Chinyere: 0:15
Welcome to Science in Africa. This is a Nature Africa podcast for African scientists and Africans interested in science. If you're interested in knowing about the science landscape in Africa, and what is happening, this is a podcast for you. I am Chinyere Opia. Biodiversity is essential for the processes to support all life on Earth. According to a definition, it refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Without biodiversity, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Unfortunately, biodiversity conservation is a growing concern. Many scientists are exploring ways to tackle this issue, and Africa is not left out in this quest. We'll meet one of the scientists today.
Iloh: 1:11
Thank you, Chinyere. for having me. It's a pleasure to discuss the little things but have great impacts we do in this part of the world. My name is Dr. Andrew Chibuzor Iloh. First, a plant biologist for first degree then I later graduated into doing what we call molecular biology or applied molecular biology in plant biology and my interest is around plant biodiversity conservation. And this is what I have been doing over the years. But I have not just been a scientist, for publishing papers for doing research, I try to move my science to development. So hence, you do designs, you do the research, you publish the papers, but see how that your research can transcend into development in a community, for example, or, you know, into a policy document. That's my idea of science, not the normal science of just publishing papers. That's what makes me different. I always tell people I'm hybrid combination of scientists and a development person.
Chinyere: 2:21
While I was doing a little research on your work, I discovered you worked on something on biodiversity conservation in some communities. Do you want to tell us about that?
Iloh: 2:32
There were two researches. The one you saw, I will talk about that one in later but let me talk about the first one, but I don't think that one is online. The first one, I was trying to conserve two very important wild plants, Okazi, Gnetum Africanum. I know I'm sure you know it very well. It's wild; and because the forests are going, they're disappearing. So, I tried to use technology - biotechnology - to mass propagate it.
Chinyere: 3:03
How did you achieve this?
Iloh: 3:04
So, I used micropropagation of tissue culture, to regenerate them and had multiple plantlets of it. Now, I didn't want to stop there, of just having multiple plants of it. I took it to a community in Obinze, in Imo state. So, they develop home gardens of okazi. First of all, they were skeptical: ‘this okazi is coming from the lab, I hope it's the same okazi?’ I said, yes, it's the same okazi, nothing is wrong with it. It's just that we just use technology to fasten or hasten its propagation. So they planted it in home gardens. And today that community is a hub of okazi within that area. Now, what that project has done, was that it has stopped that community from going into the forest or for harvesting okazi in the forest. Now they have it at the back of their houses, so they have protected the ones in the forest, leaving those ones to regenerate, have the ones at their backyard and generated income because it's now a surplus so they start selling to other communities. That was the idea of seeing how we can move my science to development.
Chinyere: 4:11
For your second research. What did you do?
Iloh: 4:15
When I was looking at issues around climate change, issues around biodiversity loss I found out that many of our indigenous seeds, indigenous plants are going extinct, maybe because of climate change or because of forest losses and all those things. Now, what can we do for these communities to protect those indigenous seeds? Then our one idea is let's set up community seed banks, because we looked at where best do we have adverse effects of issues around urbanization, climate change, and we found out that Abuja is a fast growing city. And before Abuja came, there were indigenous people living in Abuja, as Abuja is expanding, those communities are shrinking. Their land space, their food, everything about them is shrinking. That community, Sheda community in Kwali area council, of the FCT became a perfect model to test community seed banks.
Chinyere: 5:17
How were you able to carry out this research in this community, bearing in mind the challenges involved in conducting research in rural communities?
Iloh: 5:27
We went in there, I had some trainings, and we set up a community seed bank for them. So what they do is that whenever they plant their local rice, local beans, they take some of them and store in that seed bank, then the next year, they also do the same thing. Now, the beauty about that project is that living in the north is a very conservative place because of like tribe, religion, and what have you. But the men found out that it was very, very wise to allow their women participate in this because we noticed that women actually custodians of biodiversity. It's women that determine the kind of food the household eats. Women are the real custodians of biodiversity; women dictate the dietary requirements of the family. So, they were the perfect lab rats - let me be a scientist here - to test this model of community seed banks, and it works, because now we have women that are conscious about biodiversity conservation. We have women that are conscious about caring for their community in terms of protecting their seeds. So you find out that they will still have those local seeds inasmuch as more of these foreign seeds are coming, they still have a way of keeping their local seeds for the next generation.
Chinyere: 6:48
You mentioned how you tried to preserve this plant in this community, in Imo state and even with the seed banks in this community, in Abuja. In Africa, it's a general problem in Africa, how to conserve plants, especially those that are going extinct, and even to conserve seeds. How do you think your research can be replicated in other parts of Africa?
Iloh: 7:14
First of all, I would like to say that we didn't just go into just having this. We have empirical data, that issues of climate change, for example, is affecting biodiversity. I published a paper where we modeled for a particular plant, we modeled the normal ecological requirements for present, then we looked at the normal ecological requirements that it will have in 2050, with a two degree rise in temperature, and we found out that the ecological niche of that plant will shrink, meaning that the requirements, ecological requirements, for that plants in 2050 and above will be reduced. And most plants will have that issue, that means that their space for growing the environment will be so adverse that we'll have very little amount of plants that will grow at that time. I also have a research which looked at them. We tried to elevate the temperature of seed germination, we found out that only a two degree rise in temperature to 40 degrees, the seeds did not grow. And so, if we're talking about a two degree rise in the current state of our climate, it means that in the future, we would have plants that will have very little ecological niches, less food, we'll have plants that even if they are there, they can’t grow because their seeds will die because of the increase in temperature. These are very empirical facts we have on ground. And this is just driving towards direction that there will really be food insecurity. Of course, we're seeing it now. This year, we had the worst rains and the flooding in Nigeria. So invariably, by next year, there's a possibility that there'll be some form of food shortage. And this will continue to increase and increase. And it's not just happening only in Nigeria, like you said, it's peculiar across Africa. So it's time for Africa, and Nigerians to look inwards. There are many, many plants, which are drought, or climate resilient. So we need to look inwards to look out of those plans.
Chinyere: 7:18
Talking about food security, what other ways can be adopted to tackle this issue in the African continent?
Iloh: 9:20
We need to also look at some other forms of adaptive mechanisms. And we cannot be looking at these adaptive mechanisms, for example, our energy situation, we should move away from fossils and look at renewables. These are some other adaptive mechanisms. We also need funds. Money is very, very important in all these things. We can speak all the grammar and if we don't have the money to implement, there's nothing we can do. So, in terms of food security, we need to now start having efficient seeds. I always tell people, it's not the landmass. For example, whenever they are talking in Nigeria, they say they have the highest arable lands, but you could have the highest number of arable lands, and your seeds are not efficient, that they cannot grow very well and resilient to climate issues. They cannot have bumper harvest. You don't have the right machines to implement this agriculture, nothing. Your arable land will just be there. And somebody that has a little hectare of land will produce more. So we need to start looking at that, you see, you need to start having those conversation on how our agriculture should look like. We need to also start looking at our strategic reserves. What do we have? Is it really strategic? During COVID, were we able to distribute food effectively? These are some questions we need to ask ourselves, not just in Nigeria, but all over Africa. And we in Africa, not science abroad, science in Africa has proven that there will be an effect of change in environment, on our food security. On everything we do. So, it's time for us to start making these conversations.
Chinyere: 11:18
From what you said it's an important discourse, climate change, biodiversity and food security. But like it's been mentioned, you also alluded to that fact it's expensive, it requires funding to address this concern. Funding has always been a problem for researchers in Africa. How do you think this concern can be addressed?
Iloh: 11:39
Funding is a very big issue. Government funds are not enough. Research grants are now very limited, the world generally is going into so much economic crunch, the big funders are no longer having it the way it used to be. So, it's a problem. That's why I recommend Africa taps the low hanging fruits, not just having high tech. There are some low hanging fruits that might not require billions like that, but they can actually help us. These donor agencies or philanthropists are no longer forthcoming. So, we need to start looking inwards. So low hanging fruits are recommended to start with, then we graduate towards high technology. All I know is that Africa can actually feed themselves and even feed the world. We have everything. We have the human capacity, the youngest people in the whole world are in Africa. So, we need to look at these young people and see what they like. They love technology, they love their phones, they love their computers, they love their Zooms. How can we use these technologies to attract them in fields of agriculture? How do we use these technologies to attract them in healthcare, in science, in everything, in all basic things of life? Then you will see this rich, huge, human capacity to swing into action and of course, Africa develops.
Chinyere: 13:10
So how has your work, the work of your colleagues, your organization been able to provide solutions to some of these challenges we've mentioned so far?
Iloh: 13:19
Well, we have scientists that are very, very genuine. They are excellent young men, young women, and the senior colleagues too. So, we are dependent on government funding. That's one. And grants, the tertiary Institute grants, we also partake in as much our research institutes are not part of it. But we collaborate with scientists or researchers in the university, because the grants is for university lecturers to do excellent work. Then we also have foreign fundings, development partners, UNDP, FAO who look at and see our work. For example, these two projects I've talked about, were funded by UNDP, for them to see that it's workable. So, they will fund. FAO UNDP, the academic foundation like the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, which I am a fellow there, have also supported the little research we do that have made great impacts. And I can assure you that they will continue to support, we will still continue to do our best.
Chinyere: 14:26
So, you mentioned all the amazing partners that you've worked with and are helping the continent to achieve some of these goals. Do you think Africa can be self-sufficient in food and nutrition?
Iloh: 14:39
Absolutely! Like I said before, we just need to do the right things.
Chinyere: 14:45
So, you had this project and from the way you've explained it, it was really successful. Are you looking at maybe partnering with other scientists in other parts of Africa to replicate this success with their indigenous plants, with their indigenous seeds and things like that?
Iloh: 15:01
Yeah, 100%! A scientist is never an island. Collaboration is number one you are taught from school, you must collaborate. You can't do it alone; you cannot be the chemist. You cannot be the biologist. You cannot be the physicist in a particular project. So, you need collaboration, and I am arms open, heart open to other scientists all over Africa, in West Africa, North Africa, East and South Africa, to collaborate and see how we could exchange. Scientists are introverts. I am very sure that there are many scientists doing the same kind of thing I'm doing, but in their own little niches. So, it's time now for us to come out. Oh, you are doing this in Uganda; Oh, I did the same thing in Nigeria. What were your challenges? What are my success stories? We combine these together and make better outcomes from that. And what I'm doing in Nigeria, is, I'm not reinventing the wheel. Somebody out there somewhere has done the same thing. So it's time for us in Africa, scientists in Africa, to come out from that our small laboratories, try and bring out your work out there so that other scientists, other people will know. And say oh yes, how we can collaborate. Like I tell people I'm a hybrid. Yes, I bury my head in the lab but I want to come and I want to go out and see what other people are doing and let's make some progress.
Chinyere: 16:25
Thank you, Dr. Andrew Iloh, for that enlightenment. That is all for today's podcast. If interested in more stories like this and other science-based articles, check out our Nature Africa website at nature.com/natafrica. I am Chinyere Opia. Thank you for listening.
