What is the intended goal of COMESA’s policy and guideline document on GMOs?
COMESA is the largest trading bloc in Africa and all 19 members come in together to achieve a common go a development of their agriculture-based economies. They import a lot annually, so now they are coming together to trade among themselves. Abject poverty, hunger and famine remain the primary feature of the subsistence agricultural sector, at least for the time being. Agriculture being the backbone of the economies in the bloc, it is the focus of COMESA. The sector, among other things, is prone to natural calamities and diseases, all affecting productivity and quality. Since we lived with these problems for a long time, we know that the conventional remedies are not dependable; hence it is time to let technology come in. So, member countries have now decided that biotechnology is one of the areas where they should look for solutions for the agriculture sector. However, given the resistance and controversies surrounding biotechnology, they are going for biosafety regulations and guide
