Efforts to implement Biosafety Legislation in CARICOM for discussion at CWA 2023
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat will convene a forum on Integrated Approaches to the Implementation of Biosafety Legislation in CARICOM on Tuesday, 10 October, 2023 at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) in Nassau, The Bahamas. The forum is being held under the European Union-funded programme on capacity-building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Project, in collaboration with the Agricultural and Agri Investment Development Unit and the Caribbean Agriculture Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA).
The Biosafety Forum is one of the technical seminars hosted during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture – 9-13 October 2023. The event will target participants representing all Member States who are directly involved in articulating policy and in the mobilisation of technical assistance as well as development partners, farmers, producer organisations, CARICOM bodies and representatives of the private sector groupings and companies.
Biosafety refers to policies and procedures that are implemented to reduce or eliminate the potential risks resulting from products of modern biotechnology (for example, genetically modified organisms) to human health, biodiversity and the environment. The regional Biosafety Bill prepared under the “Review of Biosafety Legislation in CARICOM Member States Project” by the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, with CAHFSA sought to develop and implement a harmonised biosafety system in CARICOM countries. The Biosafety Bill is based on the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity which provides an agreed basis to develop and implement biosafety policies. Thirteen CARICOM countries are parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Heads of Government of CARICOM have committed to reducing the Region’s large food import bill by 25% by 2025. The implementation of the CARICOM Agri-Food Systems Strategy in the Member States is expected to help achieve this target, by giving special attention to priority crops and products which are highly imported to the region. The comparative advantage of small island developing states in the Caribbean is continuously being eroded due to the smaller scale of production and reduced technology adoption in agriculture. The reduced cost of imports compared to the cost of local production of food is resulting in the mass abandonment of agriculture, with the threat to food security more and more becoming a reality.
Agribusiness, healthcare, and industrial products will all benefit significantly from modern biotechnology. The genomes of many plants and animals are being mapped and methods for fusing cells and manipulating genetic material outside of the confines of traditional breeding are being developed. Genetically modified organisms are a completely new category of life on Earth as a result of these advancements. Some of these may be beneficial to humans, but they need to be properly monitored and tested over extended periods to ensure their safety.
Source: CARICOM TODAY