By Chidiebere Iwuoha
Owerri
Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.(Dr) Acho Ihim, has charged Nigerian youth to embrace biotechnology to boost diversification into agriculture and food security.
Ihim , who spoke through his Media Aide, Ilochonwu Bennett, noted that biotechnology has a critical role to play in enhancing agricultural production and making agriculture a profitable business as against a mere subsistent means of livelihood.
He averred that modern biotechnology would help the nation to produce high yield variety of seedlings that are also disease and pest resistant, which can also withstand harsh and adverse weather conditions in view of the current climate change being experienced the whole world.
The Speaker, who stated that biotechnology would help to reduce labour input in farming through modernisation, attract young Nigerians to participate actively in agriculture whether in crop production, fishing, livestock, forestry or horticulture, explained that the use of bio-fertilizers have also helped to renew soil from harmful effect of the use of organic fertilizers, which decrease the fertility of the soil.
Also speaking on the current enactment of the bio-safety law in Nigeria, he explained that with the law, no product of biotechnology that is harmful can be allowed, hence the concern of many people about the safety of biotechnology to human health should be taken care of by important legislation.
