Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
To ensure that Nigeria does not become a dumping ground for Genetically Modified (GM) foods, the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jubril has called on the regulatory agencies in the country to collaborate with one another.
He made the call on Monday in Abuja at a meeting on collaboration between regulatory agencies and the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in Abuja.
Jubril, who was represented by the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Gabriel Oloto said that teamwork would help to monitor and do early detection on GM commodities in the country.
According to him, “now that modern biotechnology is becoming increasingly important in addressing the emerging challenges with regards to food security and renewable energy demands and in turn economic and social challenges; with success stories in countries such as China, India, Brazil, and some African countries that have incorporated agricultural biotechnology strategy to their sector.
The minister added that, “With its perceived and real unintended consequences, we the regulatory agencies must unite with a sense of purpose, vision, mission and determination to ensure that our nation do not become a dumping ground for GM foods and feed nor shy away from reaping the benefits of the application of modern of modern biotechnology and use of GM foods and feeds.â€
He stressed that the partnership and synergy became important in order to develop a joint framework among all regulatory agencies for commercial GM crop oversight, rather than solely being an NBMA oversight function.
Earlier, Director General, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba said the meeting was designed to further partner necessary MDAs, on the issue of biosafety.
He said that, “Modern biotechnology is the movement of genes to transfer traits of beneficial interests. We have a law and that will serve as our guide for our operations. So we will not encroach on each other’s responsibilities but we will seek collective efforts in areas of support.”
Ebegba noted that the NBMA was mandated to certify GM foods or commodities before being allowed into the country for safety reasons, thus it was important to partner to achieve greater success on issues regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Government regulatory institutions listed include the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), National Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Ministry of Justice, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) among others.
Speaking on the GM detection lab, Ebegba explained that the lab would ensure whatever GM crop being imported into the country is well tested and analysed, as the country cannot afford to allow uncertified GM commodities escape into the market.
He emphasised that with the standard of technologies equipped in the laboratory, the NBMA could detect the smallest element of GM.
Also, the African Coordinator, Program for Biosafety System (PBS), Dr. Mathew Dore described the meeting as a platform to discuss and analyse legal mandate of NBMA and the government agency as they impact commercial release of GM crops.
“It is important to discuss the areas of collaboration to overlap in the biosafety decision-making process and define future steps and mechanisms to establish a coordinated regulatory framework”.
