A Comparative Analysis of the South African and Burkinabe Experiences with Genetically Modified Crop Regulation

Over the past two decades, the adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops has been moderate in Africa with mainly four countries, namely South Africa, Burkina Faso, Egypt and Sudan that commercialize such crops. While South Africa is set on the commercial cultivation of GM maize, soya and cotton, Burkina Faso intends to phase out its only approved GM crop (insect-resistant cotton) as from 2016. This paper analyses the genetically modified organism (GMO) regulatory experiences of South Africa and Burkina Faso as the two biggest African GM crop producers and highlights their similarities and differences as well as strengths and weaknesses in the light of their international obligations regarding biosafety. The paper starts with an overview of key international obligations on biosafety followed by a summary of the South African and Burkinabe GMO regulatory frameworks. It then compares main aspects of their GMO decision-making processes (their institutional framework, the scope of GMO-related activities covered, their risk and impact assessment mechanism, public participation in decision-making) and follow-up mechanisms (access to information through labelling of GMOs, post-approval mechanism, and liability regime for GMO-related damage).