Beyond Propaganda: Unveiling the truth about GMOs

Background

Since the setup of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act in 2015, more than 20 different crop varieties have been approved by the Agency for various purposes including commercial release/market placement. As of 28th June 2024, according to information available on the Biosafety Clearing House (where countries that are signatories to the Biological Convention on Biodiversity are required to upload information regarding decisions on GMOs), Nigeria has approved 25 GM products – 11 for eld trials; 4 for commercial release; and 10 for food, feed and/or processing. The last updated information on the BCH website as at 28th June 2024 is from the decision made in April 2023 which was uploaded on 31 December 2023. Information regarding these decisions/approvals are not available on the website of the NBMA.

These approvals were given without regard for objections (based on scientic analyses) by HOMEF and other organisations representing millions of Nigerians. There are key concerns with the deployment of GMOs in Nigeria, including the faulty regulatory architecture, lack of evidence of unbiased risk assessment conducted; poor/no access to information, health and environmental hazards, as well as economic implications threatening food security.

Since the most recent approval, i.e of the TELA Maize genetically modied to be pest resistant and drought tolerant, there has been an uproar of concerns in the country. Major concerns expressed by the public include the secrecy with which these GMOs are deployed, the implication of corporate control of seeds on the Nigerian food system, the contamination of the country’s local genetic resources, environmental degradation, health implications and more.

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 introduction of new GeneticallyModied Organisms (GMO) crops in the country. This is a laudable decision, one that must be followed up to ensure that the investigation process is unbiased and that the concerned Agencies have all the relevant information on which to base their recommendations.

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance organized this Multi-Stakeholder National Conference to cohesively address the various concernsregarding biosafety and particularly 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.

Key Notes

In almost 30 years since the introduction of GMOs, they haven’t solved the problem of hunger in countries where they have been deployed or in the world. There is no evidence of a country which has eradicated food insecurity using GMOs.

GMOs are mostly driven by greed and prot maximisation rather than the need to address hunger or food insecurity. Currently, this technology is dominated by a small number of corporations. (Four companies control 60 per cent of the global seed supply: Bayer (merged with Monsanto), Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain. These companiesengage in the development and patenting of genetically modied (GM) seeds, also known as genetically modied organisms (GMOs).

There is signicant linkage of consumption of GMOs with several health and environmental implications including cancers, mental health disorders, immune disorders as well as loss of nutritional and biological diversity.

The Bt Crops have been linked to soil degradation through the destruction of soil microbiota leading to reduced productivity/yields.

GMOs can be used as biological weapons due to the ability to alter genetic material of species and to drive extinction.

Industrial agriculture has led to the treatment of food as a mere commodity and corporate control of seeds – production and sales, food packaging, agricultural machinery and agrochemicals in the world today.
The question of safety of GMOs in Nigeria is left unanswered. So far, there is no evidence of independent, long term risk assessment conducted by the National Biosafety Management Agency which is saddled with this responsibility.

There is a need to critically consider the underlying causes of food insecurity in Nigeria- bad governance, insecurity, climate change, poor extension service, lack of storage/processing infrastructure, soil degradation, poverty, inequalities etc. which directlyaffect agricultural productivity. GMOs are not the solution to these.

The idea of labelling to ensure the right to choose is in our law but it has not been implemented due to our peculiar socio-economic context. The promoters of GMOs including the regulator -NBMA have not bothered to label foods sold in open markets in bowls and by the roadside.

Key Demands

The Nigerian people – farmers, researchers, civil society organizations, faith-based organisations, academia, women and youth demand an outright ban on GMOs and a preservation of Nigeria’s indigenous seeds and food system.

The National Conference demands that the National Biosafety Management Agency be urgently reviewed to address existing loopholes including the conictive composition of the NBMA Board, absence of provision on strict liability, poor attention to the precautionary principle, the discretionary provision on risk assessment, power to receive gifts, etc.

The NBMA should produce for peer review, results of risk assessments conducted prior to the approval and commercial release of GMOs in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Government should ensure improved support for small holder farmers who are actually feeding the country. This should include reviving the extension service system across all local governments; increased provision of infrastructure (to reduce post harvest losses); addressing insecurity (to allow farmers return to farms); ensuring better access to credit and to land; and proper remediation of oil polluted soils (in the Niger Delta and other mining impacted communities)

The House of Representatives Committees on Agriculture and Services; on Health and on Environment should ensure an independent and long-term research on GMOs and biosafety as was announced in May 2024.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security should invest in and promote the adoption of an Agroecological system of farming which is proven to assure increased food productivity, diversify income for farmers, recover degraded soils, increase biological and nutritional diversity, mitigate climate change and its impact and ensure food sovereignty for Nigeria.