By Oke-Oghene Orogun and Katherine Abayomi
Health of Mother Earth Foundation HOMEF in collaboration with the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance has called for an outright ban on Genetically Modified Organisms GMOs in Nigeria citing concerns over the country’s faulty regulatory architecture lack of evidence of unbiased risk assessment and potential health and environmental hazards
Speaking at a Multi-Stakeholder National Conference in Abuja Nnimmo Bassey Director of HOMEF said The Nigerian people demand a preservation of our indigenous seeds and food system We will not allow corporate control of our seeds and food system The time for action is now.
The conference was organized to address concerns regarding biosafety and GMOs review the experience so far and come up with clear resolutions regarding their release and use as well as solutions for food sovereignty in Nigeria The event brought together stakeholders from various sectors including farmers researchers civil society organizations faith-based organizations academia women and youth
Participants at the conference expressed concerns over the secrecy surrounding the deployment of GMOs in Nigeria contamination of local genetic resources environmental degradation health implications and economic implications threatening food security They also criticized the National Biosafety Management Agency NBMA for its lack of transparency and accountability in the approval process
Recall that in May 2024, the House of Representatives adopted a motion to probe the introduction of GMOs in Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to suspend the introduction of new GMO crops. This move was seen as a victory for the anti-GMO movement, but more needs to be done to address the concerns of Nigerians.
In a communique issued at the stakeholders’ National conference On GMOs and Biosafety in Nigeria, it was resolved that there is an urgent review of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to address existing loopholes on conflict composition, absence of provision on strict liability, poor attention to the precautionary principle, discretionary provision on risk assessment, and power to receive gifts.
They further call on the NBMA to produce for peer review, the risk assessment results conducted before the approval and commercial release of GMOs in Nigeria. They also call on the federal ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to invest in and promote the adoption of an Agroecological system of farming, which will lead to increased food productivity, recover degraded lands, diversify income for farmers, increase biological and nutritional diversity, mitigate climate change and its impact and ensure food sovereignty in the country, and the promotion of setting up organic/agroecological markets for food products in Nigeria should be ensured by the federal ministry of agriculture and food security they emphasised.
