•As proponents, opponents clash over health concerns
By Chinyere Anyanwu, [email protected]
For years running, the debate about the safety of foods derived from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to humans and the environment has long been a subject of discussion among various stakeholders in Nigeria.
Opinions are divided, just as the subject matter has continued to gain ground.
The process of the adoption and commercialisation of GMOs in the country started 21 years ago, according to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), the agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating their production and release.
The Nigerian government approved the first GMO crops in 2019, namely BT Cotton, GM Soybeans, Pod-Borer Resistant Cowpea, PBR-Cowpea (beans), while approval for the TELA maize was given in January 2024 by the administration of President Bola Tinubu. These crops are supposed to be better because they resist insects and drought. Farmers who’ve used them are impressed by the results so far. Supporters of GMOs argue that they are safe and can solve a lot of problems in Nigeria, like food shortages and low crop yields. The African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) projects that TELA maize, if grown under good agronomic practices, could yield up to 10 metric tonnes per hectare. BT cotton has the potential to revive the country’s textile industry; GM cowpea and TELA maize are touted to be critical to the reduction of Nigeria’s cowpea and maize deficit as well as offering the possibility of launching the nation into regional and global markets.
On the other hand, opponents are worried that GMOs could have negative effects on human health and the environment. They’re concerned that farmers might become dependent on expensive seeds and that GMOs could harm local plant varieties. They posit that GMOs have been linked to cancers, diseases, allergies and all sorts of health challenges.
The Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an environmental think tank and advocacy organisation, Nnimmo Bassey, says: “There are many challenges associated with genetic modification crops that cannot be denied. It’s totally unacceptable that in the name of food sufficiency, the country is exposing its citizens to products without adequate, independent and/or long-term assessment on their impact on human and environmental health.”
His organisation, HOMEF, in collaboration with other CSOs, urged the federal government to ban the use of GMOs, highlighting some implications of GMOs in Nigeria to include loss of biodiversity, nutritional diversity and soil degradation, as well as health complications. They argued that apart from the health risks posed by GMOs, they have brought a lot of economic downturn to farmers.
In early February, the chairman of Global Prolife Alliance (GPA), Dr. Philip Njemanze, another voice calling for total ban on genetically modified foods wrote a letter to the National Assembly urging its members to ban all GMO seeds and crops in the country.
In the letter he titled, “National Security Threat: Biotech Terrorism Using GMO Seeds”, Dr. Njemanze, who described GMOs as national threat said, “the terminator gene, a genetic use restriction technology (GURT) makes plants produce sterile seeds in second generation, known as suicide seeds. Biotechnology companies intend to permanently control Nigeria’s food security by ensuring farmers must purchase seeds each planting season. This would result in the perpetual capture of the country’s financial, health, natural and human resources by foreign biotechnology investors. To address these security concerns, the government should consider implementing a complete ban on all GMO seeds and crops in Nigeria.”
The recent case of some Enugu farmers who lamented that the GM seeds they were introduced to a few years back have displaced their local varieties, become unaffordable and out of their reach, gives credence to Dr. Njemanze’s submission that biotechnology companies want to permanently control Nigeria’s food security by ensuring farmers must purchase seeds each planting season.
According to them, the seeds they purchased at the initial stage of their foray into GM crop farming at the rate of N7,000 went up to N12,000 the following planting season. By 2023, they sold for N70,000 and this year, they are selling at over N100,000.
To aggravate their situation, the original organic varieties no longer produce seeds when planted because they are no longer adapted to the soil. For them, the age-long practice of getting seeds from the year’s harvest, preserving them for use in next year’s planting is no longer tenable even as the new GMO variety does not offer such privilege. Seeds from the GM crops cannot be preserved or replanted, which means that for each planting season they have to cough out huge amounts of money to purchase the GM seeds whose prices are constantly on the rise.
There are also fears that GMOs would displace local crops and ‘give birth’ to what some have described as ‘agro colonialism.’ To allay these fears expressed by many concerned Nigerians, whether evidence-based or unfounded, the government, stakeholders and experts in GM crops research and development have consistently assured that GMOs pose no known threat to the health of humans or the environment.
forums involving different segments of society have been organised recently and in the past to address issues relating to GMOs’ safety and acceptance.
At one of such forums which saw the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology; the Federal Ministry of Environment; the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), an initiative of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF); and the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NABRDA) coming together to rub minds, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, noted that introduction of scientific innovations are not always easily accepted by the people.
The minister said, “GMOs represent a remarkable advancement in agricultural biotechnology, offering the potential to enhance crop yields, improve nutritional content and mitigate the impacts of climate change on food security. The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology will continue to work in concert with relevant stakeholders to support biosafety regulations, promote public awareness and facilitate informed public engagement about GMOs.
“Through these concerted efforts, we aim to foster an environment where the potential benefits of biotechnology can be realised in a manner that prioritises safety, sustainability and public well-being. We must learn to trust our government as custodians of public health and environmental sustainability. The government has already prioritised rigorous scientific research, thorough risk assessments and transparent regulatory frameworks to ensure the safety and efficacy of GMOs in the country.”
Still in the bid to get Nigerians to accept and consume foods from GM crops, the Director General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NABRDA), Prof. Mustapha Abdullahi, had at a forum stated that, “the subject of GMOs has often been shrouded in misinformation, misunderstanding, fear, controversies and concerns regarding their safety, regulation, ethical implications and socio-economic impacts. However, as stewards of scientific progress, it is our duty to bridge this gap of knowledge and foster informed discussions that pave the way for evidence-based decision-making.”
Prof. Abdullahi explained that Nigeria has over 20 research institutes that are working on the genetic improvement of various crops in which the country has a comparative advantage in producing.
Another stakeholder and expert in GMOs, who is working assiduously to convince Nigerians that genetically modified crops hold no threat to their lives is the Director General of the NBMA, Dr. Agnes Yemisi Asagbra who said, “Our mandate is to ensure the safe application of modern biotechnology and to oversee the use of GMOs, ensuring that they do not have any adverse impact on human health, plant life, animals and the environment. We are dedicated to safeguarding human health and preserving our rich biodiversity.”
The Minister of State for Environment, Ishaq Salako, had at a forum stated that the adoption of biotechnology is critical to attaining food security, job creation and poverty eradication in Nigeria.
He insists that, “biotechnology remains an important tool in our quest to adapt to the challenges of climate change. In healthcare, it has redefined our approach to disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment, thus helping patient outcomes and beaming positivity around diseases previously considered incurable. Biotechnology as a sector has a lot to offer to drive agricultural output, environmental protection and healthcare services and Nigeria is doing all her best to ensure that they are not left behind. Our commitment is to ensure that whatever advancements we make must not come at the cost of our planet’s health, the health of the people and our moral compass.”
The Director of the Agricultural Biotechnology Department at NBRDA, Dr. Rose Gidado, also lending her voice to the call for acceptance of GMOs by Nigerians, had noted the need to urgently address food insecurity through biotechnology.
She assured of GMOs’ safety while emphasising the huge potential of TELA maize in boosting food security. She listed countries, including US, Canada, Brazil and Argentina, that have adopted GMOs and have successfully tackled the challenges of food insecurity through it.
Despite the outcries against the adoption and commercialisation of GMOs in the country, advocates of genetically modified crops are of the strong opinion that they hold greater good for the country than any perceived danger. Nigeria is among six African countries leading in biotech crop adoption across the continent.