I had discussed the biotech revolution in a previous post. As biotech is poised to become the next engine room of the global economy after IT, Nigeria as a nation cannot afford to miss out on this revolution. To that end, various administrations have made efforts to carve out a niche for Nigeria in the global bioeconomy.
A big part of the rationale for the push into biotechnology shortly after the return of democracy was to harness high technology to deal with the episodes of malnutrition and starvation that had occurred in the previous 20 years up to that point in Nigeria and a handful of other African countries. These episodes had been blamed by political on drought, desertification, flooding and agricultural crop failure. The use of biotechnology was seen by the then Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Turner T. Isoun as a solution to these natural disasters.
In October of 2000, Prof Isoun wasted no time in setting up a committee on biotechnology shortly after becoming Minister. He charged the committee with working out the details of a national policy on biotechnology development. The policy was designed to:
- Ensure government gives priority attention to the provision of relevant infrastructure and facilities for rapid development of biotechnology in Nigeria
- Provide an appropriate and adequate legal regulatory framework and an enabling environment to attract foreign investors to enable leap-frogging of our national biotech industry.
- Place a strong emphasis on the areas of Food and Agriculture; Health; Bioresources development; Industry, and the Environment for priority R & D
- Ensure that actions are taken to accelerate the indigenous acquisition and development of relevant and affordable biotechnology progammes in Nigeria.
- Promote indigenous R & D activities to enhance creativity and innovations in biotechnology critical to the growth and sustenance of the biotech industry.
- Ensure that there is adequate funding for this vital technology to enjoy corresponding payoffs.
- Ensure greater national commitment to capacity building for sustainability of the biotechnology industry in Nigeria and enhance its international competitiveness, with a strong resolution to promote ethical, environmental and biosafety concerns.
- Aggressively promote collaboration with the private sector and relevant national and international agencies to advance the course of this industry locally and internationally.
- Make adequate provisions for effective and efficient implementation of the policy.
- Fully and sustainably exploit Nigeria’s huge bioresources endowment which has a comparative and competitive advantage for bio-prospecting of indigenous natural resources for use in agriculture, health, industry and environment.
- Be supported by a workable action plan for a systematic and focused implementation of biotechnology policy under short-term, and medium to long term time frames.
- To operate under a 3-tier organizational structure, vis: Ministers Council, National Biotech Technical Committee (to advise the Minister’s Council) and the National Biotech Development Agency (NABDA; management) as biotech is a complex of multi-sectoral technologies.
In 2001, the management tier of that 3-tier organizational structure, NABDA was launched under the Ministry of Science & Technology (It was soon to become independent) to drive biotechnology policy, research, and the responsible introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Nigeria.
There are other government research institutes that carry out biotechnology-related research among other things. Some of them are as follows:
Federal Institute for Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) – FIIRO is engaged in several traditional biotechnology product developments through fermentation using cassava as well as facilitating the acceptance and marketing of the incorporation of 10% cassava flour into wheat bread.
Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) – RMRDC has provided grants to support R & D in many strategic biotechnology areas for natural resource development.
Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) – NNMDA concentrates on the documentation of useful plants, particularly those with medicinal value and on the production of plant-based or plant-derived drugs, cosmetics, and spices.
National Centre for Genetic Research and Biotechnology (NACCRAB) – NACCRAB is concerned with the preservation and conservation of agricultural seeds and elite strains of plants.
National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT) – NARICT is doing research into basic and applied research in the chemistry of natural products using technological methods. NARICT spearheaded neem plant production and a processing factory in Katsina capable of producing neem-derived fertilizers, organic pesticides, and neem oils for the production of cosmetics etc.
Federal College of Chemical and Leather Technology (CHELTEC) – CHELTEC is contributing to research and development in leather technology recognizing and taking advantage of the local indigenous knowledge of leather processing in Kano. The highly valued premium quality Moroccan leather, which for hundreds of years was actually produced in Kano, were made from hides which were processed into leather and exported through Morocco, and branded by Europeans as ‘Moroccan’ leather. Hides and skin exports from Nigeria are one of the country’s significant non-oil exports.
Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) – SHESTCO has a biotechnology lab (as well as physics and chemistry labs) whose R & D activities span the realm of food and agricultural biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, medical biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and biomaterials.
In 2005, NABDA drafted a Roadmap for the Management of Bioresources, with special reference to biotechnology applications. This was part of a broader initiative by the Ministry of Environment christened the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), drafted in 2004. The Action Plan’s objective was to guarantee the conservation of Nigeria’s biological diversity.
The NBSAP was to develop an appropriate framework and programme instruments for the conservation of Nigeria’s biological diversity and enhance its sustainable use by integrating biodiversity considerations into national planning, policy and decision-making processes. This is to be achieved through:
- Biodiversity conservation
- Sustainable use of biological resources
- Conservation of agro-biodiversity
- Biosafety guidelines
- A Biodiversity – Industry interface
The NBSAP initiated the formation of a private sector driven Bioresources Industry Organization of Nigeria (BION), to engage the private sector and civil society in monitoring the use of biodiversity for the production of consumer goods. The objectives of BION include:
- Assisting Nigerian bio-based industries
- Promoting public awareness of the benefits of bioresources
- Promoting the sustainable use of bioresources through the establishment of bio-based enterprises in Nigeria
- Encouraging the development of policies, regulations and laws that would promote the safe and sustainable utilization of biological resources
- Establishment of cooperative networks and relationships with similar organizations in Africa, Europe, America, Asia etc.
In 2006, a draft National Biosafety Management Agency Act was submitted to the National Assembly. The bill containing the draft was passed in 2011. In 2015, it was signed into law, thus establishing the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).
In 2014, an exciting development was afoot with the founding African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), a consortium of West African academic and medical institutions partnering for research and training based at Redeemer’s University. ACEGID’s mission is to serve as a center of excellence for research and training in genomics, with a focus on infectious disease. ACEGID has a mandate to build capacity in the field of genomics in young African scientists and identify and characterize pathogens of unknown origin using microbial metagenomics. Some of ACEGID’s achievements are as follows:
- Accurate diagnosis of the first case of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 2014 EVD outbreak
- Sequenced approximately 250 Ebola virus genomes and made available in open access databank
- Provided tools and training for disease diagnosis, sequencing and bioinformatics
- Developed the capacity and provided facilities to study a BL4 pathogen in rural field settings (Nigeria and Sierra Leone)
- Developed Ebola virus rapid diagnostics test (RDT) for rapid diagnosis of the disease in 10 minutes
- Developed a new pan – Lassa fever rapid diagnostics test kit for diagnosis of the disease in 10minutes.
- Discovered 2 novel highly divergent rhabdoviruses in Ekpoma, Nigeria
- Used clinical sequencing to uncover the origin and evolution of the Lassa virus
- Discovered neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that target epitopes on Lassa virus glycoproteins giving potential for immunotherapeutic in Lassa fever.
- Participated in the 1000 genome project for the development of global reference for human genetic variation
- Received the 1st prize in the life sciences and Medicine category at the 6th Nigerian Universities Research and Development Fair.
- Trained approximately 1000 young African scientists in the field of Genomics and Bioinformatics between 2014 till date.
- ACEGID was designated as one of the three Africa’s regional reference laboratories for genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens.
Between 2019 and 2023, NABDA notched up a number of notable achievements. Some of the include:
- Developed anaerobic digestion technology for biogas from organic waste.
- Collaborated with National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to enable local COVID-19 test-kit production.
- Commenced Lassa fever drug research and produced yogurt starter cultures and began livestock artificial insemination trials.
- Rolled out insect- and drought-resistant maize and released new rice (FARO68) and 20 crop varieties for improved food security
In the last 2 years, there have been high level stake holders’ meetings and announcements of strategic partnerships, thus affirming biotech’s crucial role in Nigeria’s development efforts.
Bibliography
- Why Run Before Learning to Walk?