CSOs express concerns over divergent stands of FG agencies on GMOs safety

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Environmental Rights Action (ERA), and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance on Monday expressed concerns. They are worried about the divergent positions of Federal Government agencies. These concerns are focused on the safety of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food chain.

They condemn the inconsistency from Nigeria’s leading agency. This agency is responsible for safeguarding the health of Nigerians on matters of food and drugs, adding that there are concerns regarding the safety of GMOs.

The coalition of over 80 civil society organisations, researchers, farmers, women and youth groups representing

The interest of millions of Nigerians noted that the divergent views by regulators leave much to be desired.

The coalition’s position is captured in a statement by Miss Kome Odhomor, HOMEF’s Media/Communication Lead.

It will be recalled that on Aug. 8, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that GMOs, particularly in food, are not harmful to human health, provided that safety protocols are followed.

Adeyeye, who spoke on the safety of GMOs, noted that: “GMOs are genetically modified foods and they are not bad for us. They’re not.

They are not bad for us, depending on what type of foods they are and whether these safety considerations have been taken.

However, in June 2024, Adeyeye made statements expressing concerns about GMOs in Nigeria.

She said that “NAFDAC does not consider GMO foods safe for consumption due to insufficient research and data at the agency’s disposal regarding their safety.

She emphasised that “until we get very convincing data to show the safety for human consumption, NAFDAC’s position remains that GMOs are not safe.

On potential uses for non-food crops, she maintained that there’s no evidence from NAFDAC that they are safe for human consumption

The CSOs wondered why the DG of NAFDAC changed her mind on the safety of GMOs.

“Where is the rigorous, independent and long-term research that NAFDAC or the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has conducted to confirm that GMOs are safe for consumption or what exactly informs this radical change of opinion?” the CSOs queried.

The statement noted that according to Prof. Johnson Ekpere, an Independent Consultant and Convener of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, “These agencies are yet to show evidence of a robust, long-term and independent study, particularly feeding studies to confirm that GMOs are safe.

“Meanwhile, a recent rat feeding study by Iranian scientists showed substantial liver and kidney damage in rats fed GM soybean oil for 90 days. Similar studies have also shown a connection to tumours and immune disorders manifesting as asthma, allergies and more.

“This sort of inconsistency and falsehood peddled by agencies of government who are saddled with the responsibility to protect our health and environment is unacceptable,” Ekpere said.

The statement further quoted Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, as saying that the setbacks on GMOs go beyond health complications to long-term and possibly irreversible soil/environmental degradation.

He cited the report from the National Cotton Farmers Association of Nigeria, where the farmers lamented that after three years of planting the pesticidal cotton (Bt cotton), conventional crops are not growing on those soils.

Herbicide-tolerant GMOs (which make up about 80 per cent of GMOs worldwide) have led to the critical destruction of biodiversity as the herbicides the GMOs are designed to withstand do not only kill target pests but also beneficial organisms within the soil ecosystem.

According to him, these herbicide-tolerant GMOs have also led to the development of super weeds, forcing farmers to require even more toxic formulations of herbicides that are not only injurious to the environment but also to human health.

The coalition quoted a Medical and Molecular Microbiologist, Dr. Ifeanyi Casmir, as warning that “Bt Crops, for example, the Bt beans that were approved for commercial release in 2019 and 2024, respectively, contain proteins that, when released into the soil, destroy soil microorganisms, leading to soil degradation and reduced fertility.”

Casmir also noted that: “Studies have found Bt toxins in 93 per cent of pregnant women and 80 per cent of foetal cord blood, raising risks of birth defects, cancer and allergies.

“The fact that our regulatory agency – The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) cannot show any evidence of independent and extensive risk assessment conducted shows irresponsibility and lack of concern for public health”, he concluded.

The statement quoted the Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, Barr Mariann Bassey-Olsson, is stressing the threat to Nigeria’s food sovereignty.

She noted that “GMOs pose a critical risk of genetic contamination of our indigenous seed varieties owing to gene transfer.

For this reason, Mexico and a host of other countries have placed a total or partial ban on GMOs.

“We cannot overlook such a grave threat to our plant genetic resources, especially as such contamination is irreversible.

“GMOs foster dependence on foreign seed companies, since they do not produce well after the first planting, and farmers are forced to buy new seeds season after season. Moreso, GMOs are patented – meaning their producers have exclusive rights to the seeds for many years. This prohibits the selling or exchange of seeds, which is an age-old practice by our farmers,” Olsson added.

Joyce Brown, Director of Programmes at HOMEF, queried the recent submission by the DG of NAFDAC: “Beyond the MoU signed with NBMA, what is NAFDAC doing about the over 50 different brands of processed food products in our markets that are labelled to contain GMOs? Did NAFDAC and NBMA certify these products?”

“In 2018, HOMEF and other CSOs wrote to NAFDAC to confirm if they were aware of the permit for GM Maize granted to WACOT Ltd in 2017. NAFDAC responded that they didn’t know about such an approval. MoUs are ineffective if they fail to translate into actual collaboration and a rigorous review of processes that significantly impact the Nigerian populace.

“WACOT Ltd had tried to illegally import the maize but was apprehended by the Nigerian Customs Service. The NBMA publicly said the maize would be repatriated, but just a few weeks later, WACOT was granted approval to import the maize for 3 years. This goes against provisions of the NBMA Act 2015, which states that an applicant shall give notice 270 days before any GMOs are imported,” Brown noted.

The coalition called on the Nigerian Senate to effect a ban on GMOs; to protect Nigeria’s indigenous seed varieties; protect human health; preserve the integrity of soils/environment, and to support/promote agroecological approaches to food system challenges.

The coalition emphasised the need for the government to address the root causes of food insecurity, to increase support for smallholder farmers through better access to credit, land and other resources, provision of infrastructure, and to address the crises that keep many farmers away from their farms.