NABDA, AUDA-NEPAD Strengthening Validation Strategy On Genome Editing Tech

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) has strengthened its collaboration with African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and other stakeholders on the validation strategy towards the implementation of the Genome Editing Technology in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

This was the crux of a three-day validation workshop to review the Draft Genome Editing National Communication and Advocacy Strategy and Action Plan, which ended in Abuja on Thursday and attractedstakeholders, which included the National Orientation Agency (NOA), faith-based organizations among others.

Genome Editing is a form of genetic engineering that addresses specific research areas in agriculture to produce better yielding seedlings for farmers to grow, which may reduce the time to maturity and raise   the volume of productivity. This is aimed to make African products competitive on the global stage and foster industrialization.

During the workshop, the Director General of NABDA, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, told reporters in an interview that the meeting brought together stakeholders from different parts of the country to validate the work that has been done previously on Genome Editing.   He stressed that all the action plans are in progress adding that implementation starts after this validation.

“This Gnome Editing is a new technology that has come across the continent of Africa which if harnessed will transform the development in terms of Science Technology and Innovation (STI) across the continent.

“So, we partner with AUDA- NEPAD on a strategy for all the countries across the African continent to harness this new innovation to see how they can use it to implement the success that can be derived from Gnome Editing. So, this is going to transform the continent of Africa and the focus mainly is on agriculture but later it can go into different fields of STI,” he said.

Prof. Mustapha called on the people that have the background on STI especially Genome Editing to use the opportunity to validate what has been written   to make sure that it is implementable with respect to the Nigerian context of development along its cultural and ethical values.

He also urged the media to promote the validation strategy through extensive communication to enable the public to understand the essence and the benefits of the new technology.

“If we are going to tell people about the Genome Editing, it is the media that will tell the people of the nation. So, the media is also here to validate the roadmap of communications in this aspect,” he added.

Also speaking to reporters during the workshop, Head of the STI unit of AUDA-NEPAD Prof. Olalekan Akinbo, said that Genome Editing is gaining wide acceptance across the African continent as the level of policy engagement has shown positivity because leaders have come to see the potential of this new innovation.

Prof. Akinbo advocated for improved funding by African countries on research and development which he said will attract investors in the sector to boost productivity. He added that this could be done through “co-evolution process whereby the scientists liaise with the industry that brings the money and the industry makes money based on the benefits it sees”.

The Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Dr. Agnes Asagbra, said her agency has issued guidelines that will foster conformity on the issue of Genome Editing, stressing that the government will monitor these guidelines strictly through relevant agencies.

NABDA, the lead agency in Nigeria for biotechnology and by extension, genome editing, is piloting the project and inventing sustainable solutions through well- focused research and development in priority areas of agriculture, health, industry and environment for national development.

The level of engagement between AUDA- NEPAD appears to be the most appropriate as the agency has the national mandate for promotion, research, development and adoption of biotechnology in different sectors of the economy.

For instance the NABDA Act of 2022 empowers the agency for this role. It therefore powers the innovation in the continent and promotes its drive towards global competitiveness.

There are however, some concerns about the infrastructure to power this new technology and if the continent must get the full benefit from the project, the leaders and stakeholders must invest massively in research and development.