U.S. Consulate Lagos, Nigeria, USDA; Dr Rose GIDADO, Deputy Director, NABDA and Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade, Agricultural Specialist – Ag Specialist
USDA
The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa, Nigeria Chapter and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Kenya in collaboration with the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) organized post PBR Cowpea commercialization workshop.
The workshop was part of efforts aimed at sensitizing Nigerians on the commercialization of Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea (Beans) in partnership with stakeholders.
With the theme ‘PBR Cowpea – “A Model Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Food Nutrition Security in Africa” , the workshop was aimed to form partnership and alliances for the long-term sustainability of Bt. cowpea so as to enhance the fast adoption of the seeds; increase the number of champions who would help promote the acceptance of the seed across the country as well as catalyse the crop’s potential to revolutionize Nigeria’s agriculture and fortune of our farmers.
In his remarks, during the workshop, the Director General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha said that NABDA played key role in securing regulatory approval and commercial release of Bt. Cowpea and that efforts to commercialize would be abortive if the crop is not adopted and accepted by farmers as well as consumers. The post commercialisation environment therefore requires sustainable outreach efforts with diverse stakeholders. The DG/CEO was represented by the OFAB Nigeria Coordinator, Dr Rose Gidado who added that the place of building understanding and attracting attention by bringing science closer to the people cannot be over-emphasized.
On his part, the Director General/CEO, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba while making his presentation titiled: ‘Validating Nigeria’s Biosafety Regulation System for Food Crops: The Case of PBR Cowpea’ said despite great potentials associated with the products of modern biotechnology, perceived concerns as negative impacts exist. Based on these concerns and taking into account, risk to human health. “NBMA applies all regulatory measures to ensure safety in the use of commercialized PBR cowpea”, he explained.
While the then AATF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr. Issoufou Kollo said the Sub-Saharan Africa SSA accounts for 95 per cent of cowpea availability with Nigeria 47 per cent. Others include Niger Republic, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali. He said cowpea is a main protein source and commercial crop that plays a vital role in the food security in SSA.
Similarly, Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs, USDA, Nigeria, Benin & Cameroon, Mr. Gerald Smith asserted that the commercialization of Bt. cowpea which is a major success story in Nigeria’s agricultural sector was not an overnight success but a milestone achieved by over two decades of research, field trails and risk assessment by multiple stakeholders in Nigeria and across the world. He said cowpea is a staple crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) but hitherto, farmers face a lot of challenges in growing it due to pests’ invasion and the application of pesticides is unsustainable.
Other facilitators at the workshop were: Mr. Benno Van Der Laan, who spoke on Agricultural Biotechnology Developments Around the World while AATF Stewardship Manager, Dr Francis Onyekachi made presentation on Resilient Stewardship for sustainability of PBR Cowpea in smallholder context. The MD/CEO of Agro Nigeria, Barrister Richard Mark Mbaram while speaking on Strengthening Public Private Partnerships in Product Development and Commercialization in Africa gave a template for reinforcing partnerships between the public and private sector stakeholders in the development and commercialization of biotechnology products in Africa.
The immediate past President of Genetics Society of Nigeria (GSN), Professor Emmanuel Kwon-Ndung, and the Director General of National Agricultural Seed Council of Nigeria, Dr Philip O. Ojo gave goodwill messages. Testimonies of positive returns were received from farmers who planted the cowpea in the country.
Other participants in the workshop included Dr Matthew Dore – Country Coordinator PBS Nigeria; DG/CEO, SHESTCO Prof. Oyenekwe P.; Prof Yerima Bello, President Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, BSN; Prof. Solomon B. O., OAU, Ife & former DG/CEO, NABDA, and DG/CEO, National Quarantine Service, NAQS, Dr Vincent Isegbe among others. NABDA, and DG/CEO, National Quaratine Service, NAQS, Dr Vincent Isegbe among others.