The National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) and industry experts have asked the Federal Government to embrace biotechnology as a catalyst for economic growth in Nigeria.
This call was emphasized during the 4th Recent Advances in Biotechnology Conference (RAIB 2024) held at Trinity University in Lagos on September 19, 2024.
During the conference, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, NBRDA, who delivered a keynote presentation titled “Biotechnology as a Catalyst for Sustainable Development: Achieving SDGs through Innovation and Collaboration,” highlighted the crucial role of biotechnology in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to Mustapha, the biotechnology and the Internet of Things have potentials to drive sustainable growth in a country within a short period.
He underscored the support received from the Nigerian government in establishing the NBRDA and emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration among stakeholders in the biotechnology sector to address global challenges and achieve the SDGs.
Mustapha provided an in-depth explanation of how biotechnology tools can be utilized to drive sustainable economic growth, emphasizing NBRDA’s ongoing initiatives to incorporate these innovations across various sectors.
Experts at the conference, including Prof. Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji, the convener, emphasized the importance of government embracing technology and fostering collaboration between industry and research institutes with universities.
Additionally, Prof. Clement O. O. Kolawole, Vice-Chancellor of Trinity University, stressed the need for proper funding of universities to encourage the generation of new ideas and solutions to societal challenges. “If universities are not properly funded,” he said, “researches can bring new ideas, so Government will also know of its responsibility towards finding University properly, so that Universities can be a center of provision of solutions to human problems which Government exist to practically solve.”
What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology, as defined by Biotechnology Innovation Organisation, is technology based on biology – biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and rare diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes.
The NBRDA was established under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to execute policies aimed at conducting research, promoting, coordinating, and advancing biotechnology in Nigeria.
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