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This draft document contains general guidelines on the creation and governance of health research ethics committees (HRECs) in Nigeria.

It also lists the principal characteristics research projects need to demonstrate in order to gain HREC approval. Research in Nigeria must have social or scientific value, be scientifically valid, ensure fair selection of participants, minimise health risks and undergo independent review. In addition, all participants of research projects must give their informed consent and be respected at all times. All projects must adhere to good clinical and laboratory practices. Researchers must do all they can to ensure their work has a lasting impact — transferring technology where appropriate and contributing to capacity building efforts.

This collection of seven policy briefs summarises recent research on the potential for transgenic improvement of banana and maize crops in East Africa. It is part of a series of briefings produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute and two other centres.

The collection provides a helpful overview of practical and inter-disciplinary research relevant to the two crops, and highlights key issues for evaluating the potential application of genetically modified technology.

The first article introduces the collection and highlights key issues. Subsequent articles assess the systems for disseminating new planting material and gauge the potential demand for transgenic banana and maize varieties in the region.

The last three articles look at biosafety risks and crop biodiversity.

In this discussion paper, Gregory Jaffe of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) evaluates the biosafety frameworks of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda against a set of nine basic principles that should characterise a "functional and protective" biosafety system. His analysis also takes into account the obligations laid down by international agreements such as the Biosafety Protocol, World Trade Organisation rules and the Codex Alimentarius.

The report recommends a number of specific improvements for each of the three countries' biosafety systems. The author also evaluates the scope for standardisation among the three countries, with a view to streamlining decisions and making best use of limited scientific and regulatory capacity.

The report will be particularly useful to policy-analysts, scientists, business-people and journalists in East Africa who want to know about the biosafety systems in the three countries, and to anyone who wishes to understand more about the basic principles of biosafety regulation in general.

This 300-page edited volume from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) arose from the first stage of an African multistakeholder dialogue that was convened in 2003 by IFPRI and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), Harare, Zimbabwe. It brought together senior policy-makers, scientists and representatives of key organisations in roundtable discussions on biotechnology and its implications for food security in southern Africa.

The book presents background material that was prepared for the roundtable. The papers address the new and unfamiliar choices facing policy makers in five key areas: intellectual property rights, biosafety, trade, food safety and consumer choice, and public research. Other chapters deal with political, ethical and policy issues and the mechanics of multistakeholder processes. The editors round off the book with chapters that summarise the issues at stake and draw together the lessons arising from the dialogue.

This readable, informative book and the initiative behind it represent an important African effort to crystalise the policy dilemmas facing decision-makers in relation to agricultural biotechnology. It will be useful to anyone wanting to understand how these policy debates are evolving.

This risk assessment for Africa, published last year, covers influenza outbreaks in poultry and their significance for human health, human cases of H5N1, vaccine research and development, the role of antivirals during a pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) support for pandemic preparedness in Africa, and recommended priority actions for African nations. The priority actions are fourfold. First, that African nations collaborate with one another, forming close links between various health sectors. Second, that existing coordinating bodies expand their role to include pandemic influenza. Third, that the surveillance and response systems are improved with the support of the WHO Regional Office. Fourth, that mechanisms be put in place to communicate messages to the public and media.

This article summarises the findings of a study undertaken by US-based academics at the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture and the State University of New Jersey.  The authors analysed data on the impact of the adoption of genetically modified Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize on corn production in seven southern African countries:  Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  The report discusses the importance of corn in southern African farming and diets and describes the process of adoption of Bt corn, which was slow at first.

The study found that both large and small-scale farmers who planted Bt cotton benefited in terms of increased yields and reduced pesticide applications, although it was impossible to quantify the latter advantage in relation to smallholders.  Small farmers said that they liked the quality of the Bt corn varieties.

The report goes on to estimate the potential impact of improved corn yield on food security in the region.  The authors conclude by discussing possible measures that might encourage small farmers to adopt the new varieties.

In this book published by IDRC science and technology policies in African countries are examined through a number of cases studies from different sectors and countries. The authors' key conclusion is that to facilitate the development of their own technological capabilities, countries need to pay more attention to creating enabling macroeconomic environments and technology policies. If successful, the combination of favourable macroeconomic and technology policies should facilitate technological learning, the right technical choices, the building up of appropriate institutions, and effective technological management for both industry and agriculture, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

In this article Mahomed A Dada and Ruweida Moorad discuss the first review undertaken of the research ethics committee at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The review aimed to provide insight into the structure, composition, procedures and workload of the committee, and to assess its strengths and weaknesses.

The findings of the review included a need to review membership of the committee so that it better reflected the demography of the region, and included representation from faith-based organisations and consumer groups, as well as a member with expertise in statistics and epidemiology.

Other findings included difficulties related to ongoing monitoring of research, concerns about consent and conflicts of interest, long delays in the turnaround of protocols and the need for formal training of committee members.

This, the first edition of South African guidelines for good practice in the conduct of clinical research, is closely related to the regulatory requirements of the country's Medicines Control Council and the National Department of Health. Noting that the South African context is an unusual combination of significant disease burden and extensive high-tech medical expertise and infrastructure, the guidelines set out "clearly articulated standards of good clinical practice in research that are also relevant to local realities and contexts". Guidance is also provided on the minimum standards that are acceptable for conducting clinical trials in South Africa. Very usefully, throughout this document there is reference to national and international guidance documents that have informed the drafting, and/or provide further context to the recommendations.

The guidance opens by setting out the principles of respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. These are considered to require that distinct components be built into research studies, including "relevant and appropriate study rationale, optimal study design, investigator competence, a balance of risks and benefits for participants, transparency, patient privacy, ethical review and impartial oversight of consent procedures". Specific sections of the guidance consider the review and approval process for research, the protection of study participants, the responsibilities of researchers and sponsors, quality assurance and data management. The final section focuses exclusively on ethical considerations for clinical and epidemiological research on HIV/AIDS.

This article analyses the ways in which African states might implement plant variety protection as part of their obligations under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.

The report summarises the legal and institutional framework of intellectual property rights, examines the possibility of developing alternative regional and domestic systems, argues the case for sui generis plant variety protection systems, and highlights lessons from India concerning the development of such systems.

The author recommends that African — and should avoid the introduction of patents or plant breeders' rights.

In South Africa the demand for indigenous medicines and services is considerable compared with the demand for western health care services, and is growing due to population growth, poverty and beliefs. As a result, the demand for the popular plants used for indigenous medicines exceeds supply.

This publication by the FAO (one of the first comprehensive market surveys of medicinal plants in southern Africa) examines the demand for, and supply of, medicinal plants in Kwazulu-Natal, and the main marketing factors at play.

The indigenous medicine market is based on indigenous plants which are generally harvested from wild plant stocks. The available plant stocks are declining as they are not managed and little cultivation takes place. The study identifies three possible scenarios, which depend the actions of key players in the markets.

It identifies the most likely scenario as the commercialisation of indigenous plant production, which will cause prices to rise and exclude less sophisticated players from the market. The costs of this scenario will be borne largely by the current consumers, who will then lose access to basic medicine because of price increases and scarcity.

The study makes several recommendations for achieving a good balance between demand and supply.

The degradation of soils poses a major threat to crop production in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In order to improve integrated nutrient-management practices, researchers need access to farmers’ knowledge and to understand their perceptions of soil fertility. A participatory survey was carried out in the semi-arid highlands of northern Ethiopia to identify and analyse local knowledge regarding soil fertility and local practices for managing it.

Farmers were found to classify their soils in three categories (fertile, moderately fertile, and poor). This classification is not limited to the soils’ perceived nutrient status. It is closely related to topography, and takes into account the soils’ depth and water-holding capacity. Soil fertility is also seen as dynamic, since a particular unit of land can become more or less fertile.

Land shortage and land fragmentation have forced farmers to abandon soil fertility management practices, such as fallowing, manuring, terracing, and using crop residues. The study found that experimentation with new practices (mineral fertilizer in combination with manure, for example) is an important type of site-specific learning that enables farmers to adapt new practices to the conditions in which they live and work.

(This article also has a summary in French.)

An extensive (62 page) inventory examining the current status of agricultural biotechnology in countries belonging to The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) — Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

While not exhaustive, this inventory lists transgenic crops that are potentially available for field testing or commercial release within the next two to five years. The document was prepared for ASARECA primarily in order to provide the organisation with background information that enables them to develop their strategy for biotechnology research in the Eastern and Central Africa region. However, the authors also hope to demonstrate the potential benefits — in the short and longer term — of agricultural biotechnology to Africa.

The report is clearly written and provides much useful background information as well as brief descriptions of current projects.

Despite an element of pessimism that often surrounds dialogues about African agriculture, there are numerous examples of localised successes. Following an extensive survey of over 100 experts in African agriculture, the authors of this discussion paper identify common factors linked to such success and suggest how these might underpin broad-based agricultural growth in Africa.

Numerous "success stories" are cited, and include commodity driven (such as improved crop varieties), activity-led (including policy reforms), institutional successes (including market organisations) and country-level successes (such as the agriculturally-powered post-independence period in the Ivory Coast).

Analysis of each of these cases reveals that the actions and attitudes of individual farmers and trading firms are central to success. The public sector also has a key role to play in helping influence change for individuals as well as the external environment. In addition, science-based technology emerges as a strong driver of agricultural growth in Africa.

The paper's authors conclude that better incentives for change must be provided, as well as means to respond to these incentives. Success is also likely to follow where new technology is being adopted.