Joseph Ebi Kanjo| Benin 

The Nigerian government has been called upon to ban Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods, support and promote Agroecology, saying it is the viable alternative for food sovereignty and climate resilience in the country.

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) made the call during an awareness campaign held in Benin City on Friday in collaboration with Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO).

The GMO-free Nigeria awareness campaign which was held across 10 states of the federation, took the campaigners in Benin City to the state House of Assembly, Government House, and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security where they submitted their petitions.

The campaigners in their large numbers carried placards with inscriptions as: ‘Food should not be grown in a Lab;’ ‘support small scale farmers;’ ‘GMOs have to go #BanGMOs;’ ‘What we eat must not eat us;’ ‘I will not be genetically modified;’ ‘We Nigerians reject GMOs;’ ‘GMO-free Nigeria’, among others.

Speaking, Executive Director, HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, who was unavoidably absent said in a statement that Nigeria does not need GMOs to address food insecurity.

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He stressed that the design of those crops does not support local economic growth but promote dependency on corporate seed supply.

Bassey explained further: “In September 2024, the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) were reported to have said that they did not record any significant increase in their yields compared to the local seed varieties but instead, since the introduction of GM cotton seeds over 4 years ago, yield per hectare has remained about the same.

“Also, the farmers noted that no other plant has been able to germinate on the farmlands where the GM seeds were planted, even after four years – confirming the concerns regarding loss of biodiversity and soil degradation due to release of genetic material (proteins) into the soil which would not ordinarily occur.”

Bassey further decried the fact that farmers are not able to replant the GM seeds after harvest due to declining yields.

“They are encouraged to continuously purchase the seeds every new season from corporate entities.

“This reflects neo-colonialism and corporate capture of our food system -something we shouldn’t take lightly,” he added.

READ ALSO: Food Crisis: HOMEF, GMOs-Free Nigeria Train Abuja Farmers, CSOs, Others On Agroecology

Also lending his voice through a statement, Barr. Ifeanyi Nwankwere, National Co-coordinator of GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, noted that GMOs approved in Nigeria, so far are not currently being labelled, adding that Nigeria’s socio-economic context would not allow labelling to be effective considering how food is sold in cups and basins in open markets where majority of Nigerians shop from.

Nwankwere noted that the biosafety regulatory system in Nigeria is not designed in a way that assures safety with regard to GMOs.

On the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Act, Nwankwere noted that the Act has fundamental flaws including the lack of provision on strict liability, lack of adequate provision on the Precautionary Principle, inadequate provision on public participation in decision making etc.

“Another major flaw with the biosafety regulatory structure is the composition of the board of the NBMA with key promoters of GMOs e.g the National Biotechnology Development and Research Agency sitting on that board to decide on permits that agencies including the NABDA will apply for” he added.

Speaking at the Government House during the rally, Leftist Omobude Agho, Coordinator-General, EDOCSO, while expressing worry that 14 seeds have been approved for GMO by the agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating food in the country, urged Edo governor to enact an Executive Bill that would criminalise GMO foods in the state.

READ ALSO: GMOs: HOMEF Trains Gelegele Farmers, Urges Them To Embrace Agroecology

Agho added: “Edo State Governor must come up with an Executive Bill and send to the House of Assembly against GMOs. And in that bill, it should be stated that any shop or anybody caught selling GMO foods in the state would be seriously punished. 21 years imprisonment would be better for people caught violating the order.”

According to the Coordinator-General, EDOCSO, GMOs were introduced by the Western world in order to cause sickness in people’s bodies so that they (Western world) can sell their pharmaceutical products.

Agho added: “What they have planned is to put sickness in our bodies by all means so that they can sell their pharmaceutical products. What they have planned is to shorten our life spans.

“The secret of it all is that they want to colonise our food. Our lives will be dependent on their laboratory to eat food. We must determine to leave our lives and not the Western world determining it for us. Our lives are our rights, we must reject GMOs,” he added.