Africa Must Not Only Become Buyers Of Emerging Modern Biotechnology Products – Expert6 min read

The Head of AUDA-NEPAD flagship biosafety programme, Samuel Edudzi Timpo, has implored African states and governments not to wait to only become buyers of genome editing (GEd) technology products but to become active participants in the development and usage of emerging modern biotechnology tools.

He said the GEd technology offers a cost-effective method of seed breeding that could be used to develop crop varieties that could withstand environmental stresses, including pests and diseases as well the changing climatic conditions.

Genome editing refers to techniques in which the genetic material is inserted, modified, replaced, or deleted in the genome of a living organism at predetermined locations.

These techniques are being used for crops such as rice, tomato, maize, sugarcane, soybean and potato to confer pest and disease resistance, higher resilience to abiotic stress, higher nutrient use efficiency and increased yield potential, and in animals like poultry, sheep, goat, cattle and pigs for increased disease resistance, better adaptation to farming or environmental conditions and enhanced animal welfare.

Mr. Timpon expressed the concern that it would be disappointing should African nations wait for other nations to develop and reap the benefits in GEd technology before it would consider it.

“This is the problem of Africa; we tend to wait for others to go far…and by the time we realise it is okay, we become buyers,” he noted.

Validation workshop

Mr. Timpo in an interview with a group of science journalists in Accra during the validation workshop on Ghana’s genome editing national communication strategy and action plan in Accra, said technological advancement such as modern biotechnology tools could advance African agriculture sustainably and transform societies.

He said the African Union (AU) through its high-level panel of emerging technologies has confirmed that “this is a good tool to be embraced by all our member states.”

He said the AU was building the capacities of its member states to be able to take up the technology, pointing out that the AU had come up with a policy at the continental level that provides guidance for any member state.

Mr. Timpo said, “As a continent, we made a decision through our heads of states and governments many years ago that we will safely harness modern technologies and over the years, we have had a deliberate programme across board to ensure that in our member states, we have clear policies, laws, institutions to enable us safely harness this technology.”

He explained that even though genome editing technology was relative new in the biotechnology toolbox, it requires less efforts and presents no harm to its users, observing that the technology has the potential to improve “our livelihoods or transform our societies.”

“Genome editing is a new area and genome editing has some techniques that are so simple, so cost effective; that our public institutions which usually do not have a lot of funding to pursue research can be engaged in this area,” he explained.

For him, the time has come for African nations to embrace the genome editing technology to help advance their agriculture and improve the livelihoods of their people.

“So, we have a situation where there is a suite of tools that our not-too-resourced institutions can actively participate in to set the research agenda. Crops of national interest could be pursued in a very cost-effective manner and it is the reason we must embrace it,” Mr. Timpon noted.

He further indicated that the use of the genome editing technology does not make other biotechnology tools less effective or useless, saying “It is not to say that other technologies should stop but it is to say that there is another tool in the toolbox we can use and we shouldn’t be left behind.”

Mr. Timpon, who is also the Head of AUDA-NEPAD Regional office in Dakar, Senegal, noted that whereas some modern biotechnologies research requires about USD$35 million to conduct, some aspects of genome editing technology could cost as low as USD$ 10.

He said countries such as China, France, and Germany were making good use of the Genome editing technology, hence the need for Africans to adopt the technology.

Decisive efforts

For her part, the Acting Director in charge of Knowledge Management of AUDA-NEPAD, Madam Florence Nazare, said there had been a decisive effort at the African Union level to ensure that Africa is “primarily driven by knowledge economists.”

The knowledge economists, she explained, implies that Africa is driven by science, technology and innovation, explaining that the African Union was interested in inclusive development that pulls everyone along.

She noted that the AU was interested in how to industrialise the African economy, taking advantage of all relevant and available technologies and innovations, including emerging technologies in biotechnology such as the genome editing tool.

Madam Nazare said biotechnology, particularly genome editing technology, was one of the promising tools that could drive the development and industrialisation agenda of the African economy from the agricultural perspective.

“We are looking at the linkages between agriculture; optimising agriculture, not just enhancing productivity but ensuring that we can optimally produce…” she noted, adding that since most African economies were primarily agro-based, it calls for much attention to be placed on whatever technology that could help the continent to harness its agriculture.

“Genome editing can really advance agriculture in Africa,” she noted, pointing out that the genome editing tool can be used to do three main things— a gene can be muted, deleted or can be tone down, stressing that with genome editing, there is no introduction of any external material into any particular crop.

Collaboration

The Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, Prof. Paul Bosu, in his welcoming address commended AUDA-NEPAD for the initiative of assisting member countries to develop their genome communication strategies and expressed CSIR’s readiness towards that of Ghana.

For him, “Science and technology will continue to play a critical role towards improving agricultural productivity and improving farmers’ health and wealth”.

That, he said, there was the need to sustain the “conversation on the critical role of modern biotechnology in agriculture, health, conservation and management of our natural resources.”

The CSIR boss was of the view that the application of modern biotechnology tools such as genome editing has become more pressing than ever in the face of challenges that retire our desire to increase the productivity of our farmers and other value-chain actors.

Prof. Bosu pledged that the CSIR would continue to work with the AU to achieve the ideals of agenda 2063, which is to ensure food security on the African continent.

“It is our hope and our expectation that the implementation of the genome editing project in Ghana will open a new chapter in our relationship and pave the way for newer opportunities for collaboration in the research and development space,” he noted.

Investment

The Director, in charge of the CSIR-Instituter for Scientific and Technological Information, Dr. Seth Awuku Manteaw, said the CSIR was prepared to go into the genome editing tools but called for more investments in that regard by the government.

“We are really prepared. We have built the critical mass of people in this area. Wwhat we need is an investment; public sector investment—budgetary support.”