Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, and the GMO-free Nigeria Alliance have called on the Federal Government to place a moratorium on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their products in Nigeria. This call was made in a press statement to mark the World Food Safety Day 2025.
The Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, stated that a moratorium on GMOs, including a nullification of previous permits and approvals, is critical because GMOs are designed not to address food insecurity but to consolidate control of our food and farming system in the hands of a few corporations/seed industries.
“This is known by the patent rights enforced on the products, which prohibit farmers from saving, sharing or replanting the seeds. Even those without the patent restrictions, when replanted, yield poorly. This is a calculated attack on Nigeria’s food sovereignty and must be seen as such. Seed saving and sharing is an age-long culture in Nigeria, where farming is about 80% informal, with farmers being able to select and improve seeds using traditional methods and being able to exchange the same.
“It is worthy of note that the Cotton Farmers’ Association of Nigeria in 2024 noted that in about three years since they were given the Bt Cotton to plant, they haven’t recorded any significant increase in yields compared to the indigenous varieties; instead they have observed that their soils become unproductive after they planted the genetically modified cotton,” Dr Bassey explained.
Also, speaking to why a moratorium is urgently needed, Dr Ifeanyi Casmir, a molecular biologist and researcher, noted that there is no evidence of long-term risk assessment conducted by the government on the health impact of GMOs.
He highlighted that several studies link the consumption of GMOs to diverse health disorders, including immune system dysregulation, increased allergic responses, chronic inflammation and organ toxicity, as well as tumour development. Dr Casmir also noted that studies have found Bt toxins (Cry1Ab) in 93% of pregnant women and 80% of fetal cord blood, raising risks of birth defects, cancer, and allergies.
“The fact that our regulatory agency -the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) cannot show any evidence of independent and extensive risk assessment conducted shows irresponsibility and lack of concern for public health,” he concluded.
Professor Tatfeng Mirabeau, Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, said: “Another critical reason why Nigeria should hold the brakes on GMOs is the impact on the environment. Bt Crops, for example, the Bt beans that were approved for commercial release in 2019 and 2024, respectively, contain proteins that, when released into the soil, destroy soil microorganisms, leading to soil degradation and reduced fertility.
“There have been reported cases of pest resistance leading to the development of super bugs and super weeds in the case of the herbicide-tolerant GMOs, which make up about 80% of all GMOs globally. The herbicides designed mostly by the same companies producing the seeds have been shown by studies to destroy not just the target weeds but also beneficial organisms in the ecosystem, including bees.
“GMOs pose a critical risk of genetic contamination of indigenous seed varieties owing to gene transfer. For this reason, Mexico and a host of other countries have placed a total or partial ban on GMOs. We cannot overlook such a grave threat to our plant genetic resources especially as such contamination is irreversible.”
According to Barr. Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, ERA’s Deputy Executive Director, Nigeria currently does not have a policy on open market labelling and as such, the public does not have the right of choice as to whether or not to consume GMOs, adding that this negates our right of choice and the right to safe food.
Barr. Orovwuje further noted that there are fundamental flaws with the current Biosafety Regulatory Agency, including that there is no provision on strict liability, which should ensure that the holder of a permit for any GM product takes responsibility for any negative effects that will ensue.
“Another major flaw in the National Biosafety Management Agency Act is the lack of attention to the Precautionary Principle, which simply advises a halt on any process where there are threats to health or environmental impacts from the use of GMOs.
“Nigeria needs to critically address waste, which accounts for about 40% of the food produced. In the same vein, Nigeria needs to critically address issues of insecurity/banditry that keep many farmers away from their farms, leading to reduced productivity.”
The statement concluded by stressing that Nigeria can transform its agriculture system in an inclusive and sustain-able manner by adopting and promoting agroecology – which not only ensures increased productivity by improving soil health and biodiversity but also assures economic resilience for our farmers as well as climate change resilience.