Agriculture

Stakeholders elated by progress of agric biotechnology

STAKEHOLDERS from science and agriculture sector in Africa have expressed satisfaction with the successes recorded in Nigeria and other countries on biotechnology adoption.

This is just as they said that the continent will not be a battle ground for genetically modified technology.

The stakeholders said biotechnology in food shouldn’t be too stringent to a point where it holds countries back from progressing in the sector.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting involving biosafety officials from Ethiopia, Mozambique and Kenya in Abuja, the Head of Policy and Regulatory, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Francis Nang’ayo, said Nigeria’s commercial release of the Pod Borer (PBR) cowpea is an evidence and a milestone that Africa should be proud of.

He noted that the success Nigeria has recorded made them to bring together partners from other country to understudy Nigeria’s successes so that they use the model in their various countries.

In her remarks, The Director General of the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique, Dr. Olga Fafetine, said Africa cannot continue to rely on foreign aids for food supply that are often genetically modified while the continent has potential to do same.

Dr Olga said, with what she has learnt from Nigeria, she would go to her country to ensure that they follow all standards and regulations required in using biotechnology boost food production.

Also, the President of Biotechnology Society and Chairman Variety Release Committee of Ethiopia, Professor Firew Mekbib, said no one should detect when or how to apply biotechnology to Africans.

He said: “No one can prescribe to us what technology to adopt or reject, now we have biotechnology evidence and successes here in Africa, we don’t need to go to the US, Brazil and Argentina.

“Now we have very good evidence for instance in PBR cowpea in Nigeria so no one can tell us whether biotechnology works for Africa or not because we already have the evidence and we can attest to that”.

The Director-General National Biotechnology Agency (NABDA) Professor Abdullahi Mustapha NABDA, said Africans need to come together, learn from each other and find a solution that is going to be accepted within the continent and promote scientific findings.

“This will spur us to do more in the area of adopting and releasing some crops to catapult the development of our economy and agriculture”, he said.

The West African representative, AATF, Dr Jean Baptiste, also noted that biotechnology will be successful in a few years to help farmers achieve high productivity.

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