The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), has convened stakeholders in Abuja to validate the National Biosafety Guidelines on Progeny Lines and Hybrid Seeds Derived from Biotech-based Hybrid Seed Systems (BbHSS).
BbHSS technologies are transforming hybrid seed production by replacing conventional manual processes such as detasseling and emasculation with precise molecular and genetic tools.
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With the technologies emerging in Nigeria’s seed systems, stakeholders say clear regulatory guidance is essential to provide researchers, seed companies and farmers with certainty on requirements and expectations.
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The draft guidelines provide a science-based, case-by-case framework for determining the regulatory status of BbHSS-derived progeny lines and hybrid seeds. They were developed in accordance with the NBMA Act, 2015, as amended, and Nigeria’s obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
The validation workshop brought together representatives of government agencies, research institutions, seed companies, civil society organisations and farmers’ groups to review the draft guidelines and adopt them as a national working document.
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Declaring the workshop open, the NBMA Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Fatima Suleiman-Zuntu, reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to maintaining a regulatory system that keeps pace with scientific advancement while safeguarding the safety of biotechnology products in Nigeria.
The guidelines are expected to provide greater clarity for stakeholders and support the responsible integration of biotechnology innovations into Nigeria’s agricultural and seed systems.