Tech enhanced food crops cannot cause cancer

The National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) on Wednesday described as untrue assertions by non-scientists that technologically-enhanced food crops could cause diseases such as cancer among humans.

Dr Chiedozie Egesi, Assistant Director, Biotechnology at the institute told NAN in Abuja that modern biotechnology techniques, such as tissue culture, enriched rather than endangered Nigerian food crops.

He explained that commonly grown starchy crops such as cassava, potato, yam, and maize lacked vitamins.

“We work on yam, on all the roots and tuber crops; we’ve been able to release nearly 14 varieties of yam to Nigerian farmers in the past and more are in the process.

“We’ve released sweet potato varieties, one of which was done two years ago; one of them called orange-fleshed sweet potatoes; it’s very high in Vitamin A; some may be released between now and next year.

“We are working on cocoyam; cocoyam is very important; it’s nutritionally a healthy food and people have neglected it, but we are promoting it again.

“We are also working on Irish potatoes; we have a full station in Jos (Kuru) that is devoted to potato production, breeding, agronomy.

“We are also working on ginger; we have a station in Kaduna State that is fully a ginger station; we do all kinds of research from breeding to agronomy, to pathology; we work on other minor root crops – Hausa potatoes and all the rest of them.”

Egesi, however explained that Nigeria would not benefit fully from all modern biotechnology techniques including genetic engineering, without an approved bio-safety law meant to regulate research.

“Biotechnology is important because it helps to overcome some barriers that one may have biologically that one may not attain through the usual conventional means.

“Agricultural biotechnology has transformed the lives of people all over the world – Brazilian, Burkina Faso, Egyptian, South African farmers.

“So, Nigeria is yet to derive the full benefits of biotechnology in agricultural research and the reason is simple.

“We do not have a bio-safety law that will help in regulating the practice of biotechnology, and you need that to be able to go full blown into biotechnology research and commerce.”

Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives to make or modify products or processes for a specific use.

Six varieties of Vitamin A-fortified cassava have been released to Nigerian farmers since 2011.

Also, Vitamin A-enriched maize varieties were released in 2012 while orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties to combat vitamin A deficiency are available for Nigerian framers.

The National Root Crops Research Institute is one of the first institutes in Nigeria to conduct research into improving the nutritional contents of starchy root crops such as sweet potato and cassava.