African leaders urged to employ technology in tackling food insecurity

Clement Adeyi, Osogbo

In the wake of the food insecurity challenge rocking the African countries, including Nigeria, the Regional Director, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr Issoufou Abdourhamane as well as the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, have called on African leaders to embrace technologies to proffer solution to food crisis on the continent. Dr Abdourhamane, who spoke during the 4th edition of the South West Agroecological Biosafety Awareness workshop hosted by the Ife Biotechnological Group at the university at the weekend, said that the numerous challenges facing Africa’s agriculture could be effectively tackled with the deployment of appropriate technologies. In the same vein, Professor Ogunbodede stated that with the current population of over 170 million people and the need to guarantee food security in the country, conventional agricultural practices must give way to modern tools such as biotechnology to boost agricultural productivity. Dr Abdourhamane listed food and nutritional challenges facing Africa to include threats by contaminants such as aflatoxins, chemical contaminants, microbiological hazards, adulteration and pesticide residues.

He said: “Sub-Saharan Africa is home to some of the most nutritionally insecure people in the world.” He stressed that the need to deploy technologies in addressing the challenges was the main objective of establishing the AATF.