**4.1 Burkina Faso**

#### *4.1.1 Country progress*

Burkina Faso has signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in 2003. It has an active and functional regulatory system hosted by the National Biosafety Agency (NBA) (Agence Nationale de Biosécurité, ANB) currently exercising Biosafety laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines in the country. In addition, at a regional level, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has put regional framework and rules on biosafety. The NBA is hosted by the Minister of Higher Education but has consultative bodies such us National Scientific committee of Biosafety (comité scientifique national de Biosécurité = CSNB), Scientific and Technique Council, National observatory of Biosafety regrouping members from various ministries and non-governmental organizations.

## *4.1.2 Product development*

The NBA has approved different research activities on GM crops. From 2006 to 2015 about 32 permits for different GM cotton activities related to BollgardII, RRF (herbicide tolerance), and the stack of both were made for import, laboratory studies, CFT, commercialization, and seed production activities. From 2010 to 2021, there were six permits given for *Maruca* Pod Borer resistant GM cowpea using *Cry1Ab* or *Cry2Ab* genes for greenhouse and CFT. Other GM crop permits provided include for CFT on Bt Maize for insect resistance; greenhouse trial for vitamin and zinc-rich biofortified sorghum; greenhouse trials for leaf blight resistance in rice.

Only the Bt cotton Burkina Faso had reached the stage of commercialization and utilization. However, the Bt cotton cultivation was discontinued in 2016 due to cotton fiber length issues associated with the marketing of Bt cotton. Currently, most of the research activities are carried out in the greenhouses, cages, and CFTs. In Burkina Faso, stakeholders support the use of GMO as a solution to food security and for human disease control such as Malaria. The ANB has been undertaking sensitization of various public entities and various stakeholders since 2009 on biosafety actions as described by the national legislation and the Cartagena Protocol.

#### **4.2 Ethiopia**

#### *4.2.1 Country progress*

Ethiopia signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1993, Cartagena protocol in 2000 which was approved by Parliament in 2003. The country adopted a tighter regulatory framework based on the Precautionary Principle (equivalent to "No GMO") ratified in 2009. The Biosafety bill was debated amended in 2016, known as 'A Proclamation to Amend the Biosafety Proclamation 2009'. In 2017, the National Biosafety Advisory Committee was adopted and in 2018 the country issues its Biosafety Guidelines. The amended law permitted scientists and institutions to do research and education pertaining GMOs. This allowed to establish legal and regulatory systems and build technical capacity to support and manage GMO issues and approved after CFT of three Bt cotton varieties in 2016 under the procedure of "Special permit", a provision in the Biosafety Law for research purposes. This was followed by 2 years of NPT across seven sites until 2018. The country approved two Bt cotton hybrids, JKCH-1050 and JKCH-1947 originally obtained from JK Agri Genetics Ltd., India for environmental release and variety registration. The accelerated commercial release demonstrated Ethiopia's government commitment to support the cotton development to satisfy booming textile industries [29].

#### *4.2.2 Product development*

Ethiopia considered biotechnology as one of the priority areas in its National Science and Technology Policy formulated in 1993 [42]. Due to interest to tighten the non-GMO stand, the prohibitive regulatory system delayed its overall engagement in modern biotechnology, postponed the use of available products, and hampered the development of the local capacity building. After approval of two Bt cotton Bollgard I type varieties in 2018, demand for Bt cotton seed for 2021/22 estimated at 3250 kg was requested for 1300 hectares. Some level of cross-border Bt cotton seed also takes place with Sudan and around 3055 hectares around border areas are already covered with such imported Bt cotton seed.

In 2008, the Biosafety Authority and the NBAC granted a "Special Permit" approval for CFT of drought-tolerant (WEMA) and insect resistant (TELA) maize for testing from 2018 to 2023. The isogenic conventional lines were evaluated for 2years in different locations before the CFT. The two-year CFT was started in 2019 under a controlled drip irrigation system for drought-tolerant trait evaluation and has shown very promising results. The stacked maize environmental release for both insect resistance and drought tolerance is awaiting approval using existing provisions.

In 2013, Ethiopia deployed GM technology for its indigenous Enset crop (also called "false banana") improvement in collaboration with the International Institute *Crop Biotechnology and Smallholder Farmers in Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101914*

of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for developing varieties with resistance to the deadly bacterial wilt disease caused by *Xanthomonas campestris* [43]. The collaborative research work had begun at BecA, Nairobi at IITA laboratory and later moved to Holetta Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center (NABRC) in Ethiopia in 2018 after approval was obtained for contained use (Contained Lab Permit). Approval for testing transgenic Enset under CFT is underway. Further to its endeavor in GM technologies, Ethiopia will soon engage in testing Late Blight Resistant (LBR) resistant cisgenic potatoes. Application submitted for CFT is awaiting approval.

#### *4.2.3 Farmers access to new agricultural technologies*

Approved Bt cotton hybrid seed demand is increasing but the hybrid Bt cotton seeds are not locally available and need to be imported from the technology supplier. But due to the decline in exports during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Bt cotton seed supply system has suffered from foreign exchange restrictions to purchase seeds. The absence of local seed companies investing in Bt cotton seed has been one of the key challenges facing Bt cotton commercialization in Ethiopia.

Stakeholders across the cottonseed system must assess the most feasible pathway to ensure easy access to quality seeds at a reasonable cost, especially to smallholder farmers. Supporting cotton production with appropriate extension services and training of farmers and other relevant stakeholders for best practices is required to scaling-up the use of Bt cotton in the country. Developing innovative partnerships with technology developers to enable local Bt cotton hybrid seeds production will help to achieve affordable and sustainable access to GM technology.

#### *4.2.4 Public perception and acceptance of GMOs*

There is no clear data concerning the changes in the public acceptance of GM technologies in Ethiopia. However, the transition at policy and political levels is remarkable; from a stance of "GMO free" advocacy to one with pragmatic consideration to taking advantage of changes and prospects at the global level. The public perception is expected to evolve considerably due to growing global biotechnology importance in promoting food security in the wake of climate change. However, the recent movement following a report by the USDA that recognizes Ethiopia's commitment to implementing the amended protocol and embarking on some GM crops, has sparked severe criticisms against GMOs development in the country [44]. There has been a steep rise in anti-GMO comments following the USDA announcement [45]. It requires to provide the right information to the public and creating the right and positive public perceptions to help the right policy measures and institutional function with respect to biotechnology products.

#### **4.3 Kenya**

#### *4.3.1 Country progress*

Kenya is among the first African countries that signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in 2002. It also set up a national biosafety regulatory authority followed by a Biosafety policy signed into law in 2010 [46]. The exercise of dealing with GM products has seen many challenges such as the one when the government through the Ministry of Health instituted a Moratorium on the import and trade of GMOs on November 21, 2012, an embargo that remains in force to this day [47].

To date, two crops have been approved for commercialization use in Kenya and these are the Bt cotton hybrid, which was commercialized in 2020, and the improved cassava

variety for resistance to Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD). The NBA approved the application for environmental release for GM cassava containing Event 4046 in 2021 [48]. The GM cassava has increased root quality and higher yields [49]. Kenya is the first country globally to consider a request for environmental release involving GM cassava crops. Many other crops are now at different stages of regulatory approval. In the year 2021, 36 applications have been submitted for various crops under review [48].

#### *4.3.2 Farmers access to new agricultural technologies*

Kenya's GMO regulatory framework is robust and active. It is designed for regulating contained use, import, export and transit, environmental release, and labeling [46]. The emerging research area of gene-editing technologies in food and agriculture presents the newest frontier in the area of legislation and regulations in Kenya [46]. The NBA board has undergone timely training to equip them with knowledge on the understanding of the regulatory process of genome-edited organisms and products in Kenya [46].

### *4.3.3 Challenges in product commercialization*

A strict and arduous regulatory approval framework remains one of the most important challenges to GMO adoption in Kenya [50]. So far, Bt cotton has been commercialized and the status of Bt-maize is at the NPT stage. Access to Bt cotton hybrid seeds, access to credit to purchase Bt cotton seeds, and lack of adequate monitoring data for Bt cotton is the weak side of the commercialization process.

Among the public institutions, Government Counties can play a role by forming cotton-producing clusters to support access to Bt cotton hybrid seed and inputs and access to the cotton market to encourage cotton-producing smallholders. This exercise on Bt cotton can also be helpful for similar efforts in the future for other new technologies [51].

#### *4.3.4 Public perception and acceptance of GMOs*

Public perception of GMOs in Kenya has been mostly negative for a long time due to bad press and negative publicity about GM products [50]. Kenya had instituted a moratorium on GMO import and trade in 2012 based on a study by Séralini et al. [52] that has since been disapproved. The damage, however, had been done and slowed progress in GM acceptance and adoption in the country. For most of the public, GMOs were dangerous, and disposed the government to take a reactive action. The growing awareness on the benefits of GMO technology in the continent and in Kenya in particular, is seeing an upsurge in attitude change for the better [50].

#### **4.4 Malawi**

#### *4.4.1 Country progress*

Malawi has made significant progress in biotechnology and biosafety since the ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in 2009. The country has domesticated the protocol by developing a legal and institutional framework for biosafety. Malawi developed its Biosafety Act in 2002, Biosafety Regulations in 2007, and enacted Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy in 2008. The CFT and NPT Guidelines, Trial Manager Handbook, and Inspectors Handbook were prepared in 2007. Since 2009, three permits to conduct GM crop trials have been issued under the Biosafety Act and approved its first Bt cotton for commercialization in 2018.

Other GM crops initiatives were transgenic Banana and Bt Cowpea both of which were terminated in 2019 due to lack of finance to support the research.
