Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
A coalition of civil society groups, have asked the National Biosafety Management Agency to revoke permits recently granted for the commercial release of the TELA Maize.
According to the coalition of 79 groups led by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), believe that maize variety which has been genetically modified for drought tolerance and insect resistance is a failed and an unwanted venture and it is only being pushed to Nigeria for commercial interest.
Recalled that the federal government had approved the environmental release and open cultivation of ‘TELA maize’, a new maize variety developed by researchers at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
But in a statement issued by the coalition yesterday, Director of HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey described the Nigerian GMOs promoting “as a GMOs cult enjoying an alliance with an approving architecture that endorses virtually every application brought to it.”
Bassey stated that the genetically engineered TELA maize has failed to be as productive as conventionally bred drought tolerant varieties in both the USA and South Africa.
He said “TELA maize trial was discontinued and the varieties destroyed in Tanzania in 2018 for failing to confer the promised drought resistance and insect resistance. Regrettably, the giant of Africa has become the giant hole for dumping failed technologies thanks to our permitting regulatory agency. There is no reliable history of safe use of the GM variety to justify its introduction in Nigeria and the claim of drought tolerance and insect resistance remains unsubstantiated.Moreover, routine claims by Nigerian agencies that there are no risks with GM crops are fatuous.”
On his part, Dr Ifeanyi Casmir, a researcher and Molecular Biologist, stated that the process of approval for the maize variety is flawed as no data on the risk assessment conducted by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) was made available.
The Deputy Executive Director of Women Environment Programme, John Baaki stressed that for insect resistance there are several simple and effective strategies being used by the farmers including through a combination of Neem plant and chili for use as organic pesticides.
