Sound Science, Agric Transformation Will Feed Nigeria At the high-level second meeting of the Eminent Persons Group convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in New York this week, the place of science as a major driver of agricultural transformation agenda received great emphasis. While making his presentation, Mr. Sani Dangote, Chairman, Dansa Foods and vice chairman, Dangote Group, who described the industry’s perspective, spoke on sorghum processing for high energy food. He disclosed that “we have keyed in to Agricultural Transformation Agenda” and “will encourage more farmers to key into the production of sorghum.” He therefore advised the federal government to maintain policies that will support business and investment in agro-processing. According to him, “we are working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop sorghum processing for high energy foods. We are also working on school feeding programme” as he added that blends of sorghum and other ingredients will need to be produced industrially for the Nigerian market, especially bearing in mind the nutritional deficiency prevalent in some parts of Nigeria. Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, observed that Africa cannot overcome its difficulties if it does not build on the small scale farmers, but should be bold enough to go beyond just small scale farmers. He was of the opinion that the transformation should aim at bigger stakeholders. According to Annan, “science is going to be part of the solution.” The GMO debate going on between European Union and United States, he said, has considerable influence on Africa on whether or not to adopt bio-engineered crops. He advised Nigerian government to take decisions and come up with policies favourable for adoption of GMOs. Mr. Bill Gates, President of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, commended the efforts of federal government in transforming agriculture but hinted on the need for biosafety laws to be in place to allow seeds and GMO techniques, while he said that research was an important area that urgently needs attention. Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, said: “I fully endorse the need for us to ensure that science forms part of the equation and that biosafety is part of it, including food quality and food safety. We do not lose emphasis on what exists and what works best.” He explained that fertiliser utilisation in Africa is currently on an average of 130 kg per hectare compared to 200 kg in developed countries. “We have not optimised what is available to us,” he lamented, adding that IFAD is a long-term partner of Nigeria and has committed significantly to partnering with Nigeria on agricultural transformation. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, advised that Africa should not be afraid of GMO. “One has to balance risks with benefits,” he said, adding that, “sometimes, people have over-exaggerated the issues of GMO risks.” According to the minister, “we need biotechnology in agriculture. We need Bt cotton, for instance. There is bio-fortification of cassava with pro-vitamin A and the orange-fleshed potato.” “Biosafety law is important,” Adesina added. “We are working on the regulatory environment with the Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council on this, and we are working with Embrapa from Brazil, a global leader in agricultural research and development. The Nigerian agricultural research institutes, under the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, are not cohesive and we have asked Embrapa to help us to ensure cohesion.” President Goodluck Jonathan agreed with the need to deploy sound science to drive the transformation efforts. According to him, “we are transforming the northern region through partnership” with Brazil’s research institution known as Embrapa. He noted that the Growth Enhancement Support scheme was established to help poor farmers grow. The president promised to discuss the biosafety bill with the national assembly “so that we can fast-track that, so that people can be protected.”
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 07:51:08 +0000
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