The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) is an open discussion forum with six Chapters in Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso. OFAB - Ghana is a platform that brings together all stakeholders in Biotechnology to interact and discuss biotechnology in order to bring awareness of the technology and provide correct information to all stakeholders. These include scientists, journalists and media personnel, farmers, consumers, students from secondary and tertiary institutions, agriculture extension officers, traditional rulers, civil society, and policy makers. Local languages are used during discussions for better understanding of issues. The Vision of OFAB Ghana Chapter is to promote and sustain a well informed and interactive society capable of making informed decisions regarding research, development, regulation and commercialization of agricultural biotechnology products. The Mission of OFAB Ghana Chapter is to facilitate and promote dialogue and inter-national collaboration among stakeholders on agricultural biotechnology through constructive discourse and networking. Activities have resulted in Media and Consumer Associations having better understanding of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), dissemination of right information on biotechnology has improved, outreach programmes/visits to regions have resulted in wider audience/stakeholders, study tours have provided avenues to visit biotechlogy facilities and farms where biotech crops are grown. Farmers and scientists were taken to the Bt-Cotton fields in Burkina Faso, amongst others. The concerns of OFAB Ghana Chapter are for self-sufficiency in crops and animal productivity in the country for food security and economic empowerment of farmers and Ghana. OFAB aims at eliminating food hand-outs from other countries through self-sufficiency. Concerns also include dissemination of correct information about biotechnology, biotech trials to be open and discussed, safe products to be released, crops and animals multiplied to alleviate hunger eg. maize, soya bean, cotton, tomato, papaya; and sheep, cattle, poultry. Also improved health delivery in drugs and vaccine production e.g. small pox; and also insulin for diabetes; improved industrial applications such as cleaning up of oil spills and conversion of organic waste. Biotechnology is the use of scientific methods to produce genetically modified food crops that are more pest, disease and drought resistant and with short maturity periods. It is a technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives to make or modify products or processes for specific uses. The Biosafety Law in Ghana was passed in December 2011, signed into law by the late President Prof. Evans Atta Mills with Government assent to the Biosafety Act 831 of 2011. Leading Institutions involved in biotechnology in Ghana are CSIR, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, BNARI of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG). These institutions are involved in research and development activities in Plant pathology, molecular breeding, conventional breeding and tissue culture Application of modern biotechnology is in the area of medicine in the production of vaccines and hormones e.g insulin for diabetes; in industry for cleaning up of oil spills and also in the conversion of organic waste and also in agriculture where improved varieties of major crops like maize, soya bean, cotton etc can be produced. The focus of OFAB is in the area of agriculture so as to address the problem/challenges of weeds, pests and diseases and pesticide use, crops and animal yield through selection of plants and animals good trait for multiplication by manipulation of the genetic material and tissue culture to increase planting material. Other problems are spoilage due to over-ripening of perishable crops like tomatoes and papaya during transportation over long distances or during marketing. Delayed Ripening Technology is in use in the US, Canada and Mexico to delay ripening of tomatoes, melons and in South East Asia, the technology is used for papaya. This improves the quality of the crop since the shelf-life is extended, thus minimizing losses to the farmer and consumer. Tissue culture is an area of modern biotechnology. It involves taking part of an adult plant, cutting it into little pieces, treating it to kill any fungi or bacteria on them, putting the pieces into nutrient agar that contain the plant food so it could survive and produce shoots. The plantlet is nourished further to produce roots and leaves. It is then planted in covered pots to nurture it further to get stronger and then finally transferred to soil to continue growth in the field. This modern technology can be applied to crops like pineapple, banana and plantain. Modern biotechnology can be used to select useful genes for drought and herbicide tolerance, insect resistance on crops like maize and cotton, improvement in nutritional quality as used in golden rice production and delayed ripening of crops like tomatoes, melons and papaya. Weeds harbour insects and disease pests that contaminate the harvest and reduce crop yield and quality. Weeds clog irrigation and drainage systems in agricultural systems. Through modern biotechnology, herbicide tolerant plants can be produced as a vital tool for fighting weeds thus reducing the number of spray in a season and avoiding burning and fuel use to create an environmentally friendly situation. The use of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) Insect Resistance Technology involves inserting the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the plant where toxins in the form of proteins are produced to kill the kill cotton bollworm and corn borers on the plants. This is achieved through modern biotechnology. Modern biotechnology has been used to enhance the nutritional quality of crops like the Golden Rice with fortification with vitamin A. Deficiency in vitamin A causes blindness especially in children. Micronutrient fortification of common cereals can be effected through genetic engineering. This has been achieved through insertion of three foreign genes for critical enzymes for ß-carotene biosynthesis in rice plant. The benefits of GMOs are numerous and include higher yields when the weeds and pests are controlled so that there will be reduced farm costs due to decrease in hiring of farm hands and purchase and application of insecticides to effect increased profits for the farmers. Also it will result in increased health benefits for our farmers. It will enable crops with increased nutritional properties to be produced through for instance vit A fortification. In addition, drought-resistant crops will be produced to address the effects of climate change especially in drought prone areas. The potential issues of introducing allergens and other anti-nutrients into food, transgenes escaping into wild relatives, pests evolving resistance to toxins produced by GM crops, toxins possibly affecting other non-target organisms thereby affecting the ecosystem, development of ‘super weeds’ as plants become resistant to herbicides, and socio-economic/cultural/ethical factors such as dependence on multi-national seed companies and farmers with small holdings being pushed out of business are all perceived risks or threats. Major GMO-growing countries in million hectares include USA, Brazil, Argentina, India, China, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Egypt in the areas of maize, soybeans, cotton, tomatoes, papaya, depending on the country’s preference. Other Sub-Saharan African countries currently working on GM crops are Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. There has been increased interest in GMOs and about 16.7 million farmers in 29 countries planted 160 million hectares (395 million acres) in 2011, a sustained increase of 8% or 12 million hectares (30 million acres) over 2010. Since then increases have been observed in crop production in 2012. However, GM crops are regulated to assure food and environment safety. The Cartagena Protocol which was adopted on 29th January 2000, entered into force on 11th September 2003 and was acceded by Ghana on 30th May, 2003. This protocol addresses the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) that may affect biodiversity, human health and environment. It focuses on trans-boundary movements of LMOs, allows sovereign states independence in accepting agricultural products of LMOs and communicates decisions through the Biosafety Clearing House. Thirty-seven African countries that have ratified or acceded to the Cartagena Protocol are Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. In the Asia and Pacific regions, 33 countries have acceded, while the others are 19 countries in Central & Eastern Europe, 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 20 countries in Western Europe and others. The Biosafety framework for Ghana has put in place a National Biosafety Committee and Technical Advisory Committees. There is a framework for administrative guidelines, regulatory systems, risk assessment and management as well as mechanisms for public participation and information dissemination. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are 200 million chronically undernourished people, 40 million children chronically underweight, 50 million mostly children suffer from vit. A-deficiency, and 65 % of women of childbearing age being anaemic. The causes have been as a result of drought, floods, pests and diseases, poverty, civil wars and displacement. This clearly provides food for thought that a boost in agriculture and modern biotechnological activities to increase food production and reduce spoilage drastically to feed the populace with crops like genetically modified maize, soya beans, rice, tomatoes, yam, plantain and cassava will be the best option to take. There are already three trials on GMO’s in Ghana. These include two by CSIR-Crops Research Institute on rice and sweet potato, and one trial at CSIR-SARI on Bt-cowpea. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have emphasized reducing hunger, poverty and diseases by 50% by the year 2015. Goals 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 respectively aims at eradication of extreme hunger and poverty; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability. Ghana must therefore encourage farmers to embrace modern biotechnology to boost agricultural production. OFAB Ghana chapter was launched in August, 2011 by Madam Sherry Ayittey of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology. OFAB Ghana Chapter is headed by the Country Coordinator who is the Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) who works closely with the Focal Person and other Programming Committees and Assistants. Dr. Margaret Ottah Atikpo is the Focal Person-OFAB Ghana Chapter and Head of the Microbiology Division of the CSIR-Food Research Institute.