The director, Programme Development and Commercialization at African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin. |
The director, Programme Development and Commercialization at African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin has said that the African Government should not a matter of alternative take biotechnology as a science, instrument to develop her food system towards high productivity. This was stated in a press release made available to Food Farm News recently.
Dr. Okogbenin noted in the statement
that biotechnology is no longer viewed as an option but as a necessity that
should be deployed alongside conventional breeding methods to improve genetic
gains for enhanced crops productivity and value chains transformation in
Africa.
The statement ascribed to Okogbenin as calling during the 23rd virtual meeting of China Association of Science and Technology (CAST) for more strong support voices for agricultural biotechnology deployment to enhancing improved crops productivity in Africa with impact preferences on both farmers and consumers.
Dr.
Okogbenin also noted that good policies and governance are required to drive
biotechnology uptake and seed system development to achieve Sustainable
Development Goals and the Africa Union (AU) Agenda 2063 aspirations on the
continent.
He also cited
the successful development and commercialization of transgenic Pod Borer
Resistant (PBR) Cowpea in Nigeria recently, adding that its release had
improved yield from 70% to 400 with reduced use of pesticide sprays by farmers
from 10 to two. The cultivation of Bt cowpea is best optimized under integrated
pest management (IPM) strategy.
Dr.
Okogbenin also pointed the TELA Maize project as another success story in
biotech applications in Africa where 128 climate-smart hybrids have been released
to farmers to enhance food security, pointing that PBR cowpea and tela are
biotech focused projects are being implemented across Africa to increase
productivity by African Agricultural Technology Foundation ( AATF) and its
partners.
He urged
African governments and regional economic communities to strengthen and
harmonize biotechnology policies and biosafety regulations to create an
enabling environment for biotechnology development and deployment in Africa.
“African
regulators should avoid the adoption of strict regulatory regimes that will hinder
application of new innovations in plant breeding adding that the continent
should watch the temptation of over-regulating products of New Plant Breeding
Techniques (NPBTs).
On seed
system development, Dr. Okogbenin called for the need to facilitate policy
reforms to create functional and efficient seed systems even as Africa the transition from informal to formal sector seed system, urging African leaders
to invest in new farming technology with biotechnology inclusive.
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