The Biotechnology Society of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government at all levels to invest massively in Genetic Modification technology for its domestication in the country.
The president of the BSN, Prof. Sylvia Uzochukwu, speaking in an interview with Journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said adequate investment would enable Nigerian scientists to own the technology.
Uzochukwu disclosed that to address burning food security issues, Nigerian scientists worked for more than 20 years to deploy the science of genetic engineering in the solution of Nigeria’s pressing food problems.
“The result was the insect-resistant beans launched in 2021, the insect and drought-resistant maize launched in 2024 as well as insect-resistant cotton commercialised in 2018. The new genetically modified insect-resistant beans will, all things being equal, rid the bean fields of Maruka insect devastation and bring beans within the reach of the common man again,” she said.
She added, “TELA maize has been developed to tackle new pests such as the fall army worms which have been laying waste on our corn farms.
The BSN president expressed optimism that GM maize would subsequently bring down not just the cost of maize or corn and its products but also the cost of meat.
She added that this was possible because livestock feed in Nigeria is highly dependent on corn.
According to her, these products will also protect consumers from cancer which arises when insects damage grains, allowing moulds to grow on them and produce mycotoxins, which cause cancer.
The Professor of Food Science and Biotechnology said that government agencies in charge of promoting and regulating these products have explained severally to Nigerians the safety of these approved products.
She said the explanations on safety embraced human health and the environment, although some people still do not believe or understand them.
“In the early years of aviation, the fear was much like the fear of GM foods today. Many refused to fly despite stringent international safety regulations. Planes sometimes do crash but we are all still flying because of the confidence we have in the safety regulations in place,” she said.
“GMOs are even more stringently regulated, and no nation can develop on donor funds. Without focused and massive investment in Science, Technology and Innovation, by government, no nation can develop,” she added.
Uzochukwu decried the level of funding of science and technology in Nigeria’s educational institutions at all levels as abysmally low and in many cases, non-existent.
She advised that a complete and sincere policy shift in the funding of science and technology was urgently needed.
