One of the worst fears for many Nigerians sceptical about the adoption of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods in the country was on the verge of being confirmed last month when reports suggested some superstores in the country were found culpable of having some of the products on their shelves.
The reports brought to the fore, agitations by groups and individuals who have either been sceptical or out rightly rejected the possibility for GMO in Nigeria, even as the government appeared resolved to forge ahead with promotion of genetic engineering to address concerns over food security and productivity.
“I think Nigeria should be a leading Biotechnology nation, but I am not talking about GMO because it has controversial issues I don’t want to face right now. I am talking about biotechnology which is very important and critical going forward; that is an area of global competitiveness that we should have,” said Patrick Utomi, a professor of political economy who has also delved into agric business on a large scale.
“The GMO thing as far as I’m concerned is neither here nor there. There are different perspectives and when we get to that bridge, we will cross it,” Utomi added.
Rufus Ebegba, director general, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in response to BusinessDay enquiries on stores involved in sale of GMO food clarified that “There is no store that will be shut down, and no store was mentioned.”
“I have been hearing reports mentioning Next, ShopRite, and all that. Although they were involved in the meeting we had with stakeholders, it was only resolved that we work together to help them (and all other stores) identify products that are genetically modified in their stores.”
Ebegba further explained that “We had a meeting with the superstores management recently and we advised them to remove from the shelve, should they have any GM material in their store. Although we have collected some specimen for analysis and we told them that if they don’t do that, we will be left with no other option than to apply the law. And that will include shutting down their stores and also prosecuting them.
“We are working closely with NAFDAC to ensure that the resolution is adequately complied with, in order to build people’s confidence in the adoption of this technology.”
Asked specifically if any outlet has been detected to have run afoul of the law, Ebegba responded “No, none of them. We only told them to withdraw because we have some suspects and picked specimens for analysis based on complaints from some members of the public.”
Anthony Onilude, a professor of microbial physiology and biotechnology tells BusinessDay “I want to believe that any responsible manufacturer following standard practices will indicate on its product that it is a GMO food.”
According to Onilude, detection of GMO food is not easy in a place like Nigeria because the consumer is not protected even though there is supposed to be a body for consumer protection which he describes as “zero level”.
“At the point of entry of such goods, they ought to have checked them through various surveillance procedures. NAFDAC, Customs and other relevant agencies ought to take samples (regularly) to test them for safety and quality,” says Onilude.
While Onilude explains that GMO foods could be good in situations of famine and acute food shortage, he noted that “where the problem sets in is in the situation where people say most of these organisms included within the confines of food can cause a lot of body modifications, including skin or blood cancer and some other things which as far as Africa is concerned have not been recorded in any part of the continent.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO), notes that Genetically Modified (GM) foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. Currently available GM foods stem mostly from plants, but in the future foods derived from GM microorganisms or GM animals are likely to be introduced on the market. Most existing genetically modified crops have been developed to improve yield, through the introduction of resistance to plant diseases or of increased tolerance of herbicides.
Some experts have also suggested that even if the country does not embrace GMO, it is important to still develop full capacity to monitor it so as to prevent influx of unwanted variants.
“We ourselves need to develop competence of that technology to be able to even safeguard ourselves from other people bringing in the GMO that we don’t want. That is one good thing that we should not throw away. We should develop the capacity to detect and checkmate other people sending us the type of GMO that they won’t want to eat but decide to ship to us,” Vincent Isegbe, coordinating director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) told BusinessDay.
As noted by Ebegba of the Bio safety Agency, there is a law in place which incriminates unauthorised cultivation or distribution of GMO based food in Nigeria. All GMO based foods that are to be released in Nigeria are expected to be labelled so that consumers are fully aware when making purchase decisions and making their choices accordingly. Those who release products without approval or even concealed information are liable upon conviction to a jail term of 5 years, N2.5 million fine or both.
Ebegba also explained that “the issue of fears surrounding Genetically Modified Organisms is expected. When there is a new technology like this people are bound to express fear particularly when fears are being created in the minds of people by some individuals or groups. The government will not just permit commodities that are not safe into environment.”
