Abstract
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional trade bloc on the African continent, consisting of 19 member States, with a population size of about 400 million people. Agricultural products are an important part of trade in the COMESA region. There are several products that are of potential importance, as they are available globally as GM crops are/or being developed in some COMESA countries and Africa in general. Putting in place functional biosafety regulatory regimes is a prerequisite for the introduction and trans-boundary movements of GM crops. In most COMESA member States, the regulatory requirements for trade in GM-crop commodities are unclear. The COMESA Ministers of Agriculture have long realized the need for a regional approach, and launched the Regional Approach on Biotechnology and Biosafety policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (RABESA) Project in 2003. One of the major achievements of the RABESA project is the drafting in 2009 of the regional policy on cultivation, trade, and emergency food aid concerning GM crops. The process of policy formulation has undergone intensive consultations with key stakeholders in an inclusive, participatory, and interactive manner. The draft policy has gained support from the regulatory authorities and technical experts, and now awaits endorsement by the COMESA policy organs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The COMESA Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety has been adopted by the 32nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers, 23–24 February 2014, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Abbreviations
- ACTS:
-
African Centre for Technology Studies
- AGOA:
-
African Growth and Opportunity Act
- ASARECA:
-
Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
- AU:
-
African Union
- AU/NEPAD:
-
African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development
- BCH:
-
Biosafety Clearing-House
- CAADP:
-
Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program
- COMESA:
-
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
- CPB:
-
Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
- EAC:
-
East African Community
- FFP:
-
Feed, Food, or Processing
- FTA:
-
Free trade area
- GM:
-
Genetically modified
- GMO:
-
Genetically modified organism
- IFPRI/PBS:
-
International Food Policy Research Institute/ Program of Biosafety Systems
- ISAAA:
-
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
- LMO:
-
Living modified organism
- LMO-FFP:
-
Living modified organisms as food or feed, or for processing
- NTB:
-
Non-tariff barriers
- PoE:
-
Panel of Biotechnology and Biosafety Experts
- RABESA:
-
Regional Approach on Biotechnology and Biosafety policy in Eastern and Southern Africa
- REC:
-
Regional Economic Community
- SADC:
-
Southern African Development Community
- SSA:
-
Sub-Saharan Africa
- USAID:
-
United States Agency for International Development
- WTO:
-
World Trade Organisation
References
ABS (2012) Africa biofortified sorghum. ABS project: technology development. http://biosorghum.org/home.php. Accessed 8 Oct 2012
COMESA (2012) About COMESA. http://about.comesa.int/. Accessed 8 Oct 2012
FAO (1988) Regional trends in production and utilization of sorghum and millets. http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0818E/T0818E00.htm#Contents. Accessed 8 Oct 2012
Gruere G (2006) An analysis of trade related regulations of genetically modified food and their effects on developing countries. EPT discussion paper 147. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
Jaffe G (2006) A comparative analysis of the national biosafety regulatory systems in East Africa. EPTD discussion paper 146. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
James C (2012) Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops: 2012. ISAAA, Ithaca. ISAAA brief no. 44
Karim IEEA, Ismail IS (2007) Potential for agricultural trade in COMESA region: a comparative study of Sudan, Egypt and Kenya. Afr J Agric Res 2(10):481–487
Kimani V, Gruère G (2010) Implications of import regulations and information requirements under the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety for GM commodities in Kenya. AgBioForum 13(3):222–241
Mansour S (2011) Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Information Network, 2011.Cotton Update. http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Cotton%20up-date_Cairo_Egypt_10-20-2011.pdf. Accessed 15 Aug 2012
Mwapachu JV (2009) State of the tripartite free trade area: progress (from the report of the chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force — Amb. Juma V. Mwapachu — Secretary General, EA). http://www.comesa-eac-sadctripartite.org/intervention/focal_areas/tripartite_fta. Accessed 13 Sept 2012
Paarlberg R, Wafula D, Minde D, Wakhungu J (2006a) Projected farm income gains in the COMESA/ASARECA region from commercialization of Bt maize. ACTS Press, Nairobi
Paarlberg C, Wafula D, Minde D, Wakhungu J (2006b) Commercial export risks of genetically modified (GM) crops in the COMESA/ASARECA region. ACTS Press, Nairobi
Paarlberg R, Wafula D, Minde D, Wakhungu J (2006c) Food aid import policies in the COMESA/ASARECA region: the costs and benefits of current policy options. ACTS Press, Nairobi
Redick TP (2007) The Cartagena protocol on biosafety: precautionary priority in biotech crop approvals and containment of commodities shipments. Colo J Int Environ Law Policy 18:51–116
UN COMTRADE (2012) Trade statistics for international business development. http://www.trademap.org/SelectionMenu.aspx. Accessed various dates, July–Oct 2012
Acknowledgements
The COMESA Biotechnology and Biosafety Program has been financially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The partners that have supported COMESA in the implementation of the RABESA Project since inception include the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the Program for Biosafety Systems [International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)/Program of Biosafety Systems PBS), the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA AfriCenter), and the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Additional information
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the above institutions.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Belay, G., Kimani, V., Wafula, D. (2014). Harmonization of Regional Biosafety and Regulatory Services to Remove Future Trade Barriers in the COMESA Region. In: Wambugu, F., Kamanga, D. (eds) Biotechnology in Africa. Science Policy Reports, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04001-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04001-1_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-04000-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-04001-1
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)