GMO Debate in Nigeria: Balancing Innovation, Health, and Environmental Concerns

Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation based in Nigeria, believes that the country does not need genetically modified crops to solve its hunger or food security challenges. For him, the problems facing Nigeria's agriculture sector are rooted in political and social issues, not technological shortcomings.

“Nigeria does not need GMOs at all,” Bassey asserts. “The argument being brought by those who are pushing this technology is that it’s the way to solve the hunger problem in the country. But GMOs have not solved the hunger problem anywhere in the world since they were introduced in the 1990s. And they are not going to solve the hunger problem in Nigeria,” he says.

For Bassey, the introduction of GMOs is not only an issue of agricultural policy but also one of deception and the erosion of biodiversity. He is critical of the way GMO seeds are marketed to farmers in Nigeria, asserting that they are not properly informed about the nature of the seeds they are receiving.

“When GMO seeds are given to farmers, they are not told that what they are being given are GMOs. They are told that they are being given improved seeds. This is a propagation of GMOs by deception, and that is extremely unacceptable. If you are giving me a GMO seed to plant, you should explain to me what a GMO seed is,” the activist stresses.

He also criticizes the U.S. for its role in promoting GMOs in developing countries, including Nigeria. He believes that the push for GMOs is part of a larger strategy to dominate global food systems.

“The United States [US] appears to have a political mandate to popularize GMOs all over the world. They look for areas where they can easily make inroads,” he notes. “This is a colonial approach to colonizing food systems and, by extension, to colonizing the people. When everything is done for commercial interests, human health and environmental concerns are pushed to the background. This is extremely dangerous, not just for people in Nigeria, but for people around the world,” he explains.

In contrast, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, former Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency of Nigeria, strongly defends their use, emphasizing the scientific safety protocols that are in place to ensure that genetically modified crops are safe for both human consumption and the environment.

“Between 2015 and 2023, we were able to establish the National Biosafety Management Agency in a way that it became a model for other African countries. We were able to develop guidelines, set up a risk assessment framework, and create a biosafety approval process for GMOs to be introduced into Nigeria,” Ebegba proudly states. “Our efforts have made Nigeria a leader in biosafety regulations on the continent. The guidelines we developed have even been adopted by other African countries,” he notes.

Dr. Ebegba acknowledges the concerns raised by critics of GMOs, but they are often exaggerated. Addressing fears about the potential dangers of pesticides, Ebegba notes, “The activists tend to be hyperbolic about the risks of glyphosate and other chemicals used in GMO farming. Before you can really have any negative impacts, the dosage must be very high. And if you follow the regulations, the risk to human health and the environment is minimal.”

He emphasizes that the regulatory system in place in Nigeria ensures that the GMOs undergo rigorous safety assessments before they are approved for use.

“Every GMO application that we receive goes through a thorough risk assessment process. We assess the environmental impact, the food safety aspect in comparison with conventional crops, and the history of safety of the specific GMO in question,” Ebegba explains.

Ebegba also believes that GMOs have an important role to play in addressing Nigeria's food security challenges. He cites the development of drought-tolerant maize, which he sees as a solution to the challenges faced by farmers in water-scarce regions of Nigeria.

“The TELA Maize that has been developed has the ability to thrive in areas that are drought [prone] areas. So it's drought tolerant,” he says. “And one of the methods of ensuring the issue of climate change is afforestation. So if you can come up with trees that can thrive all year round or thrive in critical environments, I'll tell you those trees would serve as carbon sinks; that is, [they are] able to absorb the carbon to reduce the amount of carbon in the air and also to reduce the amount of chemicals that are being released to cause the greenhouse gases.” Ebegba elaborates.

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