By Etta Michael Bisong
Nigerians are anxious to start reaping the gains of modern biotechnology even as the act establishing the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) is barely four months old.
Established as a regulatory agency, the NBMA is charged with the responsibility of implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, an international agreement on biosafety, which Nigeria is a signatory and ratified accordingly as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2003.
This agreement also includes any other practice capable of harming human health, animals, plants and environment.
The potentials of modern biotechnology to transform food production and the risks posed by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) continue to generate questions mostly by rights campaigners about GMOs and their safe application into any environment.
Giving insight on the issue, Director General/CEO of NBMA, Mr. Rufus Ebegba, said GMOs are even safer than conventional breeds due to their ability to select and transfer genes freely.
He added that “modern biotechnology has the capacity to transform economic growth and advised Nigerians to deploy it as a credible alternative to the dwindling oil sector.”
According to him, “Modern biotechnology, can serve as an alternative by helping to ensure that products are safely deployed.” Mr. Ebegba, who spoke exclusively to Climate Reporters in Abuja, described the biosafety act as “vibe” to that alternative.
Lamenting that many African countries where left behind during other civilisations particularly the industrial revolution, the NBMA boss urged Nigerians to actively participate and leverage on the opportunities provided by modern biotechnology to transform their livelihoods.
Ghana, South Africa, Mali and Burkina Faso are practical example of African countries that have benefited from modern biotechnology. In Nigeria for instance, the establishment of the biosafety act is expected to usher more laboratories into the country, attract new industries and distribution of products which definitely will create employment and improve the living standards of citizens.
However, truth be told, for Nigeria to actually ensure that modern biotechnology is properly deployed to improve the well-being of the citizens as well as other socio-economic drivers the government must address the issue of inadequate use of GMOs for national economic development. Adequate regulatory capacity in biosafety management and insufficient funding also must be address to avert undermining the safe practice of this technology in the country.
No doubt that the establishment of the NBMA is a commendable gesture, however, the government needs to urgently mainstream biosafety issues into national economic programmes as well as embark on massive education and other enlightenment initiatives to increase public awareness.
