By Abdallah el-Kurebe
ASHENEWS reports that the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) says arrangements to sustain the successes of Nigeria’s first genetically modified crop of the Pod Borer Resistant cowpea with a second gene, has been concluded.
It would be recalled that AATF facilitated the environmental release of the first generation of PBR Cowpea in 2019 after one decade of confined and on-farm trials by the Institute of Agricultural Research of the Ahmadu Bello University (IAR-ABU) Zaria.
Also, the PBR Cowpea was commercially released to farmers in 2021 and is currently being planted all over the country with farmers counting the gains of yield increase.
With the Cowpea, there is less use of chemical sprays and prolific fodder production when compared to the conventional cowpea varieties.
AATF’s Regional Representative for West Africa, Dr. Jean Bapsite, disclosed this when he paid courtesy visit to the Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Dr. Baptiste, the unprecedented testimonies from farmers on the importance of the PBR cowpea has compared the team to quickly work on the stacking of the gene of insert to protect the cowpea against any possible breakdown.
“As is the practice in science, we continue to improve on our successes and leave no gap for any breakdown. The second gene will strengthen, reinforce, and increase the resistance level of the PBR Cowpea against any attack,” he said.
Responding, Dr. Ebegba congratulated AATF and its partners for developing and releasing a crop variety that benefits, and enhances the livelihood of farmers.
According to him, the NBMA had continued to improve its application processes to conform with the current scientific realities.
“Science is not democracy. Our regulation is purely scientifically based and we shall not be moved by blackmail or emotions. The safety of Nigerians and the environment is our utmost interest.”
He challenged African scientists to take advantages of the numerous opportunities that biotechnology offers to research more into the technology.
Dr. Ebegba, however, wondered why after almost three decades, African scientists were still depending on their foreign counterparts to make progress in domesticating the technology on the continent.
