Th e Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), with 87 other civil society organisations (CSO) have raised the alarm over alleged plans by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the ETHZ laboratories of Zurich Switzerland to apply to carry out confi ned fi eld trial in Nigeria of cassava genetically modifi ed organism to “obtain storage roots with lower post-harvest physiological degradation after harvest without any loss of the nutritious starch.
” Th e group in a statement signed by the Biosafety Project Offi cer, Miss Joyce Okeoghene, said the IITA’s application is to conduct “confi ned” fi eld trials of the cassava genetically modifi ed using a new gene silencing technology that has never been tested before.
In fact, the IITA admits that such an approval has not been given for this GMO cassava anywhere in any “jurisdiction” in the world.
Arguing that the plan to take total control of Nigeria’s food system is moving rapidly on the genetically modifi ed organisms (GMO) highway.
Adding that the list of GMOs being pushed in Nigeria includes beans, maize and cotton.
Recently She however stated that HOMEF and the associate civil society organisations has sent an objection to the application submitted to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).
According to the HOMEF director, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, “Th e IITA has been a respected institution in Nigeria and Africa on whom farmers depend for good quality and safe crops.
Now they have decided to drive on the GMO road, Nigerian and African agriculture face a mortal danger.
If NBMA approves this application, we can as well say good bye to food safety in Nigeria.
” “Even if the IITA presents the Frankenstein cassava as a crop for the production of biofuel and not food, there is no way to stop our farmers from planting the GMO cassava for food.
We call on the NBMA to do the needful and reject this application outright.
We don’t need GMO cassava.
We don’t need GMOs. ” Reacting to the multi-front attack of GMO promoters in Africa, AFSA, the pan-African civil society platform championing food sovereignty in Africa, “calls for an immediate ban on the importation into South Africa of Monsanto’s high-risk second-generation gene-silencing genetically modifi ed (GM) maize destined for human consumption.
AFSA rejects and condemns US corporation Monsanto’s plan to exploit millions of Africans as unwitting human guinea pigs for their latest genetic engineering experiment.
AFSA also condemns the IITA fi eld trial application in Nigeria using this same risky technology to produce GM cassava for the agro-fuels industry.
” AFSA adds, “Th ese GM applications target staple foods of maize and cassava, eaten by many millions of Africans every day.
Scientists have reported that the untested gene-silencing eff ect is able to cross over into mammals and humans, and aff ect their genetic makeup with unknown potential negative consequences, and have called for long-term animal testing and stronger regulation before this goes ahead.
” IITA has a long romance with cassava.
In 2006, the institution issued a statement[2] stating that from their research, for the Nigerian Government to achieve 10 percent ethanol for fuel the country would need to produce about 7 billion kilograms of cassava annually.
How would that quantity of cassava be produced without taking farmers off the food production line to start producing food for machines? How would this sort of egregious non-food production be carried out without land grabbing and displacement of poor farmers? Th e Chair of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Bar.
Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, “Promoting GM crops for biofuels demonstrates the hypocrisy of the biotech giants, who are always quick to summit that GM crops are necessary to produce more food for the growing world population.
“Th ey make the case that relying only on natural crop varieties would create food defi cits and lead to forests being cleared for cultivation, to meet rising food demand.
Yet, the same companies think nothing of diverting large areas of arable land for cultivation of crops to develop ethanol for fuel, to feed the voracious machines of the North.
