Table 4 Summary of policy priority for present and future development of GM biofortified foods
From: Developing GM super cassava for improved health and food security: future challenges in Africa
Summary points | |
|---|---|
1. | Engage local institutions and communities in introduction and adoption of new technology |
2. | Educate the public, farmers, government institutions, the media and private companies to increase understanding of GM technology through communication |
3. | Establish biosafety cost effective risk-benefit assessments of GMOs |
4. | Adapt local capacity to assess and safeguard human health and the environment upon the release of GMO products |
5. | Aligned support for national plans on nutrition and health issues must be clearly spelled out in government policy by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health |
6. | Identify and support national agricultural research institutes and industries that focus on nutrition enhancement and improvement (for example, biofortified food) |
7. | Build national data resources to monitor the progress and impact of biofortified products |
8. | Conduct an ex-ante cost benefit analysis to identify and assess potential market opportunities for biofortified products in different regions including rural areas |
9. | Improve infrastructure, processing and marketing sectors for biofortified products |
10. | Set up well defined terms, agreements and legal structures on IPR between local seed sectors and multinational companies |
11. | Introduce policies that specifically target and address the underlying social, economic and political causes of undernutrition as technological solutions alone may not address the root causes of these problems. |