Nigeria close to leading Africa in safe biotechnology-NABDA D-G
Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), says Nigeria is not far from taking the lead in Africa in safe biotechnology. He said this in an interview in Abuja on Friday.
He said, "Due to Nigeria's giant strides and achievements in the safe application of biotechnology, notably agricultural biotechnology, the country has now become a study tour delight for other African countries."
Mustapha said that large and long-term investments have been made by Nigeria and several countries in Africa to access, develop and commercialise safe biotechnology crops derived through modern biotechnology.
"On December 19, 2019, Nigeria took the world by surprise by becoming the first country to commercialise the transgenic food crop, Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea(beans).
"This was in addition to the biotech (Bt) cotton the country already commercialised in July 2018.
"Nigeria is already leading Africa to industrialisation through PBR Cowpea and Bt Cotton,'' the D-G said.
Mustapha recalled that Nigeria was the first country in the world to approve the cultivation of Bt Cowpea.
He added,"all together, Africa now has four approved biotech and genetically modified crops, which are cotton, cowpea, maize, and soybean."
Mustapha listed the six crops undergoing research and development to include banana, cassava, potato, rice, sorghum, and plantain.
He said the world's first genetically modified PBR Cowpea was already revolutionalising Nigeria's food production through tremendous yield and quick harvest
The D-G assured that PBR Cowpea was also climate-smart, reducing chemical insecticide spray by more than sixty per cent and also increasing farmers' income by eighty per cent.
According to him, "apart from an increase in yield, which is far greater in tonnes per hectare than the local variety, it also prevents the environment from pollution arising from insecticide spray, among others."
Responding to questions on the role of biotechnology in improving agricultural productivity, Mustapha said biotechnology tools have the potential to revolutionise agriculture, therefore certainly not a tool to ignore.
"Like most technologies, biotechnology is not immune to risk, but feeding the world without destroying the planet is an urgent and critical challenge that requires using every possible tool in the toolbox."
"Increasing crop yield to meet current and future demand of the world population requires a multi-combinatorial approach, and biotechnology forms the backbone," he said.'
Mustapha said statistics from the national intelligence council report on global trends in 2021 estimated that by 2040, modern biotechnology could potentially contribute 20 per cent of the world economy.
He maintained that modern biotechnology tools offered great potential for enhancing agricultural productivity, food and nutritional security, as well as the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa.
The D-G added, "All of these were possible because modern biotechnology makes use of genetic modification technology."
Mustapha said several advancements have been made recently in Africa towards biotechnology applications.
He said: "Biotechnology has been highlighted as having the potential to contribute to high productivity, food security, and poverty alleviation goals."
The D-G added that Nigeria needed to go the biotech way in order to overcome the challenges arising in Nigeria's agricultural productivity landscape.
Mustapha said that yield per hectare was the driver of agricultural competitiveness all over the world.
"Nigeria's yield per hectare is 20 to 50 percent of that obtained in similar developing countries.
"Nigeria has one of the lowest usage rates of agricultural inputs and, across the board, the country ranks at the bottom on agricultural indices."
"Mechanisation intensity is 10 tractors per 100 square metres compared to Indonesia, with 241 tractors per 100 square metres.
"Irrigation is 0.8 percent of arable land compared to Thailand's 28 percent of arable land," the D-G said.
