Ministers attending the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Ministerial Conference on Biotechnology have adopted a resolution asking member countries to prepare their national biosafety frameworks by 1 July 2006, so as to facilitate harmonization in the region by 2008. The conference, held from 21-28 June 2005 in Bamako, Mali, also produced a number of other resolutions, which addressed: adoption of measures by the ECOWAS Secretariat to facilitate implementation of a regional strategic plan on biosafety; increased budget allocations to agriculture; and prioritization of funding research for biotechnology tools for small farmers.