Coalition Urges Nigerian Government to Halt New GMO Approvals, Demands Independent Review
By Aboki Forex —
A coalition of environmental, agricultural, and civil society organisations has called on the Nigerian government to suspend new approvals of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The group also wants an independent review of existing approvals, citing concerns over biosafety, public health, biodiversity, and farmers’ rights.
The demand came in a communiqué issued at the end of the National Conference on Biosafety and Agroecology held Monday in Abuja. The conference brought together representatives from federal ministries, regulators, farmers, researchers, civil society groups, and legal practitioners.
Attendees reviewed the rising approval and commercialisation of GM crops in Nigeria, including Bt Cowpea, TELA Maize, and recently registered transgenic cotton varieties. They raised concerns about the implications for biosafety, environmental protection, food sovereignty, public health, and farmers’ rights.
The coalition urged the federal government to place a moratorium on new GMO approvals. They want independent, long-term, and peer-reviewed assessments, including feeding trials, environmental impact studies, and social impact studies, before any further approvals.
They also demanded an independent review of existing approvals to ensure compliance with the National Biosafety Management Act (NBMA) and the precautionary principle. Other recommendations included boosting public agricultural research and extension services, protecting indigenous seed systems, supporting community seed banks, phasing out highly hazardous pesticides, and increasing investment in agroecological research and training.
GM Concerns in Nigeria
The adoption of GM crops remains contentious among food system experts in Nigeria. Proponents argue the technology can scale up food production and boost food security. Critics fear environmental and health risks, and worry about weak regulatory enforcement and inadequate labelling.
According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, more than 30 major food crops have been genetically modified globally. Nigeria has approved four crops for commercialisation: maize, cowpea, cotton, and soybean. The country is among six African nations leading in biotech crop adoption.
In 2024, the government approved four varieties of Tela maize, intensifying debates over GM crop safety and transparency. Farmers’ limited knowledge of GM seed characteristics, potential dependence on seed companies, and the broader impact on traditional farming systems have been identified as downsides.
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and international partners in 2024 revealed how the U.S. government, through the now-defunct USAID, funded pesticide and GM-related advocacy campaigns in Nigeria, including efforts that profiled critics of GMOs.
In March, the National Biosafety Management Agency ordered the suspension of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties: MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, and BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002. They were allegedly registered by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries on 26 March 2026 without NBMA approval. The agency said its regulatory surveillance identified serious compliance abnormalities.
The suspension underscores ongoing challenges around biosafety compliance and regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s biotechnology sector.
Concerns Over Food Security Approach
The conference noted that Nigeria’s food security challenges require holistic, people-centred, and sustainable solutions, not sole dependence on technological interventions. Participants raised concerns about biodiversity loss, genetic contamination of indigenous seed varieties, monoculture farming, dependence on pesticides, and the lack of long-term ecological studies on GM crops.
The communiqué stated that proprietary seed systems could undermine farmers’ rights to save, exchange, and improve seeds, with implications for rural livelihoods and local food systems. It observed that existing biosafety governance frameworks need greater transparency, accountability, scientific rigour, and meaningful public participation.
The conference spotlighted the far-reaching consequences of continued hazardous pesticide use, warning of risks to human health, biodiversity, soil fertility, and water resources. It endorsed agroecology as a viable pathway to sustainable agriculture, noting its potential to improve soil health, biodiversity, climate resilience, and farmers’ livelihoods.
Participants said structural barriers, including limited access to land, finance, information, and technology, continue to affect farmers, particularly women and young people. They concluded that ecological sustainability, food sovereignty, public accountability, social justice, and the well-being of present and future generations should guide Nigeria’s food and agricultural policies.