Today,
more than 800 million people around the world are malnourished, meaning they do
not get the minimum energy requirements set by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of 1,690 calories per day for an urban adult and
1,650 calories for a rural dweller.
The world's population is projected to grow by 2.3 billion
people from 2009 to 2050, to 9.1 billion. To feed this growing population
adequately will require a 70 percent increase in food production globally and a
doubling of food production in developing countries.
There are natural limits to the productivity increases that can
be obtained with conventional farming. Scientifically advanced biotechnology
could greatly benefit the world's growing population, but governments have
placed severe regulatory restrictions on the use of such technology.
David Weisser, a research associate with the United States based
National Center for Policy Analysis, said the most controversial aspect of
biotechnology is the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to
increase crop yields per acre and to improve the nutritional quality of the
food produced.
He argues that restrictions on the development and cultivation
of biotech crops have slowed global progress in conquering hunger. Through
advanced research and new farming methods, global hunger could be reduced.
Those opposed to biotechnology though have rights to question
its role in food security, but they could be wrong to close their eyes to the
potential contributions biotechnology can have on agriculture .
Professor Calestous Juma of Harvard Kennedy School also said
food security depends on four interrelated factors: quantity of food, which
involves increasing agricultural productivity; access to food, which is
determined both by income levels and quality of infrastructure; nutrition; and
overall stability of the food system, such as resilience to shocks.
According to Prof. Juma, Genetically-modified (GM) crops or any
other breeding methods on their own cannot solve the challenges related to food
quality, access to food, nutrition or stability of food systems, "but
their role cannot be dismissed for ideological reasons."
GM crops already benefit smallholder farmers in several major
ways. For example, they help farmers control pests and disease. This leads to
higher production and increased income, which in turn provides them with
increased ability to consume more nutritious food.
An example is pest-resistant GM cotton. Bt cotton is able to
ward off insects and pests without additional pesticides. Reducing the need for
pesticides minimizes environmental damage while increasing agricultural yields.
Although GM cotton is not directly consumed, it indirectly
contributes to food security by raising household income levels and improving
access to more nutritious food.
A recent study published by Plos One found that households in
India growing GM cotton consumed significantly more calories. Each hectare of
GM cotton increased total calorie consumption by 74 k cal per adult equivalent.
The study also showed that GM cotton adoption led to consumption
of more nutritious foods - such as fruits, vegetables and animal products.
The authors estimate that if the households that do not
currently grow GM cotton switched, "the proportion of food insecure
households would drop by 15-20%."
These studies do not justify the widespread adoption of GM crops
to address food security, but they show that under certain conditions, the
technology has the potential to contribute to increasing farm incomes which in
turn gives farmers the opportunity to raise their food purchases.
Nigeria might not be far away from joining other countries that
currently grow BT cotton as the Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina ,
said the country is right now testing biotech cotton.
"The countries that we are competing with like Niger, Mali,
Togo, Burkina Faso and South Africa, all of them even India, Pakistan and
United States are all into biotech cotton. We are the only country right now in
West Africa that is not using biotech cottons.
"So, we have been testing BT cotton and the advantage of BT
cotton is that you don't need pesticide, because if you use it, it has negative
impact on people's health, but biotechnology allows you to grow your cotton not
having problem of the cotton boll worm. You are not spending money as the toxin
in the plant addresses the problem instead of you spraying chemicals.
It is this opportunity of giving farmers a chance to make their
own choices that is leading Nigerian farmers and other stakeholders to ask for
a bill for an act to establish the National Biosafety law for the country. The
President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Arc. Kabiru Salman
did not mince words recently when he told a gathering at the national Assembly
that Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) will take his members away from
subsistence farming to commercial farming.
Same position was echoed by the representative of the Cotton
Association of Nigeria, who said they will become rich like farmers in other
West Africa countries and developed countries that have taken to the
cultivation of BT cotton.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in an
interview with this reporter in Arusha, Tanzania said wlive in a modern world
and "when you live in a modern world you cannot live in a pre-historic
period, you need to modernize; you need to use science and technology.
"We have a rapidly growing population; by 2050 we are
expected to be 400million people. How are we going to feed ourselves? Except we
use modern tools of science and technology to increase yield, increase
resistance of crops to drought and to diseases and pests.
Adesina noted that the application of biotechnology is like the
mobile phone technology, "if you like you can still be using NITEL, but we
use mobile phone because it is better. In agriculture, we must use modern
science and modern technology, of course in a way that human health is
protected.
Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201412050327.html
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