begin their drafting processes.
“These guidelines when published, would help regulate genome-edited crops that would facilitate the in-country development or the introduction, testing, and commercialization of genome-edited crop varieties developed elsewhere,” he added.
Dr Timpo highlighted the importance of having functional regulatory guidelines for emerging technologies such as Genome Editing. This technology he noted had proven to be more precise, effective, and more affordable to African researchers than the usual modern biotechnologies. Hence, the importance for the continent to put in place necessary regulatory frameworks, which will enable African countries to safely harness the opportunities arising from genome editing for their development.
The African Union, through its High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) recommends the use of emerging technologies such as genome editing to help solve hunger and malnutrition issues on the continent.
In this regard, the NBA of Ghana in partnership with AUDA-NEPAD ABNE, has put together the guidelines and its accompanying forms, which were reviewed and validated the country guidelines on Genome Editing and to update the regulatory processes for GM crop varieties approval and registration.
Dr Timpo noted that AUDA-NEPAD had a mandate to provide knowledge based advisory support to ensure that member states domesticated global learnings within national context after member states, as far back June 2019, saw the potentials in Genome Editing applications in agricultural sector and requested that AUDA-NEPAD provided a general guidance to enable them develop national guidelines consistent with domestic laws and international obligations.
“To member states, we have also provided them with access to knowledge products out there which will guide them in the drafting of the guidelines. We also provide them with financial and technical support to help them carry out their work in the drafting their guidelines,” he added.
“It is our hope that Ghanaian scientists who want to practice good science and compete in the global research space, will have the enabling policy environment to support the socioeconomic development of the country.”
GNA