Senegal: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
The Government of Cote d’Ivoire having finally adopted the Cartagena Protocol in June 2015, is drafting the biosafety law for Parliament approval. Burkinabe farmers and cotton industries are complaining about the short length of Bt cotton fiber, and cotton industries are asking Monsanto for compensation on losses from cotton fiber sale in MY2014/2015. Stakeholders said that they will reduce area planted to Bt cotton from 70 percent to 50 percent maximum in MY 2015/16 . The Burkinabe Parliament adopted a law that changes the status of the National Biosafety Agency into an administrative entity with legal authority under independent management. In February 2015, ministries in charge of biosafety issues from respective WAEMU countries met in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) to adopt the regional biosafety law with the recommended changes on article 25 related to notification and authorization of GMOs and derived products. Senegal is keen on revising its biosafety law. Although, the process has not started yet, it intends to be completed by the end of 2015.
