Food Security: Experts Advocate Adoption of Genome Editing
From Olubunmi Osoteku, Abuja
Experts and agricultural scientists have advocated the adoption of Genome Editing (GEd) as a tool to combat food insecurity in the country.
The scientists, who said the tool is very safe and fast in crop production, described GEd as a technology that is new, direct, precise, accurate, and meant to rewrite the genetic information of living organisms, giving results within the shortest space of time, in order to derive benefits.
The experts disclosed this, in Abuja, at a 2-day ‘Training Workshop for Communicators on Genome Editing’, organized by the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD).
The scientists explained that it is necessary to enlighten journalists/communicators to enable them project the potentials and breakthroughs of GEd in a clear, accurate and accessible manner to diverse audiences, in order to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the public, before scientists go into deep research activities and the tool is eventually made available.
Declaring the workshop open, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO), NABDA, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, noted that GEd can be used to ensure national development, particularly as Nigeria cannot wait 20-30 years before it starts feeding its teeming population, saying the tool will aid in providing solutions to challenges such as crop diseases; changing climatic conditions, like flooding and drought; lack of land; and insecurity, among others, in order to guarantee food security.
Prof. Mustapha also identified post-harvest loss as another big problem bedevilling the country, pointing out that Nigeria is losing hundreds of millions of naira due to the issue of post-harvest loss in tomato, as a lot of people are interested in farming tomato and many also interested in using tomato while it is fresh, but the crop cannot be preserved beyond three or four days before it gets rotten.
He said: “What we’ve taken to use as the first research in this area in the country, which is going to help other African countries, is to increase tomato shelf life so that when people harvest their tomato and want to transport it to different locations, it’s not going to rot on the way. So, this GEd is what we are now deploying as a tool to make sure that we achieve that.”
The DG further explained that GEd is not the same as Genetically Modified (GM) crop, saying in GM crops, a trait from another crop is introduced into the crop of interest, while in GEd, the actual crop of interest is used in itself.
He stated: “You use the actual crop of interest within itself, find the gene and make sure you provide the solution within that particular gene. So, it’s not GM, it’s treated as normal conventional crop. For example, the improvement of some crops would naturally take about 100 or 200 years but using genomics, it can easily be done within 2, 3, 4 years. That is the advantage.”
While delivering a goodwill message, the DG/CEO, National Biosafety Management Agency, Dr Agnes Asagbra, noted that GEd holds immense potential to revolutionise various sectors, from agriculture to healthcare, affirming that the power comes with the responsibility to ensure its safe and ethical implementation.
She said: “This training represents a key opportunity for communicators to grasp the intricacies of GEd and effectively communicate its benefits, risks, and ethical considerations to the wider community. We, at National Biosafety Management, will continue to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to ensure the safe deployment of the technology in Nigeria.”
On her part, the Director, Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Department, NABDA, Dr Shakirat Ajenifujah-Solebo, disclosed that GEd, which is an evolving technology just coming into the economic space, will be affordable because every improvement in technology usually comes with economic benefits.
She stated: “The initial cost of maybe inventing the technology would be factored in and because it’s an evolving technology, it’s different, more efficient and more cost effective than previous ones because this one is a shorter period for research unlike other ones that have come.”
On the issue of funding, Dr Ajenifujah-Solebo explained that although there is always government funding, scientists have learned to think outside the box to try and get partnerships for training, capacity development and sometimes for the lab work, to augment government funding.
She noted: “We shouldn’t always need to go out but for now that is the situation. We are looking towards better funding so that our government and our people can actually own these things from a-z to minimise where foreigners will say we brought this in, we brought that in. Government is doing something, but we want more so that we can fully own it.”
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