March 23, 2024
The Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR) has raised the alarm over the proliferation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) crops across Nigeria.
The CEFSAR said the country lacked the necessary laboratory infrastructure to test and verify the safety of the GMOs products particularly in the food industry.
The Centre noted that the gap in the regulatory framework meant that there was no system in place for labelling GMOs, which had deprived consumers of the right to make informed choices about their food.
The Executive Director of CEFSAR, Prof Qristtuberg Amua warned of the potential dangers these crops posed to biodiversity, food safety, and the health of citizens.
Amua, who spoke at a high level dialogue on food security in Abuja, said GMOs are engineered to resist high levels of pesticides, which could lead to the gradual disappearance of indigenous crops and a dependency on chemical-intensive farming methods.
He noted that this shift could result in increased pesticide runoff into water sources and soil while posing a significant risk to human health and the environment.
Amua added that some reports suggested a correlation between the consumption of GMOs and an increase in health issues such as cancer and organ failure, particularly among the youth.
Although the long-term effects of GMOs on the human body are still being studied, some preliminary findings have sparked a nationwide conversation about the safety of these modified crops.
The Director of Operations, CEFSAR, Segun Adebayo said that the patented nature of GMO seeds meant that farmers couldn’t replant harvested seeds without purchasing new ones each season, which according to him will lead to a loss of traditional agricultural knowledge and practices.
Adebayo emphasised that such dependency on seed companies could have far-reaching implications for food sovereignty and security in Nigeria.
He said: “You are what you eat, you have to be concerned about what you eat. The first step to being healthy is your food.”
Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nnimmo Bassey urged Nigerians to stick to agro-ecological methods of food production.
-agency report
