The Director of Agricultural Biotechnology at the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), Dr. Rose Gidado has stressed the need to apply science and innovation in the country’s bid to attain food security.
Interacting with journalists at the Biotechnology and Biosafety Forum in Abuja, Dr. Gidado said that through biotechnology, Nigeria can achieve its goal of ensuring that no child goes hungry.
She further noted that biotechnology is making a contribution and that there are success stories included in countries such as the US, Canada, Argentina and Brazil. Dr. Gidado emphasized that Nigeria was in the same situation as Brazil, but now Brazil has come far And they are food that has been secured using biotechnology.
“Food security is of utmost importance in the country, it is a matter of necessity And you can’t achieve that food security without the use of innovation, science and technology, and we have this modern biotechnology practice that has a lot of potential for improving food security and for us to really get to where we want to be, where no child is going hungry to bed.
Read Also: Expert Urges FG, State Governments To Leverage Digital Training For Farmers To Drive For Food Security
“Biotechnology contributes a lot to food securityWe have seen the success stories of other countries that have adopted this modern technology, such as the US, Canada, Argentina and Brazil. We were all in the same situation as Brazil, but now Brazil has come far And Today she its food security with the help of biotechnology.
“When the African government envisaged the adoption of this technology here in Africa, most of these people have been inundated with a lot of negative information about this technology, so decision making became a major problem because of the misinformation and disinformation, causing confusion and panic arises in people’s minds that GMO products cause cancer and diseases”, she said.
Dr. Gidado noted that scientists actually figured this out technology, put a safety valve in it because they are responsible people.
Read Also: To Achieve Food Security, Sufficiency And Stability, Nigeria Needs 312,000 Metric Tonnes Of Seeds
She further noted that since 2001, Nigeria has taken a stand, biotechnology policy was launched then biosafety issues came up because the use of this technology is not only in Agriculture, but the problem only occurs in agriculture because it has to do with food.
“So, with all this negative information, we have actually worked hard to be able to get to where we are today in Nigeria, thanks to the advocacy and awareness building that we have put in place through OFAB since 2003.
“We currently have three crops that are being marketed, but the reason we are concerned is that this is the time when we need to reap the benefits.commercialization has started, and farmers have had access to these seeds, but with this negative information, we need to make consumers accept the technology because if farmers fail to sell their products, it will become useless.
“So we felt that as government agencies we cannot work against each other; the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency and the National Biosafety Management Agency will have to work together,” she added.
