Bt-Cotton: Ogbeh commends on-station trial stakeholders

Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has applauded the group of stakeholders working on the deployment of Bt-Cotton to Nigeria including the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) Zaria, Monsanto Company, MAHYCO and the national Biotechnology Development agency (NABDA).
 
Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
He said if the introduction of Bt-Cotton can lead to the revival of the textile industry, it would be a great achievement for the country. The textile industry which used to be one of the most important sectors in Nigeria’s economy is comatose.

Ogbeh who said this during an inspection visit to the Bt-Cotton on-Station Trial at the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) noted that “Bt.-Cotton stakeholders can talk about Bt.-Cotton in the country now. Farmers keep talking about good seeds, they mostly lament that when cotton starts growing, it then literally vanishes.

 “We need to cut down importation and increase export, our country is coming out of recession but there are serious challenges coming up. Our economy is growing at the rate of 3.2 percent but it needs to perform at 6.7 percent otherwise, we cannot say there is growth.

He disclosed that there is no substitute to science research, “we cannot change anything without serious work and I am very happy I am seeing this because there has been a lot of negative talk about Bt., we will join hands with you to demystify the myth around this technology”.

During the tour, Professor Isa Onu of IAR Zaria explained to the minister that the fruiting from BtCotton reaches 80 to 120 fruits which cannot be compared to our cotton which is always grappling to survive the attack of bollworm and thus ends up dropping the fruiting points to survive.

“As a scientist, I am not condemning our cotton but we have to say the truth, you can see, Bt.-Cotton and our cotton is planted here side by side, bollworm is eating up our cotton but you can see that Bt. Cotton is doing well without attack from bollworm”, Prof. Onu.


Similarly, Professor Lucy Ogbadu, Director General of NABDA, applauded the minister for the visit as the visit will encourage the scientists to do more in order to bring Nigeria out of recession. She said she was happy that the minister had personally seen the technology working without being told.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric forum to encourage greater technology use by women

Image
Organizers of a one-day agricultural forum for women in Benin, the Edo State capital, have said the event will focus on increasing the awareness of available agricultural and outreach technologies for women in agriculture. The forum which will be anchored by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE) with funding from UK Aid, is collaborating with Markets II, funded by USAID and Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND and the Edo State Cooperative Farmers’ Agency is being held for womenas part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Mr. Fidelis Ekom, MADE’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, in a statement at the weekend said the forum also seeks to facilitate mindset change for women in the adoption of modern technologies and to facilitate engagement between women in agriculture and relevant value chain actors. Ekom said the forum will bring together women farmers in aquaculture, cassava, palm oil, poultry, hon
Read more

7 FEPSAN members to produce 1m tonnes under Presidential Fertiliser Initiative

Image
Seven active blending companies within the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have been revived and are among the 1st of five batches that would produce 1 million tonnes of fertiliser under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Thomas Etuh, President of FEPSAN has said. Etuh who disclosed this while speaking on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative noted that most of the plants owned by FEPSAN members are being revived after being dormant for over a decade. He expressed the hope that more plants would join the initiative before the end of April “Some of the blending plants which have already been supplied with raw materials including phosphate from Morocco and are blending include Fertiliser and Chemicals Ltd, Kaduna, producing 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertilizer Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, supplying 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos. “Others blending plants ha
Read more

Over 100 exhibitors from 18 countries register for agrofood Nigeria 2017

Image
Fairtrade, the German trade fair specialist organisation, has said more than 100 exhibitors from 18 countries have confirmed their participation at the agrofood Nigeria, making it a record participation. The event which will take place from 28 to 30 March 2017 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos has attracted exhibitors from Austria, Benin, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. agrofood Nigeria consists of the following exhibition topics: Agriculture, Process & Packaging, Food Ingredients, Food & Drinks and Foodservice Equipment. “For the third year, the French agrofood association adepta leads a delegation of French companies to agrofood Nigeria”, said Aude Roelly, Area Sales Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, adepta. “From farm to fork, companies specialized into equipment and know-how for agriculture, livestock, food processing and packaging offer their
Read more