Nigerian farmers embrace biotechnology.

The National Vice President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Chris Onwuka , has condemned those campaigning against biotechnology in the country as he asked them to come up with scientific evidence to back their stance. Speaking at a Stakeholders meeting in Abuja recently, he said “a group came and were telling us recently that biotechnology is not good. I asked them to show us scientific evidence but they could not,” he told other stakeholders. The truth is that without biotechnology we cannot feed ourselves. What we farmers need is more yield. We already have a regulatory agency just as there is NAFDAC. It is their job to tell us what is good and what is not good. They are capable,” he added. Also at the meeting were representatives of the academia from all geopolitical zones of the country, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Consumer Protection Council, Genetics Society of Nigeria and the Nigeria Agricultural Society among others. Onwuka said the unequal distribution of technology between the developed world and developing countries like Nigeria consistently make it unnecessary to compare their priorities with ours. By 2030, Nigeria’s population will be 250 million and without a technological intervention, and with continuous decrease in arable land due to urbanization, desertification and erosion, farmers’ yield are definitely going to decrease. continue