…urge NAFDAC to act

By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have been described as a major threat to Nigeria’s farming culture, environmental sustainability, and public health.

They have also been dismissed as an ineffective solution to the country’s food insecurity challenges.

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), made this declaration on Thursday during a one-day practical agroecology training for farmers held at the Bakassi Local Government Council headquarters.

The training, themed “Solving the Food and Climate Crisis,” focused on promoting organic farming practices and discouraging GMO adoption.

Speaking with journalists at the event, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Ms. Joyce Brown, said GMOs undermine Nigeria’s traditional farming practices and threaten indigenous crop varieties.

According to her, “GMOs go against the culture of farming in Nigeria, where farmers can preserve, save, reuse, and exchange seeds sustainably. The use of GMOs is alien to us. They destroy the soil, limit seed reuse, and eliminate indigenous varieties.”

She noted that GMO cultivation leads to dependence on corporations and government agencies for new seedlings, thereby eroding food sovereignty.

Brown also cited the example of cotton farmers who reported that, after three years of planting GMO cotton, their soils had become unproductive for local varieties, with no significant improvement in yields.

“The challenge of food insecurity in Nigeria cannot be solved by introducing GMOs,” she said. “What we need are solutions to farmer-herder conflicts, proper storage facilities, marketing boards, and fair agricultural policies.”

The Coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF), Mr. Umo Isua-Ikoh, a partner organization of HOMEF, emphasized the need to educate farmers about the risks of GMOs.

He expressed concern over the shifting position of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which, according to him, once declared GMOs unsafe but later claimed they were fit for consumption.

“We have carried out several studies and found that GMOs are not safe for human consumption,” he said.

“My message to NAFDAC is to support the campaign to ban GMO products nationwide. They offer no economic, cultural, or health benefits to Nigeria.”

Leader of the Bakassi Legislative Council, Ms. Grace Bassey, commended HOMEF for bringing the training to Bakassi and pledged to support efforts to make the local government area GMO-free.

One of the participating farmers, Mr. Asuquo Okon, appealed to the Federal Government to ban GMOs completely, lamenting that they were altering the natural farming system, destroying soil fertility, and making farms unproductive.