Ghana has been selected to host this year's ECOWAS Ministerial Meeting on Biotechnology and Bio-safety. The meeting will discuss and endorse the ECOWAS sub-regional action plan on biotechnology and safety.

The Coordinator at the West and Central Africa Office of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Professor Walter Alhassan announced this at a news conference in Accra, Wednesday.

He said ECOWAS has endorsed creating a regional framework for bio-safety that will harmonise bio-safety regulations in the sub-region. Professor Alhassan said a draft law for bio-safety in Ghana is currently before cabinet.

He said food and nutrition remain Africa"s most fundamental challenges for human welfare and economic growth. Prof. Alhassan said appropriate technologies including biotechnology are needed to exploit the genetic resource that abounds in Africa to address the concerns of food insecurity.

He urged African countries to consciously invest in the training of scientists and provide the needed infrastructure and develop products of modern biotechnology including genetically modified foods.

This strategic science, he said should not rely solely on donor assistance but attract immediate investment by African leaders.

Prof. Alhassan urged Ghana and other West African countries to accelerate the development of their bio-safety laws to allow the safe introduction of GM products and control the illegal importation of such products.