By  Olawale Gabriel
The President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Arch. Kabiru Ibrahim, has blamed those he called brief-case farmers as those opposed to agricultural biotechnology in the country.

Speaking at the just concluded 2016 National Agricultural show in Keffi, Nasarawa State, he said Nigeria farmers are completely in support of the introduction of agricultural biotechnology as it has the capacity to take them away from poverty.

“We embrace bio-technology. We support it because it is the only thing that can take farmers out of poverty. If you check Burkina Faso, today they are using BT cotton to ramp up the economy and Nigeria should do the same.

“The good sign is that all the cries from anti-GMO groups are not science-based. Nobody can touch the technology from the science point of view. It is all sentiment and we don’t share that. We encourage people to embrace bio-technology and especially now that there is work going on to apply bio-technology to cotton,” he said.

It will be recalled that two applications for consideration for confined field trials of Bt Cotton and Bt Corn were recently submitted to the National Biosafety Management Agency by Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited. The two applications are currently being reviewed.

Speaking further on the benefits of the technology to farmers and the Nigerian economy, Arch Lawan said, “Cotton is a cash crop we will use to make money in Nigeria. Farmers will always have the option to discontinue subsistence farming.  

“Genetically improved or modified corn seeds can produce about 24 metric tons per hectare as against what we produce today which is barely two tones per hectares. Soon, the farmers in your village will be supporting you to live in the city.

“ He  will not have to come to the city and the migration from the village to the city will stop once people can feed themselves, get some money, pay school fees, get medical care do every things for themselves they will not come  to the city.”

Lawan concluded by emphasizing on the role of the newly set up National Biosafety Management Agency empowered to regulate the introduction of GMOs in the country.

“The Bio-safety bill that was passed shows the emphasis on safety in the use of GMO. I was a spokesman for the passage of that bill; the farmers understand that there are risks, but it can be mitigated by proper application of the technology and this is what happens all over the world.

“One can mitigate those risks by applying good practices and safety valves, which is why we have the Bio-safety bill and Bio-safety agency,” he concluded.