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Business
'N i~Jeria needs biotech to avoid starvation' fecd;our fanntBatt aging. the same I1armTHEchammll Senate Committeeon Cap!till Markd.. &-Illlor Ayoade Ademola AdeJelln, hu "lid "Igeria needsbiotec:hnology to Ave il from ""rv;uion as the technology an prodU-:C' .~ndant food whICh will go round iu entite ropuJation_ Senator Alleseun, who said this al the Soulh We11 u.n:\l open forum on agricultural biot~~hrlo~l)gy In lbadan. added that ~Nlgnia hu bout 160 million people to
I
ers who used the I.and for decades bav!! grown old 00\0, their produclivhy level Is very low, tr we Ikptnd on them we will end up starving.." The SC'na!or, according to a statement from 'NalJonal Plolechnology Devdopmml Agency (NARDA) yeslenby, also said Lhal "It is wise for us to 1m advan-
tage of the new
dl'~lopment
In science
and l«hnolog-.- Iholt will mili it possible for man to produce more food':
He said; -Nigeria can feed the rest of African countries with biotechnology, if we pool ourres.ources logelher, If we accept this new tech no logy on~ farmer can reed -40 people lrulud of one farmer fcedlng his family alone. And in th~ neXl5)~an Nigeri.a can ~ feeding th~ rest of the world not only Afnca". He further lamented thaI Nigeria import one blllion!>;ags of riet e'o-ery day, a country that is 50 endo..... ed with land. water and people. bu t yet we don't produce our
own food. He condudfii that lhe only way looptn thai door for our people Is through biotechnology. Tht"Dirttlor General ofNABDA. Pro-
feuor Bamiddc Solomon said "we ntftl aBiosafety law in place. b«auH: whe.n we have a law, we will be able to dqJloy this MW trdmology to OUf (armen, but at the Sla~ which we arc now, we can onlydoConfincd FiddTraii (CFT). \Oo'ccannOi dot'Ycn multllocationaltrial not to talk of commcrcialization~
Kogi government distribut~
cotton,
cocoa s~'Cilings to farmels from \kmall "-I ~Io, LHoja
Kosi S!al~ gon:rnor ldrs WadJ y!Sle.rday distribulC'd COlU n Ind cocoa ~ings'o fl·nnersa.cross
TIlE
W5tale.
Dislriltuti I@ Ihe $«dhngs. Gm«llOI W;!Ida SOlid Ihe-stale is ble-sa1 and Is best swtcGfi] ttct!rowtkof
Cocoa as ,'Ie a; SAMCOT !liand SA M 0 r II varicty
orCQtlon Irglirded &!ioneof the besl 1/' thi "orld. Accoolinl t-, him. the. StAlle is in I~ SJ.me. region withst.lle< Jnlilc South WCSl. In leJms of Q ,1\ III produclilln. and ~3 emef'fti into bUaleni 'n\lItHaleral COOJ'CfOlli In initiatives on agricultural ~>topmenL He s.aj,J nlll{ ofthc local gt"YftTlm. nt!il n theslaleare suitabk r,'r 8 o,lImg COCOlll, ",,"hile rot'on~,;a n ~ grown In aU the IIa18'I~mnl~llts. urging 100nt ~u to
tm
IId~-antllg" o~ government's conunitmml 10 dgriCUItUrai lr.ms(ormaIU-1l and natural endowmt.-nu .5 an opporIWlIlytOl rei 'I: wealth. Earl~. d,t! Prrmanml Sccmar) MI ICotryo( Agriculture, V"' W Evinovoh called on the farmen 10 rt:dproall' gO' ernm~nt gestun: by brit,s resourc~rul and adopt be" ~cliccs. 1be Represcotatives of lht COIlon atd cocoa farmas. Joe Elcbt"O solicited the support uf ~-emmenl in the area ilia, hillery, soft loamalltlClj"",llybuilding for younscr larmcrs in the
"r
slal~S(la,;lot";.c'~rrom
t.hol5ugfng (i'll'S. Also 5p'oaking. Achimugu Aneb! of Arewacot· tuns noted thai the Iiale 8O"oemmenlJlllliatlVe5 will ~Ie OJ'portunilies. urJPng the tlnnen 10 take ad\'3lltll!)e the NJ.6m in:c scNlin~ to Imprm'!!'
rib
,.r
thdrlif~
Clearly dtffe ernt. Clearly:sma d::.