" [1]27 May 2011, Maputo – “Biosafety regulatory systems are essential in meeting critical needs for food and nutritional security in Africa”, Dr. Venancio Simao Massingue, Minister of Science and Technology in Mozambique said last week Friday. In his remarks, Massingue welcomed the efforts made by AU-NEPAD’s African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) in supporting biosafety systems in Mozambique. This was during the closing ceremony of the ABNE and GIIBS working sessions (25-27 May) held in Maputo, Mozambique. The three day engagement was organised by ABNE in partnership with GIIBS, Mozambique’s National Biosafety Working Group, and was part of ABNE’s technical support to regulators in biosafety across the continent.
The overall objective of the engagement was to reflect on biosafety guidelines and to build functional bio-safety systems in Mozambique, enabling regulators to take informed decisions on bio-technology. Addressing the working sessions, Massingue emphasised on ABNE’s crucial contribution in strengthening and furthering biosafety capacities in Mozambique. At the same time, Massingue recognised that the development of modern biotechnology must go hand-in-hand with appropriate regulations in order to maximise the benefits while minimising potential risks.
Based on the outcomes of the working sessions, Minister Massingue gave ABNE the mandate to further support GIIBS in creating a biosafety framework which will strengthen its authority and address current needs in Mozambique. ABNE’s support to this regulatory system will consist of four components:
- to support the development and implementation of regulations;
- to strengthen administrative systems in terms of office equipment;
- to strengthen decision-making systems such as risk assessment, risk management and risk communication;
- to build and strengthen mechanisms for public participation and information sharing
Professor Diran Makinde, Director of the African Biosafety Network of Expertise, appraised the efforts made by Mozambique in developing functional biosafety systems which he regarded as exemplary. “It is a matter of urgency for NEPAD to support the development of effective safety and regulatory systems for biotechnology in Mozambique,” he said.
At the end of the engagement, Prof. Makinde handed over office supplies to Minister Massingue worth 10,000 US Dollars as part of ABNE’s technical support to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Mozambique.
ABNE interventions in Mozambique and across the African continent are driven by its mission of helping to build functional biosafety systems that will facilitate the safe utilisation of new science and technology applications to enhance agricultural productivity in Africa. This is in line with the co-evolutionary approach recommended in the report of the African High Level Panel on modern biotechnology.
As a specialised centre of the AU and the NEPAD Agency, the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE)’s mandate is to contribute to the NEPAD Agency’s thematic programme on agriculture and food security by supporting African countries in building functional biosafety systems that will ensure the responsible and safe development, adoption and utilisation of agricultural biotechnology products.
