By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 6 January 2026 - The East African Community (EAC) has launched an ambitious regional biotechnology strategy designed to harmonise policies across partner states, promote innovation and ensure that safety remains at the heart of biotechnology development and deployment for the next decade.
The strategy, developed through the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), was validated in a multi-stakeholder workshop attended by delegates from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and other partners.
Speaking during the validation forum in Nairobi, Dr Sylvance Okoth, Executive Secretary of EASTECO, said biotechnology holds immense potential to transform key sectors, including agriculture, health, industry and the environment, but that realising these benefits requires robust safety frameworks and harmonised regulatory systems across the region.
“Biotechnology, along with sound biosafety and biosecurity measures, holds immense potential to transform key sectors of our economies,” he said, emphasising that aligning national policies will help overcome fragmented approaches that have previously slowed innovation and complicated cross-border trade.
At its core, the strategy, which will guide regional biotechnology development from 2026 to 2036, seeks to strengthen systems for biosafety, biosecurity and public engagement, ensuring that innovations are safe, effective and ethically deployed.
The plan also prioritises policy, legal and institutional frameworks that will support research and commercialisation of biotechnological products while addressing public concerns about safety and environmental impacts.
According to Josphat Muchiri, Acting Director for Biosafety Awareness, Assessment and Collaborations at Kenya’s National Biosafety Authority, the strategy will help ensure that partner states adopt consistent standards for the safe use of genetic technologies, including genome editing and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Muchiri highlighted Kenya’s own biosafety infrastructure and ongoing work under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, noting that harmonised regional systems will boost confidence among scientists, farmers and consumers.
Biotechnology governance in the EAC is already framed by international agreements such as the Cartagena Protocol and other biosafety conventions, which mandate safe handling and transfer of genetically modified organisms, taking into account risks to biodiversity and human health.
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Partner states have established National Biosafety Committees (NBCs) to regulate these technologies, but differing national rules have historically created barriers to innovation and trade across borders.
One of the strategy’s key pillars is public awareness and engagement, critical components given widespread misconceptions about biotechnology.
Experts note that many people associate biotechnology only with genetically modified foods, overlooking its broader applications in disease diagnostics, vaccines, climate-resilient crops and bio-industrial processes.
Harmonised outreach efforts are intended to build public trust, understanding and acceptance across the region.
Regional integration advocates say the strategy also aligns with major continental and global development frameworks, including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the EAC Vision 2050, which prioritise science, technology and innovation as engines of economic growth and sustainable development.
While the strategy sets a roadmap for the next decade, its success will depend on implementation, investment and coordinated governance among EAC partner states.
Development partners, including the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, have pledged support for capacity building and technical assistance to help translate the strategy into concrete outcomes that boost regional food security, health innovations and industrial competitiveness.
