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In July 2023, President Tinubu declared an "immediate state of emergency on food insecurity" to address high food prices and lackluster agricultural production. Nigeria is considered by some in Africa to be a leader in agricultural biotechnology as it has researched, tested, evaluated, and commercialized several biotech products, including cowpea, a staple crop for smallholder farmers across West Africa.

South Africa is amongst the top-10 largest producers of genetically engineered (GE) crops in the world and has approved 32 GE plant events for commercial cultivation since 1997. South Africa’s robust regulatory system for GE products, which started...

On October 3, 2022, Kenya’s newly elected president, Dr. William Ruto, lifted the 10-year ban on importation and cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) agricultural products. Kenya’s Cabinet cited the need to provide the agricultural sector with...

There are currently no genetically engineered (GE) products traded or commercialized in Tanzania due to the strict liability clause in the Biosafety Regulations of 2009. In September 2022, Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture reversed a 2021 ban on all...

This is a regional report on West Africa that primarily covers Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, but also provides brief overviews in certain sections for Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania.

The push for the move toward biotechnology in Cote d'Ivoire began in June of 2015, when the government of Cote d'Ivoire (GOCI) adopted and ratified the Cartagena Protocol.

On February 3, 2022, Kenya notified a draft standard on labeling for genetically modified seed (KS 2983-2023) to the WTO TBT Committee as G/TBT/N/KEN/1379. The comment deadline is 60 days from the date of notification with June 2023 as the proposed date of adoption.

On October 3, 2022, Kenya’s newly elected president, Dr. William Ruto, lifted the 10-year ban on importation and cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) agricultural products. This decision opens a path to importation of GE agricultural commodities and domestic production of GE crops in accordance with Kenya’s existing regulatory structure.

Nigeria has taken an increasingly active role in biotechnology research and development in Africa – spurred by the solid support of the Government of Nigeria (GON). In September 2022, Nigeria hosted regulators from Mozambique and Ethiopia to learn more about Nigeria’s biotechnology regulatory experience.

Ghana’s National Biosafety Authority has eventually given the green light for the environmental release and placement on the market of the pod borer resistant (PBR) or Bt. Cowpea.

On July 26, 2016, Cote d’Ivoire announced the implementation of the national biosafety law after its adoption by parliament. Although the country is in the early stages of adopting agricultural biotechnology, its biosafety law is the foundation on which the country will manage the approval processes, risk management, containment, and labelling for genetically engineered (GE) products developed domestically or by a third country.

In September 2022, Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture directed the Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) to identify a research station for trials of genetically engineered (GE) crops. This decision appears to reverse the Government of Tanzania’s (GoT) 2021 ban on all GE crop research trials.