Without science, innovation, food security cannot be achieved — NBRDA

The Director of Agricultural Biotechnology at the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), Dr Rose Gidado has harped on the need to adopt science and innovative food production, stressing that it is the only way to achieve food security.

Interacting with journalists at the Biotechnology and Biosafety Forum held in Abuja, Dr Gidado said with biotechnology, Nigeria can achieve its target of ensuring that no child goes hungry.

She further noted that Biotechnology contributes and success stories have been recorded in countries like the USA, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. Dr Gidado stressed that Nigeria was in the same space with Brazil, but now Brazil has moved far and they are food secured with the help of biotechnology.

“Food security is of utmost importance in the country, it is a matter of emergency and you cannot achieve that food security without the use of innovation, science, and technology, and we have this modern biotechnology practice which has a lot of potential for food security enhancement and for us to really get where we want to be, where no child goes to bed hungry.

“Biotechnology contributes a lot to food security, we have seen the success stories of other countries that have adopted this modern technology, like the USA, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. We were all in the same space with Brazil, but now Brazil has moved far and today they are food secured with the help of biotechnology.

“Here in Africa, when the adoption of this technology came in for the government of Africa to adopt, most of these people have been inundated with a lot of negative information about this technology, so taking decision became a big problem because of the misinformation and disinformation, causing confusing and panic in the minds of people that products of GMOs cause cancer and diseases”, she said.

Dr Gidado noted that scientists that actually came up with this technology, put up a safety valve in it because they are responsible people.

She further noted that Nigeria took a stand since 2001, biotechnology policy was launched, then biosafety issues came in because the use of this technology is not only in agriculture, but the problem is only in agriculture because it has to do with food.

“So, with all this negative information, we have been working hard, in fact, to be able to get to where we are today in Nigeria because of advocacy and awareness creation that we have put on by the OFAB since 2003.

“We have three crops today being commercialized, but why we are worried is that this is the time that we should reap the benefits of this, commercialization has started, and farmers have had access to these seeds, but with this negative information going on, we need the consumers to accept the technology because when the farmers fail to sell off their produce, it will become useless.

“So, we felt as government agencies, we cannot work against one another, the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency and the National Biosafety Management Agency will have to work together,” she added.