As part of efforts to improve agricultural productivity to guarantee food sufficiency and security, the Nigerian government has mapped out strategies to deploy Genome Editing Technology in agricultural practice in the country.
This was disclosed during a 2-day Training Workshop for Communicators on Genome Editing organized by the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in Abuja.
The training workshop drew strategic communicators from across the country and aimed to educate them on the technology.
Genome Editing is a form of genetic engineering that addresses specific research areas in agriculture to produce better-yielding seedlings for farmers to grow, which may reduce the time to maturity and raise the volume of productivity.
This is aimed at making Nigerian and African products competitive on the global stage and fostering industrialization.
Speaking during the workshop, the NABDA director of Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Department, Dr. Shakirat Solebo, noted that Nigeria needs to produce more food to feed its growing population and Genome Editing Technology will help in this regard.
She said “Firstly on agriculture, I don’t think it is far-fetched because it is one of the central things to our existence and not just food. Food needs to be available in sufficient quantity, and quality, and when required, as well.
“So, the focus on the use or application of science is to ensure that we’re able to feed the increasing population of Nigeria. The global population is estimated to be about 9 billion or so in 2050.
“Nigeria is the most populous black nation on earth, the need for food security cannot be overemphasized.”
She, however, noted that the rate of food production now is not growing in the same proportion as the population, adding that “we are depleting the natural resources in terms of land availability amid climate change.”
Solebo pointed out that the crops that were growing in the past are not doing as well as they should, stressing that it has become incumbent on the nation to apply technology.
She said, Genome Editing is more cost-effective, more time-efficient, and will be a plus to the Nigerian economy.
“So there is a need to apply any available science to ensure that we have food security. We need to feed our population at the right time with the right nutrition and that is where Genome Editing technology comes in,” she said.
