Biotechnology will aid food security, alleviate poverty - Application of biotechnology techniques in animal agriculture will improve livestock industry to adequately support food security and poverty alleviation, Prof B. Y. Abubakar, Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) has said.
Abubakar who presented a paper at the just concluded Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), in Gombe State, said, to achieve food sufficiency and reduce poverty, 'there is need to assess the status of biotechnology development as it affects the livestock industry in Nigeria.'
Also speaking, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo commended the forum for working to ensure that a regulatory mechanism is put in place 'in line with the Cartagena Protocol on trans-boundary movement of livestock. No doubt, your relentless struggle in this direction is testimony to your commitment to the need to protect our environment and ensure that the welfare and safety of our people are not compromised.'
Minister of Science and Technology Prof Ita Okon Bassey Ewa said there is 'compelling and urgent need to feed the ever growing population, protect the environment and biodiversity, as well as maintain and promote the economic well-being of the citizenry.'
By Francis Okeke
Daily Trust/05/03/2013