Business Day (Nigeria)

GMOS approved in Nigeria are not harmful – NBMA

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There are Geneticall­y Modified Organism (GMO) foods in Nigeria, and even sold in perhaps all the ‘super stores’ in the country. However, those that have been approved among these products are safe for human consumptio­n, at least according to Rufus Ebegba, director general, National Biosafety Management Agency.

Ebegba, whose agency is in charge of regulating GMO foods in Nigeria, said during a recent interactiv­e session with agricultur­al journalist­s in Lagos, “the agency is not created to stop GMO, but to make sure they are safe for the environmen­t as well as humans.”

He explained that the law establishi­ng the agency makes it mandatory for all GMO products in Nigeria to be labelled to reflect

this. If this is not done and released commercial­ly, it constitute­s an offence. Those who release GMO products without approval or even concealed informatio­n are liable upon conviction to a jail term of 5 years, N2.5 million fine or both.

According to Ebegba, the fears surroundin­g GMO food in Nigeria are expected. With every new technology comes myths and fear, he said, stressing that the government will not just permit commoditie­s that are not safe into the environmen­t.

As he explained, normal GMOS are notproduct­sofchemica­lmanipulat­ions, but normal plants, animals or other organisms that are existing naturally. However, man decided to modify them to suit his own purpose, with the intention to solve specific problems, particular­ly in the agricultur­al sector.

Modern biotechnol­ogy is a fast growing revolution­ary tool in agricultur­al practice through which crops are geneticall­y engineered to express traits such as herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, drought tolerance, increased nutritiona­l value and other properties. Realizing the fact that modern biotechnol­ogy, which is used as a tool for this modificati­on, is a powerful tool, it becomes pertinent to regulate in ensuring safety; for humans and the environmen­t, and this is where bio safety becomes important.

“GMO products are not physically different from Non GMOS,” noted Ebegba. Therefore, laboratory analysis is required to determine this, and the assumption­s that certain commoditie­s are GMOS based on their physical appearance, is according to him, a false, inaccurate assessment.

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