Story from Kenneth AFOR, Lagos
The Country Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) and Deputy Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Dr Rose Gidado has said the adoption of Genetically Modified crops will help the country attain food security and reset the economy.
Dr Gidado said this in a media interview, on Wednesday, in Abuja.
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According to her, GM crops could be leeway in improving the nation’s economy by fighting the growing rate of hunger, malnutrition while ensuring a safer agricultural practice in the country.
She further stated that a typical example of GM crops like Biotech(Bt) cowpea which could be used as fodder has the potential of boosting the economy.
She stressed that Bt cowpea can withstand soil erosion as well as enhancing soil fertility adding that Nigeria accounts for 86 per cent of world production of the seeds of the crop in dried form, according to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO 2004) data.
According to her, Nigeria produces about 2.1 million tons of Bt cowpea, cultivating in seven million hectares of land with an average yield of 350 kilograms per hectare and could be cultivated anywhere in the country.
“Nigeria is also the largest consumer of the crop in the world with an annual consumption around 2.7 million tons,’’ she said.
On the other hand, the drastic drop in yield of cotton crop in the country which is about 80 per cent was as a result of the bollworm insect encroaching cotton plants but with the development of the Bt cotton varieties to curb further damage of cotton plants, it will revive the textile industry which has the potential of contributing immensely to the Gross Domestic Product as well as creating job opportunities for the unemployed and boosting farmers’ income.
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