Page 65 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 9

FEATURES

Is the use of GMOs very wreak havoc. We need to open our We are part of the Yam Improve-
widespread in Nigeria? eyes. We can’t allow external parties ment for Income and Food Secu-
It is not very widespread. There’s a to control our food system; whoever rity in West Afrika, in conjunction
lot of awareness where people say controls your food system controls with the International Institute of
to me, “Technology is great, but I you. If we want independence and Tropical Agriculture, and we are
hope it’s not GMO.” There is a lot sovereignty, we have to begin to using these technologies to create a
of opposition towards the use of take control of our food systems seed system for yam, the first of its
GMO, it is not widely adopted and and ensure we are giving our people kind in the world. The technology
you do find voices that speak up and healthy safe and affordable foods. allows rapid propagation of yam
speak against it. seeds, which we provide to farmers
We also need to get away to grow into the big tubers you see
Across the continent it is not as from importing. in the market today.
widespread, this is good, although When you look at importing it
we do need to improve and enhance is draining our foreign exchange If we can disrupt the seed subsector
upon it. We do have our traditional reserves, because we have to convert of the overall yam value chain that
seed systems to give our farmers our local currencies to foreign will drive down the cost of yam,
access to clean and healthy seeds be- currencies to import and why are we make it readily available and afford-
cause that’s where it all starts from doing that when we have capacity to able, provide our clean seed to farm-
and we also need to ensure that oth- farm for ourselves? We really need ers and enable them to sell all their
er inputs such as access to fertilizer, to reorient our mindset as well. harvest, instead of keeping part of
irrigation and financing the major their harvest for the next cycle.
impediments to agriculture taking Tell us about PS Nutrac. We can then go into the processing
off are sorted out. PS Nutrac is a youth-led agricultur- aspect.

al company. What we’re primarily
GMO is not as widespread in use doing is utilizing two technologies We are starting in Nigeria, but the
across the continent in comparison aeroponics: soil-less agriculture West Afrikan yam belt stretches
to India, where it has been dev- where plants are grown in the air; all the way to Ivory Coast. It is a
astating for farmers and you have and hydroponics, where plants are nutritious crop; it is very healthy and
farmers committing suicide because grown in the water. We are using is even used as a fertility treatment,
of the devastation to the land. these two technologies to focus on it has anti-carcinogenic properties,
yam. It is a major crop in West and is delicious food and is medicinal as
We haven’t seen that yet in Afrika Central Afrika, an Igbo man’s wealth well.
nevertheless, it’s important we look used to be connoted by the size of
at places like India as an example his yam barn. It has been with us It has taken close to 4 years of
and see the devastation it’s caused since the beginning, the tuber we research and development, working
and say we can’t allow this, and we found that the Creator gave us that with small scale farmers and encour-
build a robust agricultural system to was able to sustain us. aging them to plant our seeds and
ensure these things don’t come and they have all noticed the difference.

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