BY ADENUGA GBENGA ONA-ARA
Experts in the biotechnology space have described biotechnology as being a critical tool for stabilising a food system strained by climate change, pests, and rapidly growing population.
They said in separate interviews in Abuja that biotechnology is key to food stability in developing countries, including Nigeria.
A researcher in biotechnology, Prof Charles Adetunji, said that a direct application of biotechnology was to create climate-smart crops, adding that Nigeria faced unpredictable rainfall and increasing soil salinity in certain regions.
‘’Biotechnology helps develop drought-tolerant crops like maize and rice varieties that require less water, or can survive dry spells.
“Biotechnology also helps in biofortification, which is enhancing the nutritional value of staples; A prime example is Pro-Vitamin A Cassava, which helps address micronutrient deficiencies in rural communities.
“It also helps in yielding enhancement, using molecular markers to identify and breed high-yielding traits faster than traditional cross-breeding,” he said.
Adetunji stressed that biotechnology was also applicable in pest and disease management, noting that Nigeria loses billions of Naira annually to crop destruction.
“Biotechnology offers built-in protection,’’ he said.
Another expert, Dr Rose Gidado, noted that Nigeria was the first country to release Genetically Modified (GM) cowpea, which was resistant to the Maruca pod borer.
According to her, this significantly reduces the need for expensive and toxic chemical pesticides.
She disclosed that Tela maize was designed to resist the Fall Armyworm, a pest that has devastated corn fields across West Africa.
Gidado said biotechnology offers disease-free seedlings, adding that using Tissue Culture to mass-produce, promotes healthy and disease-free plantlets for crops.
“Food security is not just about grains, it is also about protein,’’ she said.