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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
A delegation from the Ghana Biosafety Management Authority has paid a visit to its counterpart in Nigeria, the National Biosafety Management Agency, with a view to understudy the agency’s success story in the regulation of biosafety in the country.
The visit was also part of efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries in the area of biosafety regulations.
Chairman of Ghana’s Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Emmanuel Marto, made this known when the Ghanaian health regulatory team met the director general of the National Biosafety Management Agency, Dr Rufus Ebegba, in his office in Abuja.
Dr. Marto said the visit was a study tour to the Nigeria biosafety agency, to see how the policy, regulations and commercialisation of biotechnology techniques and practices evolved in Nigeria.
”This (visit) comes as the country is also in the process of embarking on using biotechnology to deal with issues of environmental sustainability and food security.
“Since Nigeria is close by and Nigeria is now reputed to be doing well in that field, we thought that we should come to Nigeria as brother and as a neighbor so we can come and learn from you.”
“My impression has been very good. We were at the National Assembly and met with the parliamentarians, we had a fruitful discussion, we like the cooperation that the agencies in Nigeria has had so far, and the collaboration that has brought Nigeria this far, I think this something worth emulating by Ghana,” Dr. Marto said.
The director general of the National Biosafety Management Agency in Nigeria (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Eseoghene Ebegba said the agency would continue to collaborate with regional bodies to build a stronger Biosafety system in the country.
Dr Ebegba said the Nigeria government would also continue to encourage the use of modern biotechnology to improve the nation’s economy.
He said; “The essence of the National Biosafety agency regulatory system is to ensure the application of modern biotechnology, and also that the use and handling of genetically modifies organisms (GMOs) are safe for the environment and human health.”
Dr Ebegba further stated that NBMA would work in synergy to ensure a stronger relationship in the areas of Biosafety, stressing that the government has set up the Nigeria Biosafety agency to ensure human and environmental safety.
“The Nigerian government has developed policies, laws that encourage the use of modern biotechnology applications as part of efforts to improve the economy, and also drive the agricultural sector.
“The modern economy would be driven by the safe application of biotechnology, what I mean is that we are talking about green economy. These are not things that can be achieved through using conventional method of technologies. With the modern biotechnology, it is very elastic, it has the potentials of opening up new vistas. I think countries like Nigeria have known what it takes and what to benefit from modern biotechnology,” Dr Ebegba said.
The National Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA was established by the National Biosafety Management Agency Act 2015, to provide regulatory framework to adequately safeguard human health and the environment from potential adverse effects of modern biotechnology and genetically modified organisms.
Its mandate is to promote biotechnology development in all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
