Despite being the number one producer of beans in the world, Nigeria spends N16bn annually to import the produce from neighbouring countries, the Federal Government has said.
Speaking at a training for journalists organised by the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa in Abuja on Thursday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr Bitrus Bako, said that the recent certification of environmental safety of genetically modified beans would help to bridge the gap in production.
The National Biosafety Management Agency had recently approved the environmental release of pod bearer resistant beans in the country. This is expected to be followed with a commercial release which would mark the release of the crop for sale and consumption. “It may interest you to note that Nigeria is the number one producer of cowpea globally yet there is consumption deficit of half a million tonnes, prompting imports from neighbouring countries like Cameroon and Burkina Faso which is estimated to cost N16bn annually.The permanent secretary also expressed confidence that the recent approval of genetically modified cotton would revolutionise the industrial and agricultural sector.
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