The Biosafety Act, which has been delayed in Parliament for four years, has finally received Presidential Assent. The Law, emanating from the Biosafety Act, 831, 2011, will allow Ghana to apply biotechnology in food crop production, involving Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in food production.

It will also ensure adequate level of production in the field of safe development transfer, handling and use of GMOs that are pharmaceuticals for human use, and which are the subject of any other enactment.

The law will also ensure the establishment of transparent and predictable process, to review and make decisions on specified GMOs that were pharmaceutical for human use.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Mr Ebenezer Adjietror, Principal Assistant Clerk in Charge of Table Office, Parliament, said the Bill delayed because of initial constitutional matters, which resulted in back and forth movement of the Bill till it was finally passed into law.

The 28-page Act has nine arrangements of sections, which include Scope, Objectives and Establishment, Administration, Handling of Requests for Approvals, Reviews and Approvals, Technical Advisory Committee, Regulatory Agencies, Inspections, Finance and Miscellaneous. It also has five schedules, which include Conduct of Business and Affairs of the Board, Information Required in Applications for Contained or Confined Use, Information Required in Applications for Release, Importation and Placing on the Market, Risk Assessment and Regulatory Agencies.

Under the new Biosafety law, a National Biosafety Authority will be established with the functions clearly spelt out and the composition of the governing body also spelt out. In West Africa, Burkina Faso is currently using biotechnology for farming particularly in cotton and vegetable production, while Togo, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mali and South Africa were also applying the technology.

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