The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called on the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to review plans to merge the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) as National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), highlighting concerns about conflicting roles of the agencies.
The FEC, in order to enhance efficiency in the federal service, and reduce the cost of governance, decided to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Panel on the restructuring and rationalisation of federal agencies, parastatals and commissions. The implementation involves merging, subsuming and scrapping agencies with similar functions.
HOMEF applauds the government effort at restructuring and rationalisation of federal agencies and others which will address the long-standing issues of regulatory overlaps and foster implementation and accountability. HOMEF, however, notes that the functions of NABDA and NACGRAB do not overlap.
While NABDA was established under the aegis of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in 2001 to implement the policy that is aimed at conducting research, promotion, coordination and development of biotechnology for Nigeria; NACGRAB was established in 1987 by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology with a mandate to collect and conserve valuable genetic resources for food and agriculture and ensure that they are used sustainably with a gene bank located in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria.
Furthermore, the NACGRAB’s website states: “The Centre, backed by Decree 33 of 1987 regulates the seed, livestock and fisheries industries through its Varietal Release Committees.”
Executive Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, highlighted that the NACGRAB has a robust and distinctive role to regulate the seed, livestock and fisheries industries. This means a clear conflict of mandates with NABDA.
Also, the NACGRAB coordinates the activities of the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breed and Fisheries. How then would the proposed NBRDA for example, ensure the development of new varieties of crops through genetic manipulation (part of NABDA’s role) and approve same for commercial release (as NACGRAB)? He insisted that NABDA is one agency that should be scrapped.
Bassey further stated that, in the implementation of the Federal Executive Council decisions of Monday, February 26, 2024, there is need for a critical review of the current mandate of all agencies, parastatals and commissions to be merged to ensure adequate institutional support, including budgetary allocations and concrete implementation plans.
“Where a merger is required, it is important for the operational details of the new agencies to be clarified and made public,” he added.
HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Joyce Brown, noted that although both agencies have a research mandate, the focus of research is different. Brown recommends that instead of a merger with NABDA, NACGRAB should collaborate with the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) with a similar regulatory role in this case to regulate modern biotechnology activities and the release into the environment, handling, and use of genetically modified organisms which are products of modern biotechnology to prevent adverse impact on the environment and human health.
“Better still, the NBMA can become a unit under the NACGRAB which would ensure institutional support and oversight for the NBMA to address the current lax biosafety regulatory system. However, within the NACGRAB, there needs to be a clarification of mandate – It is ironical that a centre that prides itself in its commitment to the conservation of the rich Genetic Resources of the nation is the same in charge of approving the release of genetically modified varieties which threaten this very mandate,” Brown added.
Food Sovereignty Activist and Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, noted that the proposed merger is rife with conflict and sets the stage for NABDA to swallow up whatever little traces or semblance of regulation of its activities that remains.
“Already, NABDA ‘the regulated’ acts more or less like ‘the regulator’ and exerts its influence. If this merger pulls through, we can as well say goodbye to any form of GM regulation in Nigeria, which will be a recipe for disaster,” Orovwuje said, calling on the government at this time to consider setting up a policy on agroecology which is proven to address food insecurity, strengthen the local economy, and ensure climate change adaptation.
“In addition to reducing governance cost, a critical review of the mandates of these food related agencies and establishing linkages as well as clearly defined operational details are expedient for ensuring biosafety, biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty for our nation,” she added.
