The members of the Technical Advisory Committee of AUDA-NEPAD’s  African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE)  held their annual meeting from 6 - 7June, 2022 in Accra, Ghana. In the current third phase of the ABNE programme, the financial year runs from June to May, hence the holding of the TAC meeting in this period of the year.

In his opening remarks, Dr Dave Keetch, TAC Chair and Director at Goldamer Consulting cc, South Africa, commended the AUDA-NEPAD team for their efforts and the excellent work done in the implementation of the ABNE programme. “The few challenges faced by the programme are more political than scientific issues,” Dr Keetch said, encouraging the team to maintain the same enthusiasm in the coming years.

On behalf of Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, the AUDA-NEPAD CEO, Mr Martin Bwalya, Director of Knowledge Management and Programme Evaluation welcomed TAC members to the meeting. He highlighted the important contributions of the ABNE programme in the biotechnology and biosafety sector in Africa in past years and the need to shift gears to respond to the growing needs and demands in the continent. 

Mr Lawrence Kent, Senior Programme Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) also pointed out the hard work reflected in the achievements of the reports submitted by the AUDA-NEPAD team. “Agricultural productivity is needed more than ever in Africa”, he said.  He added that safe technologies and best agricultural practices are needed for the continent to address key challenges like the fall armyworms and to reach self-sufficient food production.

Dr Douglas Buhler, Assistant Vice-President for Research and Innovation at Michigan State University (MSU) acknowledged the tremendous contribution of Dr Ibrahim A. Mayaki, former CEO of AUDA-NEPAD to the establishment and growth of the ABNE programme. He congratulated the new CEO, Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas on her appointment and wished her the best in her new role.

At the end of the two-day discussions, the TAC members recognised that the long-standing collaboration of AUDA-NEPAD, BMGF and MSU has been essential for the success of ABNE. They also made important recommendations to help achieve more results.

Among their key recommendations, TAC invited ABNE to take more into consideration the existence of other relevant related activities in AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union, and the need to collaborate more in order to realise complementarities and synergies.

The TAC recognised the benefits and role of virtual programming and requested ABNE to exploit the advantages of this technology. The committee also advised ABNE to prioritise its activities on the basis of its immediate, medium and long-term goals. Beyond the annual review of implementing reports and work plans, it was also recommended that there should be more frequent contact to appreciate the progress and challenges and be of support to ABNE.