Alone or together? Can cross-national convergence of biosafety systems contribute to food security in SSA?

The quest for effective mechanisms to regulate modern biotechnology has elicited policy responses at various levels the world over, with the main multilateral framework being the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are at various levels towards developing and implementing domestic frameworks that comply with this Protocol. In addition, several efforts have been made towards regional cooperation in biosafety. After tracing the motivations and imperatives behind these efforts, the challenges and successes met, this paper proposes anchoring the regional cooperation agenda on food security if a consistent and unifying cross-national biotechnology governance framework is to emerge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.