Biotechnology, according to Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), will help increase the country’s food security by 50% by 2050.
Mustapha stated this in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja on Friday 26, March 2021.
Biotech crops, he said, could help address food issues like population development, urbanization, and ageing, as listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Climate change, agricultural production and innovation, transboundary pests and diseases, nutrition and health, food losses and waste are among the others.
He noted that the use of biotechnology tools may help plant breeders adapt to climate change more effectively, especially for staple crops like rice, maize, and cassava.
He believed that biotechnology could help these crops communicate essential micronutrients needed to improve the immune system, making it more cost-effective and open to all.
“Biotechnology facilitates the production of dietary supplements containing multivitamins, bioactive lipids, flavonoids, and herbs to help the human immune system combat COVID-19 and other diseases.
“Such nutrient-dense foods are mostly out of reach for the poor and rural residents due to cost and other factors,” he explained.
Mustapha stated that Nigeria was already on its way to achieving food and nutrition protection with the commercialization of two genetically modified crops, biotech cotton and cowpea.
“The federal government should step up efforts to deploy biotechnology resources in the agricultural sector, resulting in mass production of functional foods at low and affordable prices,” he said.
He also raised ethical questions about the use of biotechnology to exploit and transform nature, which he described as a problem in the application of biotechnology.
He listed the potential dangers of modern biotechnology to human health, the environment, and the economy.
He also raised concerns about gene flow and other environmental problems, as well as scepticism about the potential of GM technology, as well as its benefits and risks.
Mustapha explained, “These issues led to the establishment of Biosafety Regulations for GM crops.”
He encourages Nigerians to invest in biotechnology research, particularly in vaccine and drug production, as well as agriculture.
Maize, cotton, and other biotech crops, for example, have been genetically engineered.
These, according to Mustapha, would help to foster and contribute to a cleaner environment and industrial growth.
