Stakeholders from the science and agriculture sector in Africa have said the continent will not be a battle ground for genetically modified technology as successes have been recorded in Nigeria and other countries.
They said biotechnology in food shouldn’t be too stringent to a point where it holds countries back from progressing.
Speaking at a meeting of regulators from Ethiopia, Mozambique and Kenya in Abuja, the Head of Policy and Regulatory, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Francis Nang’ayo, said Nigeria’s commercial release of the Pod Borer (PBR) cowpea is an evidence and a milestone that Africa should be proud of.
This, he said, took years of years of research, testing and trials before it was certified safe for consumption.
He noted that the success recorded in Nigeria made them bring together partners from other countries to come and learn from Nigeria’s successes so that they use the model in their various countries.
The Director-General, Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique, Dr. Olga Fafetine, said Africa could not continue to rely on foreign aids for food supply that are often genetically modified while the continent has potential to do the same.
Read Also: ‘How cloud technology benefits firms’
Olga said, with what she has learnt from Nigeria, she would go to her country to ensure that they follow all standards and regulations required in using biotechnology to boost food production.
Also, the President, Biotechnology Society and Chairman Variety Release Committee of Ethiopia, Prof. Firew Mekbib, said: “No one can prescribe to us what technology to adopt or reject, now we have biotechnology evidence and successes here in Africa, we don’t need to go to the US, Brazil and Argentina.
“Now we have very good evidence, for instance, in PBR cowpea in Nigeria, so no one can tell us whether biotechnology works for Africa or not because we already have the evidence and we can attest to that”.
The Director-General, National Biotechnology Agency (NABDA) Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, said Africans need to find an acceptable and promote scientific findings.
“This will spur us to do more in the area of adopting and releasing some crops to catapult the development of our economy and agriculture,” he said.
The West African representative, AATF, Dr Jean Baptiste, also noted that biotechnology would be able to help farmers achieve high productivity.