Bt cowpea has economic value of $638, says OFAB Director

The country director, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Dr. Rose Gidado has said the newly released bt cowpea by the national released committee would generate $638 million in six years into the economy through its sales alone.

Dr. Gidado said this to the journalists during a training session on science reporting, organised by OFAB platform last Friday.

                         

 Gidado emphasised on the need for Nigerians to harness the opportunity in biotechnology to enrich her food system that is confronted with high importation, adding that annually Nigeria can make $8.6 million to accumulate $638 in six years on cowpea with the current foreign exchange rate.

She stressed the need for why Nigeria must adopt biotechnology to galvanise her food production sustainable system against importation, saying that majority of places where all these foods were being imported had also adopted same technologies to commercialize their food productivity.

According to her ‘’ Growing bt cowpea will make us economically vibrant in terms of farmers’ empowerment, nutritional value, functionality when it comes to people with diabetes, there is just so much about cowpea, and that is why Brazil and Argentina have gone far in food security’’

The Director General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha on the occasion also posited that Nigeria should join comity of nations already using biotechnology innovations to better their food productivity system towards security without any complain.

Prof. Mustapha pointed that two bt crops (cotton and cowpea) have been commercialized into the seed system of the country, stressed that no nation would ever come to solve our food challenges for us, except we have a rethink on adopting improved technologies adaptable to our ecologies through science of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO).

Mustapha implored journalists to use their professionalism to educate the public especially the farmers on the need to embrace new released Bt seeds to enhance their agricultural production of food, and other industrial products adding that ‘’ it is important to work with the media to see how policies relating to biotechnology research will be aired as they respond to food security, job and wealth creation through the use of biotechnology'’

                         

Also, the DG, National Biosafety Management Agency, Dr. Rufus Ebegba said that it was necessary to ensure that modern biotechnology activities are safe in our environment stressed that no unsafe GMO products would be allowed into the country.