Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has stressed the need for harnessing and developing herbs and plants with medicinal value for both domestic and commercial applications out of the rich ecosystem Africa is endowed with.
The governor spoke when he declared open the HerbFest Conference organised by Bioresources Development Group in collaboration with the Government of Imo State and other federal government agencies at Sam Mbakwe Hall, Concord Hotel Owerri.
Uzodimma said that the “African Ecosystem is greatly endowed with rich plants and herbs that possess therapeutic properties that are good for modern medicine” and expressed the government’s readiness to support research that would improve the life and health of Imo people.
He commended the organisers of the event led by Prof Maurice Iwu for their dedication to research on medicinal products with potential for use in the treatment and management of diseases and promised a conducive environment for growers of medicinal plants in the State.
Speaking on the gains of the Conference, the President of Bioresources Development Group, Prof. Maurice Iwu explained that Herbfest is an annual event and that this year’s edition happens to be the 14th in the series of the programme.
Iwu explained that the 2023 event was apt with the theme: ‘Medicinal Plants for Economic Development’, noting that scientists and herbalists access themselves.
The keynote speaker, Prof Kasim Musa Waziri of the University of Abuja said that herbal medicine has a value chain that makes it a source of income, and a source of raw materials for orthodox medicine, among others.
He noted that the prospects in herbal medicine require taking steps to foster planning, recognising that it is a source of income and that it can be used as an effective cure for cancer and other ailments.
