By Obiabin Onukwugha
There have been growing concerns on the impacts of Generically Modified Organisms, popularly known as GMOs to both the health of the people and the environment.
Crops listed under GMOs include; corn, soybeans, cotton, potato, papaya, canola, apple, sugar beet, pink pineapple, amongst others.
Most GMO plants are used to make ingredients that are then used in other food products. For example, cornstarch can be made with GMO corn and sugar can be made with GMO sugar beets.
Recently, there have been global calls and movements against GMOs, including in Nigeria.
A recent report by Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN) highlighted that Nigeria is one of the largest importers of pesticides in Africa by volume with an importation of 147,477 tonnes in 2020.
The report quoted the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of noting that in 2018 the country spent about $384 million on importation of pesticides.
The calls against GMOs in Nigeria intensified after the Federal Government approved the commercial release and open cultivation of a new genetically maize variety, Tela Maize.
The development of Tela maize was led by researchers at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who say it resists armyworm, stem borers and tolerates moderate drought.
At the commercial release of Tela Maize last year, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, said the crop was a remarkable step at enhancing agricultural productivity to ensure food sufficiency in Nigeria.
However, different stakeholders, especially environmental activists, have continued to raise concerns over the dangers associated with GMO crops.
They posit that the science and technology backing transgenic crops is not clear enough, while also expressing worries on the inherent hazards GMOs pose to biodiversity, food safety, and the health of Nigerians.
It was gathered that GMOs were introduced with two main promises to increase crop yield and reduce pesticide usage.
In Nigeria, over 20 genetically modified products are approved for importation for various reasons – food, feed, processing, and field trials. Cowpea and Cotton have also been approved for commercial use.
But the goal has not been achieved, rather, it is said to be detrimental to the people and the environment. This is even so as Nigeria is listed among countries suffering food shortages as a result of climate change impacts.
At the forefront of the kick against GMOs, is the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR), a non-governmental organisation.
CEFSAR has consistently urged the federal government to be mindful of the acceptance and deployment of genetically engineered crops, due to their safety concerns.
CEFSAR’s Executive Director, Prof. Qristtuberg Amua, was quoted recently as saying that Nigeria does not have the requisite laboratory infrastructure to test and verify the safety of the GMOs products in the food industry.
He argued that the regulatory framework has no provision for labeling GMOs which invariably would deny consumers of the right to make knowledgeable decision of what to eat and what not to eat.
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The professor contented that GMOs were laced with chemicals which could lead to extinction of indigenous crops and a dependency on chemical-intensive farming methods.
He said the primary objectives of CEFSAR were to preserve native seed varieties, research sustainable agriculture practices and promote agro-ecological farming systems.
These concerns is being corroborated by an environmental activist, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, who contends that the technology threatens the lives and rights of our local farmers who have selected and preserved seeds, crops, and animal varieties over the centuries.
Bassey, who is the Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Nigeria (HOMEF), posited that consumers in Nigeria are unable to exercise the right to chose whether or not to consume GMOs due to the peculiar way food is sold and consumed.
“We cannot label the foods and seeds largely sold on the roadside, in the traffic, and in an assortment of our informal markets. This is if labelling were to even be successfully enforced,” he said.
He stated that GMOs impact on the environment with their ability to leach into soil and contaminate groundwater, leading to long-term damage to ecosystems.
The environmental activist recalled an incident in Benue State where pesticide poisoning took the lives of nearly 270 people after their water source was contaminated with Endosulphan in 2020.
He also attributed the rejection of Nigerian food products abroad to the use of pesticides beyond allowable standards.
He said: “One of the most concerning aspects of pesticide use is the impact on the environment with their ability to leach into soil and contaminate groundwater, leading to long-term damage to ecosystems; destruction of beneficial insects, disruption of pollination, and damage to soil microorganisms that are vital for maintaining healthy soils.
“The indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to the emergence of resistant pest populations, which further escalates the need for stronger chemicals and intensifies the cycle of destruction.
“The consequences of pesticide exposure on human health cannot be overlooked. In Nigeria, pesticide poisonings have become a regular occurrence. A key case that cannot be forgotten is the pesticide poisoning which took the lives of nearly 270 people in Benue State where their water source was contaminated with Endosulphan.
“Many of the pesticides used by Nigerian farmers contain active ingredients linked to cancer or proven to be carcinogenic, including Glyphosate, Atrazine, Butachlor, Chlorpyrifos, Dichlorvos (DDVP), Endosulfan, and Mancozeb.
“Farmers have reported health problems like difficulty in breathing, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, eye problems, skin rashes, catarrh, acute diarrhoea, and respiratory problems that are linked with their use of pesticides.
“In addition to the deleterious human and environmental health impacts, the dependence of inorganic pesticides in Nigeria has serious implication on our economy. Export markets are closing against us because of pesticide residues above allowable standards.”
Also, an environment researcher, stated that pesticides destroy not only the target pests but also beneficial soil organisms as well as predators that help to keep the pests at bay.
“The claim that GMOs would reduce pesticide use is pure fallacy considering that the same companies making the genetically modified (GM) seeds make pesticides to accompany them. The GM seed market is dominated by crops acclaimed to be herbicide tolerant or pest resistant.
“These pesticides destroy not only the target pests but also beneficial soil organisms as well as predators that help to keep the pests at bay. Population of bees have been shown to reduce over time and this has direct implication on crop yield,” she stated.
Worthy of note is the fact that Mexico, the birthplace of maize, has banned genetically modified corn which it says is not safe for human consumption and threatens the biodiversity.
Some other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas have also banned the importation and cultivation of GMOs over safety concerns.
