Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in collaboration with the Health of Mother Foundation (HOMEF); together with representatives of farmers, consumers, civil society organizations, scientists, youth and women groups, organized a Nation-wide rally, to publicly denounce the unchecked admission into Nigeria of genetically modified (GM) crops and products.
According to Mariann Bassey – Orovwuje, the Coordinator of the Food Sovereignty Program for ERA/FoEN and Friends of the Earth Africa “these pose real threats to our food system, biosafety, and overall wellbeing. We embarked on this rally to increase public awareness of the implications of some agricultural biotechnology and to call for a ban on genetically modified crops and food products in Nigeria. Nigerians demand safe foods, protected biodiversity for the benefit of our farmers and consumers.”
GMOs have found/ find their way into the country either as illegally imported products or with approval of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). A recent market survey carried out in 10 Nigerian cities by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) confirms the presence of over 30 imported products (most of which were cereals and vegetable oils) of genetic engineering in our market shelves.
NBMA approves nearly every application brought to it without proper safety assessments, without due consideration of public opinion or the impact of proposed activities or of the concerns raised by the public. A notorious case of concern is the approval of importation of genetically modified (GM) maize by WACOT Ltd in December 2018 just a few weeks after the company had tried to smuggle the grains in. The law was blatantly disregarded in this case as it requires that a minimum of 270 days be given before any application is approved to allow for proper impact assessments.
In Nigeria, besides the reality that there are no proper risks assessments conducted, the public is largely unaware of the type of food that is on their plates and while other nations are taking steps to ban the use of GMOs and review their biosafety laws, our government is bent on introducing more GM crops into the environment.
The Acting Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Chima Williams, reiterated the position of the organisation. “WE reject agricultural biotechnology as solution for food challenges and demand that Nigeria should instead invest in innovative systems such as Agroecology which in addition to ensuring productivity, protect/enhance ecosystems and promotes economic wellbeing of farmers.”