152 CHAPTER 5


undertaken by the African Union and its member states to ensure harmony in policies concerning modern biotechnology and biosafety. The Strategy rec- ognizes efforts that the Regional Economic Communities have exerted in the area of biosafety or interlinking trade and biosafety. These initiatives will be used to complement the efforts of the Union. The Conference of African Union Ministers of Agriculture, held in Libreville, Gabon, from November 27 to December 1, 2006, deliberated on An African Position on GMOs in Agriculture (AU 2006). The ministers recommended that the African Union set up mechanisms to identify commonalities among the Regional Economic Communities to be used to harmonize and coordinate policies on biosafety and biotechnology. Developments in regional harmonization are now con- spicuous in the COMESA region, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Southern African Development Community.


Implications of Commercializing GMOs for Intraregional Trade in Africa


Currently, three African countries have granted approvals for commercial release of GMOs. South Africa has been growing insect-resistant (Bt) cotton, Bt maize, and GM soya for more than a decade. Burkina Faso and Egypt com- mercialized Bt cotton and Bt maize, respectively, in 2008. The importance of such commodities as cotton and maize has been rec-


ognized in the region by such bodies as COMESA and the East African Community (EAC). Maize is a principal food-security commodity that dom- inates both formal and informal trade, especially in eastern and southern Africa. In 2007, the size of the regional maize market (EAC and COMESA) was estimated to be slightly more than US$1 billion. The total maize con- sumption in the region is about 16 million metric tons per year (Njukia 2006). The EAC development strategy for 2001–05 advocated liberaliza- tion of maize trade. COMESA, in collaboration with EAC and the Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support, has been exploring options for foster- ing regional maize trade. One of the strategies embraced is a “maize without borders” concept involving harmonized policies and regulatory frameworks to facilitate increased movement of maize across borders (COMESA 2003). Efforts to promote trade in cotton in the COMESA and EAC regions


have also been noted. In 2005, the first Regional Cotton and Textile Executive Summit was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting resulted in the formation of the Africa Cotton & Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) in the same year. It is a regional body composed of the cotton, textile, and apparel sectors from across Africa south of the Sahara aimed at creating a unified and recognized


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