Biotechnology, panacea to reduce famine, drought-NBRDA

Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, the Director-General, National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), has described biotechnology as the solution to mitigate threats of drought and famine.

Mustapha said this at a workshop on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their products organised for the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja on Monday.

Represented by Dr Rose Gidado, Director Agric. Biotech Department, Mustapha, said that biotechnology was necessary considering its impact in tackling global food insecurity.

“Today, biotechnology is more relevant than ever, especially now that the government is facing the dual threat of drought and impending famine.

“To counter these, it is turning to climate-smart, yielding high agricultural solutions such as drought-tolerant maize, herbicide-tolerant soybeans and bacterial blight potato,” he said.

He scored scientists high in the area of agricultural biotechnology innovations, saying that scientists in Nigeria have harnessed the technology to develop crops such as Biotech cotton.

The D-G, who identified the role of journalists in influencing public opinion, said that the essence of the workshop was to address the challenges of misinformation, disinformation and mal-information around GMOs.

Mustapha affirmed the supremacy of information in an increasingly connected world and urged journalists to be guided by the pursuit of truth.

He called on journalists to be champions of science in the government’s efforts in addressing hunger in Nigeria by countering narratives of misinformation around GMOs.

Mustapha said that the workshop would provide a platform for evidence-based dialogue for cross-fertilisation of ideas aimed at building mutual understanding around biotechnological agriculture.

“In a time marked by an overflow of both facts and falsehoods, the role of the media as truth-bearers and defenders of democracy has never been more vital.

“You are charged with scrutinising, analysing and contextualising the issues, especially food security.”