Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The UNESCO International Centre for Biotechnology (ICB) has said that Nigeria loses 40 to 50 percent of its produce to post-harvest waste due to lack of cold chain, drying facilities, power and processing infrastructure.
According to the UN agency, more than 60 to 70 percent of agricultural value lies after harvest but are wasted.
This came just as the UN agency on Wednesday signed a Memoranda of Understanding with six partner institutions to drive food security through biotechnology research, innovation and collaboration.
Foundation Executive Director of the Centre, Prof. Umezurike Linus Opara, stated this yesterday at the 5th International Conference on Biotechnology for Food Security and Human Health holding in Abuja.
He said low productivity is another major challenge affecting many Nigerian crops which ranges between at 30 and 40 per cent of global averages.
Opara said biotechnology will help improve quality of seeds, pest and disease resistance, complemented by irrigation and proper fertilizer use which can raise yields by 30 to 40 per cent.
The Centre, he said, is starting research with legumes — important for carbohydrate and protein — to understand their genetic makeup and process them into value-added products such as baby formula.
On the MoU signed with various partners, Opara said the idea was to pool resources together – “our human capital, our physical infrastructure, our laboratories, our skills and competence, so we can actually address this serious problem of food insecurity”.
He said the Centre, a UNESCO Category Two Institute domiciled at the University of Nigeria, has a mandate to address food security in Nigeria and Africa using biotechnology.
He said the conference brought together partners from industry, policy and academia to deliberate on latest advancements in biotechnology that can address food insecurity.
According to him, two major highlights marked the event — the signing of MoUs with six organisations and a special panel to commemorate World Food Day.
“We partner with universities in Nigeria, in Kenya, in the UK, so that we can actually. So, partnership is important. The whole idea of the MOUs is to come together. People who have common interests who can share resources. Who can share skills and competencies so that we can do more with the little that we have.
“The idea is for us to bring our resources together: our human capital, our physical infrastructure, our laboratories, our skills and competence, so we can actually address this serious problem of food insecurity,” Opara said.
He said partnership is critical because no single institution can deliver widespread economic impact alone, noting some partners have funding, others have skills and infrastructure.
Opara stressed need for value-chain approach to agriculture, warning that production is less than half the problem.
On concerns around Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Opara said GMO is just a tool, like tissue culture and conventional selection, and that Nigeria has regulatory safeguards through the National Biosafety Management Agency.
“There shouldn’t be fear. It’s about safe application of the technology,” he said.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who was represented by the Secretary-General of the National Commission for UNESCO in Nigeria, Dr. Idowu Olagunju, described the theme as timely and apt for human survival.
He said rapidly growing population, climate change, pandemics and supply chain disruptions are putting pressure on food supplies, and traditional methods alone can no longer keep pace.
“Biotechnology is the answer,” he said, citing pest-resistant, disease-tolerant and high-yield GM crops and biofortification as tools to address malnutrition.
He congratulated UNESCO, ICB, and partners including the University of Johannesburg and called for concerted efforts by government, researchers, private sector and civil society to create robust regulatory framework, fund research and ensure technologies reach grassroots.