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On May 22, 2025, FAS Jakarta organized the Indonesia Agricultural Biotechnology Showcase highlighting to Government of Indonesia (GOI) officials, university students, and other stakeholders Indonesia’s advances in the field of agricultural biotechnology.

In January 2024, Nigeria became the second country in Africa to approve the commercial release of four biotech (TELA) maize varieties.

Research and development of agricultural biotechnology in Indonesia continue to progress gradually. Over the past year, around 10 GE crop events have obtained food and feed approval, although only one has received environmental approval for domestic cultivation. To date, more than 50 crop events have received food and feed safety certificates.

From March 4-6, 2024, 26 representatives from all ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste participated in a USDA-funded agricultural biotechnology workshop - along with dozens of private sector stakeholders at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In January 2024, Nigeria approved the commercial release of four TELA maize varieties, which have been genetically engineered for improved insect-resistance and drought-tolerance. In addition to South Africa, Nigeria has become the second country in...

In July 2023, President Tinubu declared an "immediate state of emergency on food insecurity" to address high food prices and lackluster agricultural production. Nigeria is considered by some in Africa to be a leader in agricultural biotechnology as it has researched, tested, evaluated, and commercialized several biotech products, including cowpea, a staple crop for smallholder farmers across West Africa.

President Jokowi stated his support for the utilization of genetically engineered (GE) crops (i.e., soybeans) in his September 2022 speech. To date, ten GE events have been allowed for cultivation in Indonesia (i.e., one GE sugarcane, one GE potato...

Nigeria has taken an increasingly active role in biotechnology research and development in Africa – spurred by the solid support of the Government of Nigeria (GON). In September 2022, Nigeria hosted regulators from Mozambique and Ethiopia to learn more about Nigeria’s biotechnology regulatory experience.

Following the approval of a GE potato variety in July 2021, the Government of Indonesia approved four GE corn events for domestic commercial cultivation in February 2022. The U.S. exported nearly $2.2 billion in GE-derived products to Indonesia in 2021.

In December 2020, the Government of Nigeria through the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) authorized guidelines on gene editing.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has released Regulation No. 50/2020, which for the first time provides post-monitoring guidelines for the commercial cultivation of GE crops.

Since the commercial release of Bt Cowpea in January 2019, Nigeria biotech regulatory authorities are forging ahead with other approvals.