There has been the debate on whether or not genetically modified food products should be allowed in Nigeria despite the government nod for some crops to be genetically produced in the country. SUNNY IDACHABA examines the arguments for and against.
Call it conspiracy theory, you would not be wrong judging from what protagonists of genetically modified foods (GMO) say is the smear campaign against it, but the position of some individuals against GMO products especially foodstuff cannot entirely be waved out of proportion, if all indices are weighed on a scale.
Of late, owing to food scarcity and general soil depletion due to climate change in the country, attention is being shifted to genetically modified food using modern scientific methods as against the traditional methods of raising crops for food production.
Aversion to GMO products
For instance, at the moment, controversy has been trailing the recently approved genetically-modified Tela maize variety just introduced into the market by a Nigerian with some farmers and rights groups calling for the outright ban of the cereal from being sold in any market within the shores of the country, saying it is dangerous to human health.
The agitators against the maize species even went ahead to publish a certain photo of infected individuals down with rashes all over their body as indicative of the effect of consuming the cereal.
One thing the viral photo, however, failed to prove is the exact location of such an ailment within the country. It is for this reason that some concerned stakeholders in the food chain industry are asking the government which gave a nod for use of certain classes of genetically-modified food products to ignore the call for policy reversal, saying all are mere conspiracy theories.
For instance, sometime ago, the chairman of Global Prolife Alliance, one Philip Njemanze, went viral with his condemnation of GMO food, especially Tela maize. This was after he wrote a letter to the National Assembly calling for the total ban of GMO foods even as he described it as a national threat.
In the said letter, he alleged that genetically modified foods like maize contain what he called an epicyte gene linked to sterilisation; therefore, he noted with a sense of concern that allowing such foods to be consumed in the country would amount to mass sterilisation of Nigerians.
In his argument, he stated that genetic use restriction technology makes plants to produce sterile seeds in the second generation known as ‘suicide seeds’.
He said, “Biotechnology companies intend to permanently control Nigeria’s food security by ensuring that farmers must purchase seeds each planting season.
“To address these security concerns, the government should consider implementing a complete ban on all GMO seeds and crops in Nigeria.”
In his opinion, the use of GMO foods would result in the perpetual capture of the financial, health and human resources of Nigeria by foreign biotech investors.
AFAN’s take
However, in a recent reaction to the claim of Njemanze, the national president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabiru Ibrahim, said the antagonists of GMO foods were merely fabricating non-existent issues.
Speaking about the perceived inherent danger in Tela maize, for instance, Ibrahim said, “The proponents of the propaganda against the Tela maize brand of cereal knew they were out on what I can call a vendetta mission over nothing. I think their leader has eventually told them to withdraw their propaganda because he eventually had a discussion with the person who created Tela maize, Prof Rabiu Adamu of ABU Zaria and his fears were allayed; so he said he would go back to justify that the science was not harmful. The one who created the Tela maize is in Zaria here; therefore, it is safe.
“Again, something strange was trending about someone calling the name of God, sounding somewhat religious and condemning Tela maize. I am here now challenging anyone to come out and tell us that the disease being circulated on social media is as a result of consuming Tela maize. There are many explanations to some of the things being said. There is a sort of conspiracy theory against Tela maize because with it, you don’t need to spray insecticide on it for preservation.
“So, those people who produce and market pesticides can even sponsor the smear campaign against Tela maize. As far as I’m concerned, Tela maize is produced here by our own scientists and I challenge anyone with any fact to name any corporation that allegedly gave me the president of Nigerian farmers some money to speak in favour of any deadly GMO food. I am the mouth-piece of the farmers and as their president, I am to protect them and their interest; not the other way round,” he said.
Some agric experts whom Ibrahim described as “pessimists” fear that the sudden embrace of Tela maize, said to be pest-resistant with additional benefit of high yield, would undermine farmers’ livelihoods, destroy the environment and lead to mass sterilisation of Nigerians. To those classes of people, he advised them to drop their fears as government agencies in charge of food regulation “is aware of the ongoing need to put genuine genetically modified food on the table of Nigerians.”
Rationale for approving GMO products
It could be recalled that the federal government in January 2023 gave nod for the introduction and production of GMO foods in the country due to the looming food crisis where it was estimated that over 148.7 million Nigerians might face acute food shortage “beginning from now till the next 10 years, if nothing is done about it.” That was the reason approval was given for about 23 new maize varieties to be introduced for commercial planting, including four genetically-modified Tela maize varieties. This makes Nigeria the second African country to approve commercialisation of genetically modified cereals.
Views
Despite the clarification by Ibrahim about GMO foods, opinions still vary. Speaking on this matter, the president, Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria, Jude Obi, said GMO maize and other products would hurt the economy in the long run as it would not help to address issues that had led to low production of food crops in the country.
He also said the discovery of oil had a negative drastic effect on food and crop production over the years because attention suddenly shifted from agriculture to petrol dollars. Asides that, he said, GMO technology would adversely distort the ecosystem already fragmented by climate change.
“Let me say that the danger of GMO is that it creates an imbalance in the ecosystem and ultimately pushes the farming public into seed slavery. For me, it is another form of colonisation of the people because it shows your dependency on other developed countries to develop your food chain,” he said.
In Obi’s opinion, the continued reliance on imported foods would put pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market “that is currently fragile.”
Regulation
What Obi does not realise is that even if GMO foods are all imported into the country, agencies like NAFDAC and SON charged with food and products regulations are at every point on duty to ensure those products comply with local standards.
Asides that, this reporter gathered that the nod given by the government was not entirely for importation of all food products, but the local production of such genetically modified foods, just like Tela maize.
Taking on Obi on that matter is the president, Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, Prof. Sylvia Uzochukwu, who clarified that “scientifically, GMOs are not a threat or a form of ‘biotechnology terrorism’ as being made to be believed.”
Using the example of Tela maize, she said from all scientific indications, it has gone through various trial tests before being released into the markets; hence it’s safe for human consumption and is environment-friendly. According to her, the whole world is using biotechnology for food and livestock production globally as a result of the effects of climate change.
Africa and GMO products
So far, four crops (maize, cowpea, cotton and soybean) have been officially approved by the federal government for commercialisation. Nigeria is listed among the six African countries leading in biotech crop adoption across the continent. Tela maize is the latest GMO variety approved for commercial planting in Nigeria.
Other countries in Africa include South Africa which is the largest growers of GMO crops, Burkina Faso which started cultivating GMO crops in 2008 and Egypt also in 2008. Others are Sudan which embraced GMO crops in 2012, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia. The common GMO crops among these countries are Tela maize, cowpea, soya beans and insect-resistant cotton.
The main concerns around GMO products generally have to do with allergies, cancer and environmental issues which may potentially affect the consumers. But investigation has shown that despite mounting concerns, there are fewer risks even as more long-term research is advocated.