Nigeria has great future in Biotechnology –DG, NABDA

The Director General, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Professor Lucy Ogbadu, has said that Nigeria has great future with the appropriate deployment of Biotechnology in the Agricultural Sector.

Ogbadu, who described Biotechnology as a cutting-edge tool that has the potential of changing the way farming is done and ensuring a food- secured Nigeria made the disclosure while addressing participants on the occasion of the North East zonal 2017 hosting of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa, Nigeria Chapter Awareness Programme in collaboration with the Programme for Biosafety Systems (PBS), Washington, the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and the Taraba State Government, held at the Jolly Nyame Stadium, Jalingo.

The Managing Director, who said that they were in Taraba State for a Sensitization tour on the need to use Biotechnology further appreciated the state government for its numerous assistance to the Technology Incubation Centre and the establishment of the Green House Project, all in Jalingo the state capital.

She added that the application of biotechnology in the agricultural sector would help in alleviating problems currently faced by the local farmers especially, with the growing concern about the environmental impacts of large scale use of insecticides and pesticides and the campaign launched to reduce the use of such chemicals.

Biotechnology tools can be utilized to produce plants that would be resistant to pests thus reducing the use of pesticides”

Biotechnology tools can also be applied to improve the nutritional quality of crops thus curbing malnutrition, especially in the North-East part of our country”, she said.

While calling on the media to have a rethink on the coverage and reportage of biotechnology, she said, “Nigeria has the finest opportunity to queue into it to be able to feed herself and grow her economy.

Science delivers tangibles and facts that can’t be dismissed with emotions. You can only dismiss scientific facts with more scientific motions, Agric. biotech is the future for African Agriculture. No nation becomes great without science and technology. I urge media to report science based on evidence and facts,” she noted.

Earlier, in a welcome address, the Taraba State Commissioner, Ministry of Science and Technology, Alh. Hassan Hamman, appreciated the efforts of the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari who, according to him, promised significant investment in agricultural science to boost food and industrial production, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, through its Agency, the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) were not left out as they played tremendous role in encouraging the use of science as a major driver of our development efforts, leading to a knowledge- based economy.