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By Chinyere Anyanwu, [email protected]
National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) has recommended the Bollgard II cotton, a genetically modified variant for farmers and investors in the textile industry.
The Director of Agricultural Biotechnology at NABDA, Dr. Rose Gidado, made the recommendation during her visit to the cotton farm of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, following her excitement at the blooming nature of cotton farms as she recommended the variety to other high capacity farmers.
She said more such ventures would contribute considerably to enhancing Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Lawal is currently nurturing four cotton farms totalling 235 hectares, all of them in communities around his birthplace in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
The farms were cultivated using biotech improved cotton seeds, which are disease-resistant and prone to high yields.
Dr. Gidado, who led some other officials of the agency on inspection tour to the farms at the weekend, said she was highly impressed by how the cotton plants had already produced buds with promise of high cotton yields.
She said, “we are here as a follow-up visit. Around March or April (this year), the former SGF, Babachir Lawal, visited our office to say he wanted improved cotton seeds, that’s biotech improved seeds.
“He got Bt cotton, that’s Bollgard II cotton which is treated to resist pink Bollworm (a moth larva which is disastrous as it damages the cotton plant at its fruiting point).”
Explaining that the conventional or local variety of cotton seeds is usually beset with diseases and does not give farmers adequate yield, Gidado said Babachir bought the improved seeds and headed back to Hong, and that the result has met expectations.
Dr. Gidado said, “we came to see for ourselves the result of what he got from us, to see if he is getting what we told him the improved seeds would give; and we are glad about what we have seen.
“Each plant has so many buds, as many as 70 or 100 per plant. And the plants are perennial. As long as there is water from rain or irrigation, they will keep yielding buds. Looking at the vast expanse of land on which cotton has been cultivated, I believe he is going to have bountiful harvests.”
Advising more Nigerians to follow Babachir’s example, the NABDA official said, “our coming here is to encourage him to continue and to do even more. We encourage other high capacity farmers to invest in this improved seed cotton farming as they can export their harvest and improve the country’s GDP.”
According to her, Babachir’s genetically engineered bollworm-resistant Bt cotton variety could produce at least 3.5 tonnes of cotton per hectare.
“For each hectare, with the good agronomy practices that we see here, there is a potential yield for 4.1 to 4.4 tonnes per hectare and that’s what we are expecting from this. The worst you can get here is 3.5 tonnes per hectare,” she said.
The Manager of the farms, Malam Abdullahi Shelleng, expressed optimism for even higher yields, saying, “there is a great difference between the old variety and this modified cotton variety. You will keep spraying chemicals on the old variety and still not get a meaningful yield.
“From the old variety you may have just two tonnes per hectare, while with this improved variety, you could get between five and six tonnes per hectare.”
