AUDA-NEPAD in partnership with the National Biosafety Regulatory Committee (NBRC) in Malawi provided support for reading and adoption of the stacked trait guidelines from 19 to 21 September 2022 in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Stacked traits basically refer to genetically modified crop varieties bearing more than one trait of interest. Malawi has made progress in the introduction, testing, and adoption of safe biotech crops, namely Bt cotton. The country is expanding its GM crop technological portfolio as witnessed by the application for CFT of GM maize.

The AUDA-NEPAD support follows a series of capacity-building activities for regulators on the regulation of stacked traits GM events and in developing guidelines for the regulation of stacked traits. These activities were implemented in anticipation of biosafety applications for confined field trials (CFTs) of crop varieties bearing such traits. Subsequently, indeed, an application for CFTs of stacked traits GM events maize was submitted to the biosafety regulatory authority several months back.

The recent reading and adoption of the stacked trait guidelines were coupled with a refresher training on stacks regulation for the NBRC, and an initial exploratory review of the biosafety application for CFTs.

AUDA-NEPAD will continue to provide technical support to Malawi to help the country safely harness science, technology, and innovation for its development.