GM Crops And Future Of Agriculture

GM Crops And Future Of Agriculture

There are 61 percent more people on the planet today than were here in 1980.  The United Nations predicts another 35 percent growth in population between now and 2050.

Experts in the agricultural sector have made a forecast that in 2050, the world will require as much food as has been consumed since the beginning of civilisation.

According to them, the world must confront the single greatest challenge in all human history: whether the world can sustainably feed the more than 9 billion people who will be on our planet by the year 2050.

They clearly pointed out that the world cannot depend on yesterday’s technology to feed tomorrows population.

The underlines the urgency to produce more food in a safe and sustainable manner starts with a rapidly growing global population.

Experts have further maintained that Genetically Modified (GM) crops, also called biotech crops, are the future and the answer to sustainable agriculture which will in turn feed the growing population.

Genetically Modified crops are plants to which one or more genes coding for desirable traits have been added through genetic engineering. This is achieved through Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which can be defined as organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “genetic engineering” because it allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another.

A recent document on the global status of commercialized biotech/genetically modified crops:2013, the founder of International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Clive James, he said that biotech crops can guarantee food security for the growing world population, as well as, combat climate change.

The document read in part, “biotech crops can increase productivity and income significantly, and hence, can serve as an engine of rural economic growth that can contribute to the alleviation of poverty for the world’s small and resource-poor farmers.

“from 1996 to 2012, biotech crops contributed to food security, sustainability and the environment/climate change by increasing food production valued at US$116.9bn; providing a better environment by saving 497million kg of pesticides; in 2012 alone reducing CO2 emissions by 26.7billion kg, equivalent to taking 11.8 million cars off the road for one year.

“Conserving biodiversity by saving 123 million hectares of land from 1996-2012 and helped alleviate poverty for over 16.5 million small farmers and their families totaling over 65 million people, who are some of the poorest people in the world.”

Speaking to stakeholders in the biotechnology sector convened by the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) in Abuja, the president of an American multinational chemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation, Monsanto, Mr Jose Madero Garza, harped on the need for sustainable agriculture which allows farmers to utilize less hectares of land for increased productivity through the effective application of GM seeds.

He said, “Monsanto actively advocates farm management practices that allow sustainable intensification of agricultural production. GM seeds results in reduced pesticide use and facilitates the adoption of low-till or no-till agriculture that increases biodiversity and soil-health.

In a paper presented by a breeder and geneticist in NABDA, Dr. Olalekan Akinbo, he maintained that biotechnology tools are the best and safest way to ensure food sufficiency and development for all.

Reeling out the benefits of GM crops, he said farmers stand to gain improved yield and farm income, improved quality of crop produce, reduced pesticide use, and positive environmental and health benefits, reduced pest population in other host plants and flexibility in weed management.

He, however, lamented that Nigeria is being left behind in the adoption and application of modern biotechnology for increased agricultural benefits, noting that 19 out of 54 African countries have completed or are working to complete the process of biotechnology acquisition.

In her remarks, the director-general of NABDA, Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, stressed the need for the speedy passage of the biosafety bill that has been resubmitted to the National Assembly, saying a biosafety law is crucial in the management of biotechnology in the country.

She said the biosafety law recognized the complex issues to be addressed by central authorities in the judicious application of modern biotechnology based on the deliberate release of GMO on Advance Informed Agreement (AIA).

Ogbadu elucidated that “the biosafety law defines offences and penalty for violation of the act; contains powers to authorize release of GMOs and practice of modern biotechnology activities; confers the power to carry out risk assessment/management before the release, handling and use of GMOs; covers all genetically modified organisms/Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and products thereof including food/feed and processing and covers socio-economic consideration in risk assessment”. Leadership