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By Annonciata Byukusenge
We need technology in agriculture because it will help in coping with food security issues in Rwanda. Said by Director General Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) Dr Telesphore Ndabamenye.
It was on this Monday 27 May 2024 in his opening remarks of a workshop of two days on science communication for Rwandan science journalists and scientists with a team from different regulatory agencies in Rwanda like Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), and Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) on Biosafety Regulatory Risk Assessment and Decision Making on Product Release in Rwanda.
Some of its objectives are to enhance skills in Agricultural Biotechnology reporting to contribute to evidence-based decision-making; Facilitate insightful conversations to enhance agricultural science literacy among journalists and the wider public, and Demystify complex agricultural biotechnological concepts through engaging discussions and interactive sessions and inspire curiosity and intellectual inquiry among participants, empowering them to actively engage with agricultural biotechnology topics.
The Director RAB Dr Telesphore Ndabamenye, highlighted that technology is necessary for agriculture. “To have food requires to have technology. We are working on the cassava crops and we hope that technology will help us to make a difference in our agriculture as it helps in other sectors.”
Dr. Athanase Nduwumuremyi is a scientist and researcher at RAB. He said that technology is working in Rwanda and the agriculture sector has started to make a difference.
“The cassava crops transformed through technology will be distributed to the farmers after confirmation of using biotechnology in Rwanda. Those GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops also resist the impacts of climate change, because climate change also contributes to the food security issues.”
The other important thing of technology in agriculture is to resolve the problem of diseases affecting plants like bananas, potatoes, and cassava. On cassava crops the mosaic disease is dangerous. This disease affected cassava crops three years ago, in the Southern province, of Amayaga Region.
The economy of the Amayaga Region was cassava, but the Mosaic disease disturbed their economy. We hope that biotechnology will resolve this problem. Dr. Athanase Nduwumuremyi added.
After law confirmation cassava will distributed to the farmers because the trial is in the final phase and there is an idea to continue with the potatoes and maize.
LAW GOVERNING BIOSAFETY
* Biosafety Law was published
* Ongoing elaboration of implementing orders: Prime Minister’s Order and a
Ministerial Orders
* Biosafety Law purpose: The law establishes an adequate level of protection in the field of the safe transfer and use of living-modified organisms, resulting from modern biotechnology that may hurt the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity while taking into consideration the impact of the transfer and use on human health
* Scope of the Biosafety Law: The law applies to the transboundary movement, transit, and use of all living modified organisms through modern biotechnology, that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and risks to human health. However, living modified organisms that are pharmaceuticals for human use are not governed by this law.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* National Agriculture Policy: Supports research on agricultural biotechnology
* National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
“Promote research in new and emerging technologies: formation of research clusters in S&T fields including artificial intelligence, space, cyber security, e-commerce, digital health, biotechnology, nanotechnology, quantum sciences, neurosciences, genetic engineering, internet of things, big data, quantum technologies, photonics, nuclear sciences, and precision agriculture”.
* Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA)
* Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA)
* Rwanda Food and Drug Authority (RFDA)
This workshop was organized by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) Rwanda Chapter.
