Agricultural biotechnology is becoming the dominant sector in the area of cop improvement through applying advanced research of crop genetic modification by altering or modifying a single trait which is conferring resistance to biotic, abiotic stress and improving quality. Now a day many genetically modified crops are commercialized and under development. Though this, many contrasting ideas are raising from time to time regarding the biosafety concerns of genetically modified crops on the environment, human health, food/feed safety, economic and political etc. This review paper explains and overviews majorly raised biosafety issues of GM crops, their potential risks and the status GM crops in Ethiopia with the aim of addressing the potential risks for the readers in Ethiopia.

Noug (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f) Cass) is an important edible oil-producing crop. Ethiopia is the center of origin and diversity for noug and thousands of noug accessions are being maintained at the Gene Bank in Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI). The crop is grown mainly for edible oil and the by-product named as noug-cake is widely used as animal feed. However, the production and productivity of noug is too low compared to other oilseed crops mainly due to the self-incompatible nature of the crop species, shattering, lodging, indeterminate growth habit, pests, and diseases. The development and application of molecular resources and tools have played a great role in the improvement of oilseed crops worldwide. Although conventional breeding has been used to develop commercial noug varieties, the application of modern genomic tools to enhance the use of noug germplasm resources is very limited. In this work, we have reviewed the scientific literature available on the development and application of molecular resources on oil-producing crops and specifically reveal research gaps on noug genetic improvement and highlight broadly applicable and affordable short-term strategic interventions.

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