Ugandan scientist to conduct regional risk assessment

Nov 25, 2013

Ugandan scientists working in the agricultural biotechnology have been recognized as leaders in agricultural biotechnology in the region according to officials at the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa.

By Christopher Bendana

Ugandan scientists working in the agricultural biotechnology have been recognized as leaders in agricultural biotechnology in the region according to officials at the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa.

ACTESA is a specialized Agency of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa.

Getachew Belay, the senior biotechnology policy advisor at ACTESA told a delegation of legislatures, farmers, and policy makers from East and Southern Africa at IBA Hotel in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso on how they would learn more on biotechnology from Uganda.

“We want to use Ugandan scientists for Regional- Level Risk Assessments once the COMESA Regional Policy on Biotechnology and Biosafety is out,” he said. “Uganda has produced a good number of technical experts.”

According to the Uganda Biotechnology  and Biosafety Consortium, Uganda has 24 PhD level scientists, 50MSc level scientists and over 70 bachelor level scientists.

They are specialists on major crops grown across the region which include maize and cotton.

The delegates from Zambia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sudan were in Burkina Faso to learn on how Burkina farmers have adopted the growing of Bt cotton.

Bt cotton is cotton which has been incorporated with the Bt bacterium to create resistance against the bollworm pest with the genetic engineering technology.
 

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