The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) through the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) has embarked on a mobile kitchen campaign tagged “Eating is believing” in Abuja to demonstrate the safety and nutritional benefit of Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea, BT-Cowpea also known as Beans.
BT-Cowpea was produced to resist Pests, particularly pod borer (Maruca vitrata), which have hampered production of cowpea, the most important legume in the west African country.
Nigeria became the first country to approve open cultivation of the genetically modified (GM) BT-Cowpea.
Director-General of NABDA Prof Abdullahi Mustapha noted that the campaign was a major step in the eradication of hunger and starvation, while increasing revenue for farmers and food vendors as the variety was locally sourced.
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“This is a dream come through, I’ve been waiting for a long time, now I am tasting this beans and it is wonderful, I can’t wait for other countries like Ghana to follow suit”, Representative of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), West Africa, Dr Francis Onyekachi said, while as the Project Manager OFAB in Africa Vitumbiko Chinoko expressed excitement on the commercialisation and consumption of the BT Cowpea variety.
