Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has condemned the alleged illegal confined field trials and registration of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties – MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002 – by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries.
The transgenic cotton varieties were among 21 other “improved” varieties developed by the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in collaboration with “national and international partners”.
The two Bt (BG II) hybrids (MIC 561 BG II and MIC 563 BG II), along with their non-Bt counterparts for refuge strategies, were developed by Mahyco, while the two additional transgenic hybrids (BIOSEED-FIYAH CH 1001 and CH 1002) were developed by Shriram Bioseed Genetics.
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), responsible for decision-making and approvals regarding GMOs, established that the cotton varieties were registered on March 26, 2026, without its notice and approval, as required under the National Biosafety Management Act 2015 (as amended).
While HOMEF applauds the NBMA for their vigilance and compliance-monitoring mechanisms, the ecological think tank bemoaned the state of biosafety in Nigeria, concerned that more genetically engineered food products may have found their way into our plates unnoticed, untested and unverified, seeing that the National Variety Release Committee can bypass NBMA to discreetly carry out field trials, approve commercial release and go ahead to register GMOs.
The Executive Director at HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, stated that this deliberate disregard for due process and delegated authority demonstrates the desperation and arrogance of the biotech industry championed in Nigeria by the Institute of Agricultural Research, and confirms that profit-making, rather than solving food insecurity, drives the industry.
“Nigeria’s Biosafety is indeed in shambles,” he stated.
Dr Bassey, acknowledging the directive by the NBMA to the National Variety Release Committee to suspend any further action on the registration and release of the said varieties, stated that the NBMA should ensure that due diligence is done beyond the announcement. He recalls the case in 2018 when WACOT Ltd. tried to illegally ship genetically modified maize into the country, and although the NBMA announced in the media that the shipment would be repatriated to Argentina, the erring company was granted approval to import the same Maize for a period of 3 years in a few days. This was in spite of the requirement of the NBMA Act 2015 that anyone or company who wishes to import GM products must give a prior notice of 270 days.
Joyce Brown, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes and Lead on Hunger Politics, stressed that national and international biosafety protocols exist for a reason – to ensure protection against potential human and environmental health hazards associated with GMOs. Thus, no agency or institute of Nigeria should underestimate the need for proper regulation, no matter the pressure from the private sector or so-called international partners. The health and well-being of the people and the environment must take precedence in the attempt to improve nutrition and address food insecurity.
According to Ms Brown, Nigeria needs to take a step back to critically re-examine its appetite for GMOs, noting that the previously approved Bt Cotton, according to the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, does not perform much better than the conventional varieties but instead degrades the soil, making it unproductive for local varieties. The farmers have planted Bt Cotton for up to four years and couldn’t find any comparative advantage, other than that it was destroying their soil.
HOMEF reiterated the need for Nigeria to recognise and invest in the necessary transition to agroecological farming, which would not only ensure increased productivity over time but also assure environmental sustainability and food sovereignty.