AUDA-NEPAD, in partnership with Agence National de Biosecurité (ANB) in Senegal organized a capacity-building workshop on the review of applications for genetically modified organisms intended for use as food, feed, or for processing (GMO-FFP) from 20 – 21 October 2022 in Saly Portudal, Senegal. Around 20 participants drawn from ANB, Cheikh Anta Diop University, and the Ministry of Economy took part in the training.

Senegal recently enacted its amended biosafety law. This development calls for regulatory capacity strengthening for the implementation of the law. Hence, the importance of this training. This capacity-building effort will help the country deal with requests for the import of genetically modified organisms intended for use as food, feed, or for processing (GMO-FFP) as essential food for those who lack access to adequate food and nutrition.

The main objective of the training was to provide support to the competent national authority in the effective discharge of its mandate including food and feed safety assessment in line with international best practices.

During the meeting, participants were taken through the key aspects of the review of biosafety applications, in particular, key provisions in the Cartagena Protocol and the national biosafety law on the handling of requests for import of GMO-FFPs; key administrative tools for handling requests for import of GMO-FFPs; administrative steps in receiving and processing applications for review and decision making; utilizing databases in the conduct of risk assessment reviews; conducting a review and making recommendations; drafting a risk assessment report.

The different sessions of the workshop were particularly appreciated by participants. In his concluding remarks, Mr. Yero Dé, Chairperson of the Orientation Council of ANB said that the meeting really built the capacity of ANB staff. “As regulators, we should be able to always provide accurate responses to the different inquiries from the public. We are grateful to AUDA-NEPAD for providing us with the technical skills that will allow us to adequately deal with clarifications needs from the public and the media. The training also provided us with the necessary tools and methodologies for the safe use of biotechnology opportunities,” he said.