World Earth Day: Stakeholders canvass for adoption of biotechnology for food security

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the World Earth Day, stakeholders in agricultural and biotechnology sector have called for the adoption of biotechnology in addressing the food insecurity in the country.

Biotechnology adoption in food production has been a burning issue in Nigeria as some stakeholders in the agricultural sector question the safety of the adoption of the technology, while some Stakeholders and expert said that it is long overdue for Nigeria to embrace the technology.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which is a biotechnology for improving food production have been adopted in some Western countries; some African countries have also embraced this technology to improve agricultural productivity.

GMOs are all about altering the gene of a particular plant or crop so that it can behave in a manner of which it was altered for.

For instance if a crop is not resistant to a particular disease or pest, the scientists can extract a gene of another plant which is resistant to that particular disease or pest and inject it in the other crop that does not have resistance so that it have start resisting attacks from that disease or pest.

Some Stakeholders in the agricultural sector argued that following the mutilation of these plants gene, it may have a negative effect in the future which Nigeria may not be ready to face at that time. However other stakeholders said that the GMOs are like other plants that we consume daily, adding that it can foster food security in the country.

The Head of Agriculture Division of the ECOWAS Commission, Ernest Aubee, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, said the ECOWAS has a biotechnology technology action plan which it is currently implementing across the 15 member states. The Nigerian government already has a National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), which primary objective is to regulate the use of biotechnology in the country.

Currently, the NBMA said that Nigeria have not approved the use of any Genetically Modified Organisms in the country, but it is currently test running some GMOs which will be released in the future after it has undergone both human health and environment test.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria population is growing enormously, currently, the some parts of the North-east experienced famine and the conventional seeds appeared not to be productive due to some reasons ranging from seed adulteration and soil infertility.

It is at this backdrop that some Stakeholders called on the Nigerian government to reconsider its stand on biotechnology for food production, so that the country can produce enough to feed the population.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Belema Wakama during the March for science organised by the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) said Nigeria population is projected to become 400 million by 2050 and the conventional way of farming will not meet up the demand for food.

According to her, “at the current population of over 180 million people and the projected population of 400 million people by 2050,Nigeria is faced with the risk of decreased farming population due to age; decreased arable land; poverty, malnutrition and hunger because the conventional method of agriculture can no longer meet up with our demand. Science holds the solution to our food security.”

The ECOWAS head of Agriculture Division, Aubee also said science is a catalyst that can ensure that we improve agriculture, infrastructure and health.

“The ECOWAS commission has a biotechnology action plan that it is implementing currently in the 15 member States and part of the activities of this action plan is the sensitization, research into biotechnology so that people have the right information, evidence based information to take the right decision,” he said.

Aubee further said that biotechnology has helped some countries who have adopted the technology to accelerate their food security, stressing that the Commission is currently working towards using biotechnology to improve agriculture in the 15 member states.

“Biotechnology has helped some number of countries to accelerate food security, so the ECOWAS commission is working in all the 15 member States on how to use this technology so that it can improve on our agriculture, food security without having any negative consequences on the population.

“We are developing even a regulation on biosecurity to ensure that we focus on the positive side of biotechnology and eliminate the negative consequences people tend to push forward most of the time,” he added.

Furthermore, Wakama said “agricultural biotechnology and genetic improvement is recognized all over the world as a solution to food security, Scientific and regulatory agencies around the world have repeatedly and consistently found crops and food improved through biotechnology to be safe.”

Speaking further on science, Aubee said the ECOWAS commission has a science policy and research project that deals with agricultural research technology innovation and transfer.

According to him “science is real, science is for life and through science we can achieve rapid socio-economic development. At the level of ECOWAS Commission, we have got a science policy called West African productivity programme that deals with agricultural research technology innovation and transfer.”

Similarly Wakama said modern science in Nigeria is awakened by the continuous and hard efforts of outstanding scientists and researchers who attempt scientific advances of highest international caliber. “Just like other scientists across the world, Nigerian scientists have developed various scientific tools that can help in the area of food security, which the public have not been fully aware of,” she said.

Also, the Director-General of NABDA, Professor Lucy Ogbadu while calling on Nigerians to join voices to call for the adoption of biotechnology, said that Nigerian scientists have developed scientific tools that can help address food security.

“Just like other scientists across the world, Nigerian scientists have developed various scientific tools that can help in the area of food security but they are not equipped to effectively communicate this.

“The march for science provides yet another opportunity for science supporters to come together, join voices to amplify available science-based solutions the nation can adopt to ensure food security, affordable health care delivery system, industrialization and environmental sustainability,” she added.