Controversy rages as FG licenses GM crops producer

On May 1, 2016, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) issued permits to Monsanto to officially sell its Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products in Nigeria. For cotton, Permit No: NBMA/CM/IM/001 reads “Decision Document For a Permit for Commercial Release/ Placing on Market of Cotton (MON15985) genetically modified for lepidopteran insect pest resistance issued to Monsanto […]

On May 1, 2016, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) issued permits to Monsanto to officially sell its Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products in Nigeria.
For cotton, Permit No: NBMA/CM/IM/001 reads “Decision Document For a Permit for Commercial Release/ Placing on Market of Cotton (MON15985) genetically modified for lepidopteran insect pest resistance issued to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited.”
For maize production, Permit No: NBMA/CFT/001 reads: “Decision Document for a Permit for Confined Field Trial (CFT) of maize (NK603 and MON 89034 x NK603) genetically modified for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance Issued to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited.”
These documents, according to the NBMA, were in accordance with the Biosafety Act 2015.
The Biosafety Act 2015 is a regulatory framework controlling the practice of modern biotechnology, development, handling and use of GMOs in Nigeria, which opponent said was hurriedly signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan during the last days of his administration.
 Monsanto, founded in 1901 with over 17,500 employees and operating in 46 countries, is the world leader in GMOs.
But opponent’s objections to the utilisation and consumption of the genetically modified products are based on fears that they may lead to introduction of allergens and toxins to food, create anti-biotics resistance, alter nutritional content and value of food and contamination of GM and non-GM foods.
 In a letter to the vice president dated May 5, 2016, a coalition of civil society groups led by Ms. Jackie Ikeotuonye, Executive Director, Initiative for Peace, Empowerment and Tolerance and Professor Chike Ogbonna, Organization of Professional Biotechnologist/Bioengineers of West Africa, raised concerns over issuing of license to Monsanto group to produce GMOs, which they said had been rejected in Europe because of serious health threats.
 They said the NBMA was jeopardising the health of Nigerians and mortgaging the country’s future by ignoring such concerns.
Professor Abdulkadir Usman Junaidu of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Sokoto said the argument for GMOs was premised on the fact that genetically modified crops have the potential to reduce hunger and starvation the world over in addition to resistance to pests and drought.
He, however, noted that what was of great concern to many was the fact that they contained allergenic substances due to the introduction of new genes in the crops.
Another issue is the safety of GM crops. It is also known that genetic engineering involves the use of antibiotic resistant genes as selectable makers and that could lead to production of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains that are resistant to antibiotics, leading to serious public health implications.
The genetically modified crops may also contain some heavy metals which could be toxic and also be a serious public health challenge. It was also acknowledged that the genetically modified crops may be less nutritious due to lower amount of phyloestro gene, which protects against heart diseases and cancers.
But a renowned geneticist and plant breeder, Professor Muhammad Faguji Ishiyaku, of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, in an interview with Daily Trust, said Nigeria needs the GM technology, stressing that production per hectare was very low and that was because the practices and the genetic materials used by our farmers had very low genetic potential, they were susceptible to a number of production constraints and they had very limited utilisation potential.
 Asked if he thinks there’s no scientific proof of negative impact of GMOs and pesticides (Glyphosate) on humans, he said: “No, I have not read it anywhere.”
 On the safety of GM foods, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said since different GM organisms include different genes inserted in different ways, individual GM foods and their safety should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and that it is not possible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods.
 Mrs. Rose Suniso Gidado, head biotechnology awareness unit of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the drive to commercialise agriculture calls for adoption of GMOs. “There’s no cause for concern, there is a regulatory framework for it. There’s a regulatory agency that has been put up. It took us years to develop that regulatory framework and it took us years to get it through the National Assembly,” she said. 
According to the biotechnologist, “it is a new technology, it’s an intervention tool, and it addresses concerns and challenges that normal conventional breeding cannot. These challenges are: weed control, Insect and pest infestation, the breeders have researched and have never gotten any breakthrough in all their research work. So to see that this insect and pest infestation is overcome, it is only through this genetic modification technology that can address these insects and pests.”
 The leadership of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria led by Architect Kabiru Ibrahim in a recent interview with Daily Trust dismissed claims by those opposing it, adding that Nigerian farmers will welcome GM, which he said will boost yields.
 Audu Bala is one of the farmers who use herbicides and pesticides. Although he did not demonstrate knowledge of any health implications, he, however, noted that prolonged spraying leaves him with breathing problems, headache and nasal congestion at night.
 Like Bala, some of the farmers who spoke with Daily Trust, have little or no knowledge of the type of chemicals they used and the companies that made them.
 Bashir Maccido sells agro chemicals and input in Sokoto. In a telephone interview with Daily Trust, he said there were some chemicals they were told that constituted health hazards such as gramoxone.
An official (who asked for anonymity) of the Department of Agriculture in the Federal  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development who was seen with the round up chemicals by Monsanto, said they were not aware if the chemicals damaged the environment but that there had been a number of concerns raised at various fora by some opponents of Monsanto.