Best practices for acceptability of GM crops field trials conclusions: lessons for Africa.

The ability to transfer information about the performance, safety, and environmental impacts of a genetically modified (GM) crop from confined field trials (CFTs) conducted in one location to another is increasingly gaining importance in biosafety regulatory assessment and decision-making. The CFT process can be expensive, time-consuming, and logistically challenging. Data transportability can help overcome these challenges by allowing the use of data obtained from CFTs conducted in one country to inform regulatory decision-making in another country.

Opportunities for Orphan Crops: Expected Economic Benefits From Biotechnology.

An enabling, evidence-based decision-making framework is critical to support agricultural biotechnology innovation, and to ensure farmers' access to genetically modified (GM) crops, including orphan crop varieties. A key element, and often a challenge in the decision-making process, involves the balancing of identified potential risks with expected economic benefits from GM crops. The latter is particularly challenging in the case of orphan crops, for which solid economic data is scarce.

Biosafety Regulatory Reviews and Leeway to Operate: Case Studies From Sub-Sahara Africa.

While modern biotechnology and, specifically, genetic modification are subject of debate in many parts of the world, an increasing number of countries in Sub-Sahara Africa are making important strides towards authorizing general releases of genetically modified (GM) crop varieties for use by farmers and agribusinesses. Obviously, the documented economic and environmental benefits from planting GM crops-based on a track record of over two decades-are a major driver in the decision-making process. Another key factor is the increasing alignment of biosafety regulatory policies with progressive agricultural and rural development policies in Africa, resulting in-compared to past experiences-greater emphasis on anticipated benefits rather than risks in biosafety regulatory reviews.

Biosafety legislation and biotechnology development gains momentum in Africa.

Opinion in Africa over the use of genetically modified crops for food has been divided, honed by more than a decade of arguments in Europe and elsewhere. Fortunately, the perceived image of a passive Africa in this game is changing rapidly with clear positions on how to harness modern biotechnology. This article examines the status of biosafety regulation across Africa, pertinent challenges and the extent to which regulation fosters or constrains the development of agricultural biotechnology.

The emerging international regulatory framework for biotechnology.

Debate about the potential risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to the environment or human health spurred attention to biosafety. Biosafety is associated with the safe use of GMOs and, more generally, with the introduction of non-indigenous species into natural or managed ecosystems. Biosafety regulation--the policies and procedures adopted to ensure the environmentally safe application of modern biotechnology--has been extensively discussed at various national and international forums.