…Vows To Support Biotech
The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, has been recognised by the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology ( OFAB) in Africa, with the award of Agricultural Transformation in his State and Nigeria.
The award presented to him by the Director General, National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, at the 9th Edition of the OFAB Nigeria media award ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja, was said to be a reward for his contribution to the fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in Agriculture.
Mustapha noted that apart from encouraging Media practitioners who have contributed to advancing the course of biotechnology in the country, his agency will also continue to appreciate stakeholders who have implemented policies that improve agricultural growth.
Receiving the award on behalf of the governor, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Saidu Abdul, said the recognition and the award were not just for the governor, but for the entire Niger state.
He stated that the ongoing agricultural transformation in the state was part of the measures to promote the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu in agriculture and as well as making the state the food hub of the nation.
According to him, the state will also pursue the policy that will promote the ideals of biotechnology, which has become the tool needed for Agricultural productivity.
He stated that “ The cardinal points under the Renewed Hope Agenda for agriculture are the things we have been pursuing in the last two and a half years in Nigeria.
“ The recognition is a welcome one, and we wholeheartedly accept it. The recognition is not just for the governor but for the Nigerian state. For the past two and a half years, the governor has set out the agenda.
He has keyed into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President of Agriculture and Food Security. He did that leveraging on the huge potential that the Nigerian state is endowed with.
“When you talk about agriculture in Nigeria, one of the first states that comes to mind is Niger state because of the size of land and water bodies, and of course, the climatic conditions which are favourable to agricultural activities.
“Over the past years, people have talked about this potential without backing it with action, so this is what the present governor is doing, and he is walking his talk.
“In order to achieve the objectives he has set out for himself, he has not restricted himself to the country; he has gone around the globe selling the idea of what the Niger state has to offer to the world.
“We have seen a lot of investments in agriculture in the state, we have seen technology transfer, and we have seen MoUs being signed with major stakeholders that have an interest in agriculture.
“ The recognition is a message that what we are doing has not gone out of the attention of the world, and we are going to keep on until we come to the point where Niger state is feeding the country.
“ The issue of GMOs has to do with information. It is better before you criticise anything you are better armed with information. We will be one advocate of GMOs. What is needed is for us to enhance productivity like other countries are doing.
We need GMOs to mitigate the adverse effects of insecticides, and we would like to say that GMOs have actually come to stay”, he added.
