The Emergence of Products of New Breeding Techniques and Challenges to Ethiopia’s Biosafety Regulatory Regime

Abstract

In Ethiopia, before starting research and development on any genetically modified organisms (GMOs), approval and written permission must be obtained from the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The Authority derives this power from the Biosafety (Amendment) Proclamation No. 896/2015 ratified by the House of Peoples Representatives. EPA forms its opinion based on data provided by the applicant, inspection of laboratories and field trial sites. An addition to this decision-making repertoire is the advice from the National Biosafety Advisory Committee (NBAC) established by the Council of Ministers of FDRE under Council of Ministers Regulation No. 411/2017 on issues related to biosafety. In 2018, the Authority deregulated two Bt-cotton varieties making the country to officially embrace products of GM or biotech crops for the first time. So far, the Authority has issued permits for confined laboratory tests on bt-cotton and transgenic enset and confined field trials (CFTs) on two stacked maize hybrids (TELA^TM), CFT permit for 3 R-gene Late Blight Resistance (LBR) stack cisgenic potato, and CFT permit for triple gene BT-GT hybrid cotton varieties. New breeding techniques and their products are entering the global market promising high productivity to sustainable future food security. This work looked into these developments and the concomitant safety concerns and regulatory dilemmas in selected countries. It then gauged the current state of Ethiopia’s biosafety framework vis-à-vis the new breeding techniques. The evidence presented here shows that Ethiopia needs to prepare guidelines for dealing with products of new breeding techniques.