COLLABORATION IN BIORESOURCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Preamble
Biotechnology development as a necessity requires working together, at various phases by scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and governments at intra-country, regional and global levels. In view of its multi-disciplinary nature, it demands team approach. Moreover, its products command huge economic benefits of transnational importance. These have, therefore, always necessitated collaboration in biotechnology development.
Policy Statement
The Government shall encourage and promote in-country, sub-regional and global co-operation in the development and use of biotechnology through strategic partnerships in research, networking biotech entrepreneurship and elaboration of regulations that ensure biosafety, biodiversity conservation, protection of intellectual property, breeders and farmers rights as well as bioethics.
Objectives
The main policy objectives in bioresources and biotech collaboration will be to:

1. Develop strong advocacy programmes, which enable all stakeholders exchange and share ideas with the civil society and thus be able to always attain and maintain a national consensus on matters relating to biotechnology and national development.
2. Develop collaborations in biotech research and development in tandem with both national priorities and the overall national economy.
3. Ensure, in alliance with internal and external partners adequate human resources and infrastructural development that will guarantee sustainable national bioresources and biotech development.
4. Develop strong bioinformatics network, which will enable the stakeholders share relevant information and be on the forefront of available technologies and R&D products.
5. Set up networks that will encourage and promote integration of activities in the economic development as well as for monitoring, reviewing, analysing and synthesizing biotech impacts on the nation’s socio-economic and environmental sectors.
6. Collaborate with the market, finance and other sectors of the national economy to ensure bioresources and biotech entrepreneurship and thus create jobs, wealth, food security and cheap health care delivery system.
7. Ensure development of a sub-regional network, which will promote simultaneous development of bioresources and biotech in the sub-region and a common stand on issues at global negotiations.

Strategies

1. Launching of national needs assessment study to evaluate potentials of biotechnology in the national economy.
2. Organizing zonal and national seminars for all stakeholders to analyse the results of the national study, elaborate a national biotechnology and prepare guidelines for the national policy implementation.
3. Organizing at intervals seminars, conferences, workshop and Biotech Forum to keep all stakeholders and the civil society abreast with the developments in biotechnology.
4. Developing international collaborations for sub-regional and regional co-operation in both bioresources and biotech research, development and commercialisation.
5. Linking with local and foreign universities and experts for training of nationals for R &D in bioresources, biotechnology, biosafety and biotech entrepreneurship activities.
6. Sourcing of national, state and local government funds as well as international funding agencies for the biotech infrastructural development in Nigeria.
7. Setting up networks and databases using ICT.
8. Production of Biotech CD-ROM for our national biotech and bioresources research systems and university libraries thus ensuring adequate information flow.
9. Setting up of West African Biotech Network (WABNET) in partnership with member states and ECOWAS Secretariat.
10. Determination and acquisition of appropriate technologies through collaboration with relevant agencies.
11. Technology investment management in partnership with financial and market institutions.
12. Elaboration of strategic partnership with both private and public sector at both the national and international levels.

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