The Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN) has appealed to the federal and state governments to fund research in the country’s tertiary institutions and research institutes.
The president of BSN, Prof Sylvia Uzochukwu, made the appeal at the 36th International Conference of the society held yesterday at the Muhammad Indimi International Conference Centre, University of Maiduguri, in Maiduguri.
Uzochukwu said while TETFUND can only fund a few research projects, university lecturers and researchers should not be using their meagre salaries to fund their research and to attend conferences.
She said the theme of this year’s conference is: “ Innovative Biotechnology for National Development; Role of Public- Private Partnership”, adding that the theme is centred on biotechnology innovations driven by private-public sector partnership.
“The sub-themes of the conference address food, agricultural, environmental, industrial, medical, marine, and Dark technology, as well as Bioinformatics among others. We have already carried out a traditional pre-conference workshop on Basic – vitro DNA Manipulation Techniques at the world class University of Maiduguri’s Biotechnology Centre.
“ They will employ these techniques in their research for resolving Nigeria’s myriad of problems with food, health and the environment. The workshops are for the training and re-training of the scientists of tomorrow and their teachers in the use of the tools of in- vitro DNA manipulation which is at the core of the modern biotechnology revolution.
“It is those new tools and techniques that we owe the development of the COVID vaccines that marked the end of COVID-19 pandemic.”
The training courses help to build human and institutional capacities in biotechnology for the country, with a view to solving our problems with food security, affordable health care and a safe environment,” she said.
She appreciated the host, Borno State governor Babagana Zulum, who was honoured with BSN Achievers Award for providing a safe environment for the participants to attend the workshop.
The vice chancellor University of Maiduguri, Prof Aliyu Shugaba, appreciated Governor Zulum and all other stakeholders for gracing the occasion.
He added that this year’s conference was supposed to take place in August, but he kindly requested to host it in April, because his tenure would end in June, adding that he was most humbled for the granting of his request.
“The University of Maiduguri has established a B.Sc. Biotechnology Programme aimed at providing the needed professionals to stimulate the application of biotechnology to transform the health environment, agriculture, and industries for the country’s socio-economic growth.
“I am also happy to inform this gathering that the Resource Verification visit by the National Universities Commission (NUC) last year has positioned the department well for academic activities. The mission for the department is to provide a sound footing in theories, methodologies, the different fields and applications for biotechnology for sustainable economic growth and development.
“The University of Maiduguri Centre for Biotechnology is the North-East Zonal Biotechnology Centre of Excellence. It is gratifying to inform you that the Centre has achieved a lot despite the many challenges facing research in this country.
“The Centre’s laboratories of Plant Tissue Culture and Molecular Biology are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The two laboratories have attracted over N6O million of research grants as well as $20,000 in interventions, particularly, in the area of Biorisk Management.
“On this note, I want to use the opportunity to thank the past and present management of the Centre for Biotechnology for their contributions to the development of Biotechnology at University of Maiduguri,” Shugaba stated.