A team of Nigerian food systems stakeholders comprising scientists, farmers and civil society operatives has taken up a campaign to influence the authorities to ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country.
At a press briefing on “Investigative Research and Public Hearing on GMOs” organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, in Abuja, they highlighted the environmental and health risks associated with GMO use as well as the somewhat defective process of GMOs approvals in the country, and suggested ways to ensure food sovereignty.
Joyce Brown, Director of Programmes at HOMEF, submitted that GMOs are not natural, but are deliberately designed to serve specific purposes often with the transfer of genetic material in-between totally unrelated species.
“HOMEF’s campaign against GMOs is particularly against genetic modification of food crops and animals and any other genetic modification that will alter ecosystem balance, affect the rights of farmers to seeds, wield control of our seeds/food to corporate interests and negatively impact our agriculture system and local economy,” she said, adding that that there is no evidence of independent, long term risk assessment including feeding trials conducted by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) before the approval of varieties such as cowpea, maize and cotton.
According to her, the approvals did not take into account the objections to some of the applications sent in by experts/researchers.
She expressed concern over the fact that GMOs do not necessarily improve food productivity, GMOs are not the solution to Nigeria’s food insecurity problems, that Nigerians cannot exercise their right to food with GMOs, GMOs are not currently being labeled in Nigeria, and that there is poor regulation of GMOs in Nigeria.
Brown urged the Nigerian government to adopt agroecology, an approach she described as both sustainable and rooted in local realities.
“Agroecology, which emphasises the integration of ecological principles into agricultural practices, offers a pathway to not only ensuring food security but also, more fundamentally, assuring food sovereignty,” she declared.
Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, Deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN and Food Sovereignty Coordinator of Friends of the Earth Africa, frowned at the NBMA, saying that the agency has acted more like a promoter of GMOs than as a regulator, “approving virtually every application brought to it without consideration of science-based objections sent by groups of concerned Nigerians”.
She described the NBMA Act – which came into force in 2015 and mandated the setting up of the NBMA to regulate GMOs in Nigeria – as flawed.
“The NBMA Act confers enormous discretionary powers on the agency and gives little room for oversight. The conflict of interest inherent in the NBMA Act equally raises serious red flags about the administration of biosafety in Nigeria. We have the erstwhile National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) sitting on the board of the NBMA. We are worried that an agency saddled with defending Nigeria’s biodiversity is actively promoting these risky technologies,” Bassey submitted.
She added: “We are very happy that at yesterday’s Public Hearing on Investigative Review of Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops in Nigeria by the House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria, chaired by Rt. Hon. Bello A. Ka’oje, Chairman, Joint Committee, unanimously agreed from what they heard loudly Nigerians say through the CSOs who represent them and took the floor to speak. They clearly elucidated the dangers, risks, consequences and impacts of allowing GMOs in our beloved country. The Honourable members agreed with us that there is indeed cause for concern, contrary to the claims of the GMOs bandwagon and the need to act swiftly.
“We hope and pray that our esteemed Honourable members would be resolute and firm and cause the change we need to move far away from these GMOs pollution, propagated by the biotech companies/corporations and their local agents in Nigeria.”
Tatfeng Mirabeau, a Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, disclosed that the excessive use of pesticide and herbicide originating from the introduction of GM seeds has been found to alter the haemostasis creating an oxidative stress leading to cellular damage.
“Some components of these products such as the glyphosate in the ROUNDUP herbicide have been established to be carcinogenic. Furthermore, these products have been associated to infertility,” he added, pointing out that the microbiota of GM cultivated soils loses its integrity as no-target organisms that contribute to soil fortification and aeration are destroyed.
Prof Mirabeau called on the Federal Government to halt further distribution of GM seeds to farmers, suspend any ongoing GM field trial in the country if any, and ban the importation of any GM product into the country.
Prof. Qrisstuberg Amua, Executive Director, Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR), warned that the inappropriate adoption of GMOs which are tantamount to gain-of-function research, from externally promoted research that is funded by foreign commercial interests poses a tangible risk to food safety, human health and ecological conservation.
According to him, these realities demand that Nigeria establishes a dynamic regulatory framework that promotes in-country research and innovation while genuinely safeguarding biosafety, “and not the current regime of captured and compromised national regulators turned GMO and hazardous pesticide promoters, merchandising foreign business interests”.
He added: “Research must serve as a vehicle for enlightenment rather than exploitation of Nigeria’s inherent capacity vulnerabilities. By fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and prioritising bioresource utilisation within an ecological conservation framework, we the Nigerian researchers can chart a course toward true genomic and varietal preservation and biosafety that is as progressive as it is protective.
“As stewards of experimental research, we must ensure that our scientific pursuits harmonise with Nigeria’s unique agroecological contexts and the principles of sustainability in bioresource utilisation and ecological conservation.”
Lovelyn Ejim, Executive Director of Women and Youth in Agriculture, posited that, as farmers, their position on GMO is a capital NO.
“Why? Because it degrades the land by killing all the micro-organisms thereby reducing soil nutrients; it empoverish the farmer – due to high cost of purchasing the seeds the farmers’ income is drained; it destroys the ecosystem – due to the accompanying chemicals that is claimed to be the support for the fast growth and bumper harvest some useful insects and other farmer friendly livings are killed; and it gives poor yield – due to high cost of fertiliser and other chemicals needed to boost the seed which most of the rural farmers can’t afford, yield generally becomes poor.”
According to her, GMO is also a tactical method of pushing the rural farmers aside. As most rural farmers are not educated to read the label on the chemicals, they spread it unprotected with knapsack sprayers, and some spread with leavers. This means direct contact with the chemicals can cause unknown diseases and untimely death.
She submitted that climate issues are on the rise. “These chemicals have so much harm than good. They interact with the atmosphere and have lots of negative reactions with the natural environment, changing the climatic structure; drought and flooding is now the order of the day.
“Most importantly this is purely a planned slavery in high order. When your seed is taken away from you and your land is degraded with your economy slim and finally your ecosystem destroyed, you become a slave. We should shun GMOs and embrace biodiversity as this is the only way to make our county food basket of the world again.”
