ITS "GREY AREA" FOR ZAMBIA'S GENOME EDITING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

ZAMBIA'S GENOME EDITING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY HITS SNAG

...for now , it's a grey area, we have only concentrated on developing the STI policy-says Jane Chinkusu.


By Alfonso Kasongo
Zambia's  quest to embrace new agricultural scientific techniques and innovations such as genome-editing to enhanced uptake of science for optimized agriculture in the country, continues to face numerous challenges despite fears of food insecurity due to adverse impacts of climate change.

In December, 2022, with the support from AUDA-NEPAD, Zambia began the process of developing a genome-editing communication strategy with the aim to foster broader understanding of the new biotechnology technique. 


The Southern African nation is among other five African countries which AUDA-NEPAD  identified for the development of the Genome Editing communication strategies with the goal to widen the understanding of new biotechnology technique in respective countries.

 A consortium of different stakeholders which included government line officials. biotechnology ,health experts, researchers, religious organizations ,media and science communication and advocacy organizations convened in Lusaka to devise the strategy.

Ms Chinkusu- Dir. STI- MoTS-pic courtesy of MoTS


However,government has confirmed that nothing  has been done to spearhead
 the process of validating the strategy, a year after a document was drafted and submitted for consideration.

In an interview with ministry of Technology, Science and Innovation (MoTS) ,government discloses that as of now," the development of the communication strategy is a 'grey area'.

MoTS Director Technology Science and Innovation Jane Chinkusu says government has not agreed with its key quasi departments, which of them will spearhead the process.

Ms. Chinkusu adds that her ministry has only concentrated on developing the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)  policy.
"From the ministry,we have not been working on the communication strategy because we are doing the STI policy," Ms. Chinkusu said.

Meanwhile she emphasises that it is not possible for the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) to spearhead the process as it is a regulator of biosafety in the country adding that the possibility is therefore,left with the National Science and Technology (NSTC).

But when contacted for a comment, NSTC could not be reached at press time.

And Ms. Chinkusu clarifies AUDA-NEPAD's participation in the process saying the AU science, technology and innovation branch was merely educating Zambia on the possibility and importance of having such innovative technologies in the agriculture sector.

Unlike the GM process which involves the introduction of organism that possesses a novel combination of genes ,genome-editing uses targeted specific manipulation by knocking out or replacing targeted genes within the organism, which results in model organisms with intentionally selected and desired traits.

Conversely, transgenic technology randomly integrates foreign DNA into the genome of a model organism in order to introduce new traits.

In 2002,Republican President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa surprised the world when his government declined to accept the GM maize from the United States of America after  Zambia was seriously hit with worst droughts.

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