Food Security: Experts knock FG on genetically modified seedlings, say it’s no solution to starvation

…Govt motive suspicious, Grains dangerous to human health — Nutritionist
…Invest monies from fuel subsidy in Agriculture — Agriculturist

There is no denying that there is hunger in the land. Many families are unable to feed themselves due to the high cost of food. This is not what Nigerians expected from the present government and the cost of food would triple by this time. The government of the day has experimented with various agricultural strategies, such as encouraging and releasing genetically modified grains/maize to the public. However, experts have argued both for and against genetically modified foods, which some claim are dangerous to human health and cannot be included in food policies.

While the current government struggles with numerous short- and long-term policies, more Nigerians are falling victim to hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and mortality. According to statistics, Nigeria loses around $8.9 billion (N2.7 trillion) every year due to post-harvest food losses. In underdeveloped countries, such as Nigeria, 45% of food degrades due to a lack of cold storage.
A multi-country study published by Science Direct and conducted by KJ Morris in 2019 assessed Nigeria’s food loss at more than 100 kg/capita per year. Without a doubt, such loss is damaging to food security and sovereignty in the twenty-first century.

Studies in Nigeria have indicated that a considerable amount of food is lost both before and after storage, with losses ranging from 20 to 30% of all grains, 30 to 50% of roots and tubers, and a higher proportion of fruits and vegetables. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nigeria wastes an estimated 14 million tons of food every year, making it one of Africa’s leading contributors to food waste. Nigeria’s 60% post-harvest loss provides an investment opportunity for investors, which is a critical industry that must be unlocked by government policies, security architecture, and other ancillary initiatives to attract long-term (FDI) investment.

However, every long- and short-term initiative done by the government to in-crease food production and availability has been met with harsh condemnation. Apart from providing palliatives to some Nigerians, the government of the day has experimented with various agricultural policies, including the release of genetically modified grains/maize into the public, which has been condemned by experts who argue that genetically modified foods are harmful to human health and cannot be included in food policies.

With the government’s leadership and the United Nations (UN) system’s backing, the most recent prediction for 2024 shows a significant increase from the 18.6 million people who are currently vulnerable to food insecurity from October to December 2023. According to UN, multiple causes are driving this trend, including continuous wars, climate change impacts, mounting inflations, and rising costs of both food and vital non-food items (in part due to the devaluation of the naira and the cessation of the gasoline subsidy). Persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) re-duces food supply and access.

Furthermore, armed banditry and kidnappings in northwest and north-central states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger exac¬erbate the existing economic problems. Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, recently emphasised the need for what he dubbed the Cadre Harmonisé. The northeastern states of the BAY area are home to 3.3 million of the 18.6 million people who are now food insecure. If no quick action is taken, this figure might climb to 26.5 million nationwide by the peak of the 2024 lean season (and 4.4 million in the BAY states).

Dominique Koffy Kouacou, the FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOW¬AS, urged the government to increase food production and stated that the FAO would continue to assist the government and people of Nigeria in combating food insecurity and malnutrition.
While Agric specialists and farmers consider what short and long-term actions might be taken to prevent food insecurity, starvation, malnutrition, and death, as well as to reduce the rising cost of food, they are divided on genetically altered foods given the potential health hazards.

Recently, the federal government announced the release of the TELA Maize along with 22 other new varieties aimed at achieving food sufficiency in Nigeria. The crop varieties were released at the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) in Ibadan, Oyo State, during the 33rd meeting of the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds/Fisheries. This policy has generated a protracted debate.

Many goods derived from gene technology are not covered by current national Biosafety rules or the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. There are also numerous ways to interpret the various existing definitions of Gametically Modified Organism (GMO) and Living Modified Organism (LMO). This involves an understanding of what gene technology and modern biotechnology are, which may result in varied restrictions, including variations in legal coverage at the national level. To define the practical implications of the definitions, it is required to know biology, molecular genetics, procedures, and methodologies, as well as legal comprehension and interpretation.

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), while commending the intention of the Federal Government to address food insufficiency in Nigeria, expressed disappointment over the release of the genetically modified varieties. The body noted that there is no evidence of a risk assessment conducted before the release of the TELA Maize on either the website of the National Biosafety Management Agency or the Biosafety Clearing House of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity where parties are expected to upload updates on their decisions/use of GMOs/LMOs.

Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, said that it is unacceptable that in the name of food sufficiency, the country is exposing its citizens to products of risky technologies without adequate, independent, and/or long-term assessment of their impacts on human and environmental health. He said that there are many challenges associated with genetic modification crops that cannot be denied.

“So far, GMOs have been linked to cancers, diseases, allergies, and all sorts of health challenges due to environmental implications because of their dependency on toxic pesticides and the destruction of biodiversity and nutritional diversity. We are also concerned that there is no way to label or inform our farmers that they are planting GMO maize. To deny Nigerians the right of choice is highly objectionable and wacked,” he said. He charged the Nigerian government to understand the difficulties of recalling genetically modified living organisms and to withdraw the TELA Maize quickly.

Joyce Brown, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes and Project Lead for Hunger Politics told the Saturday IN¬DEPENDENT that Nigeria does not need GMOs to feed its population. “Our farmers have selected and preserved seeds, crops, and animal varieties over the centuries. They have kept a stock of varieties that both provide food and meet our medicinal and other needs. They kept the norms that preserved bio¬diversity. She said introducing the open cultivation and commercial release of the TELA maize is an outright danger to the lives and livelihood of our farmers.

“What is of utmost importance is enhancing the health of our soils-which ensures their resilience to environmental stressors; building biodiversity instead of encouraging mono-cultures, which helps pests to thrive; and supporting farmers with needed access to credits, land, infrastructure, and access to markets. Of the 23 new crop varieties released, she said 12 are varieties of the TELA Maize.

“In other words, what the country is celebrating is the flooding of our agriculture system with the product of a risky technology that promotes monoculture and does not necessarily lead to higher productivity than local varieties.”

According to HOMEF, the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Bio-technology (NACGRAB) did not state if the other varieties are also products of genetic engineering. “Nigerians deserve adequate and accurate information on what is going on with their food. It is, however, ironic that a Centre that prides itself in its commitment to the conservation of the rich genetic resources of the nation is the same one in charge of approving the release of genetically modified varieties – with serious potential to contaminate our local varieties irreversibly.”

Lovelyn Ejim, a farmer and Director of The Network of Women and Youth in Agriculture charged other farmers to have a united front and reject the approv-al. “It is important for farmers to also speak in a united voice. Allowing GMOs to take over our food system is like going back to slavery. We should not allow the big guys to use unfounded terms and unrealistic promises to derail us.”
For Hon. Ebube George Ebisike, SOAD Trade Minister, the rising cost of food is a multi-prong challenge. He said one of the core issues to curb food insecurity is to manage the physical security of the agriculture sector and value chain, protecting farmers and their workforce. The inability to do this, he added, has led to frequent killings of farmers, mass murder, and scotch earth destruction of farmland and communities by the failed Flathead-centric system of Nigeria, which has enabled the Fulani herdsmen to exterminate farming communities throughout the whole of Nigeria and leaving the security architecture of the country overwhelmed.

Hon. Ebisike, an investor and agricultural expert said in Nigeria, academics and allies work closely with the National Biotechnology Development Agency, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, and the Nigerian Institute of Management to advocate for biotechnology, often characterising it as the only scientific option. He said the use of GMOs by Western corporations to control the African agricultural production system, and by extension, our food sovereignty is another post-colonial manipulative thread “being waived against our democratic right to choose, as also our life expectancy, sustainability of our nutritional value chains, mortality advantages, and competitiveness.”

Dr. Rose Gidado, Director, Agricultural Biotechnology Department, (NABDA) however explained that the use of biotechnology tools in Nigerian agriculture is now necessary due to the current state of emergency in the country’s food and agricultural sector, stating that to date, no evidence of safe-ty or health risks has been linked to the two commercial biotech crops, Cotton and PBR Cowpea, which are already available on the market. “Biotechnology offers new tools for increasing agricultural productivity and protecting food crops from climate changes such as heat, floods, and drought,” she said.

Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, Director General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) during an interactive session said bio-technology is a transformative field that has the potential to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world at large. He said agricultural biotechnology must be understood, accepted, and embraced by the general public, stressing that it is a collective responsibility to guarantee that all Nigerians have access to accurate and fair infor¬mation concerning agricultural biotechnology, enabling them to make informed decisions about its applications.

Dr. Agnes Asagbra, the DG/ CEO of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), shares a similar position. She emphasised that modern bio-technology has advanced quickly; creating new regulatory requirements that must be met to protect human health and the environment while also utilising the potential that biotechnology presents to the country. According to her, to address the various global and national concerns/ challenges in the fields of humans health, agriculture, environment, and industry, modern biotechnology applications inside a legal framework can be a beneficial instrument.

“The National Biosafety Management Agency is well positioned to, amongst others, ensure safety in the use of modern biotechnology by providing a holistic approach in the regulation of genetically modified organisms as well as ensure Biosecurity. She further stated that NBMA has accredited eight institutions for Modern Biotechnology practice; approved 14 GMOs for Confined Field Trials in Nigeria; approved three GM crops for Commercial/General Release; granted a permit for importation of 13 GM crops for feed and food processing.

Also, Alex Abutu, Communication Officer, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in his presentation said that agricultural biotechnology is more than just a buzzword, it is a crucial tool in helping feed the world’s growing population. According to him, with the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the world needs all the help it can get to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

“That is where agricultural biotechnology comes in. By using genetic engineering techniques, scientists can develop crops that are more resistant to pests and disease, have a longer shelf life, and are more nutritious.
“For example, a genetically modified strain of rice called Golden Rice has been developed to combat vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. This rice contains beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, and could potentially save millions of lives. He said agri¬cultural biotechnology has the potential to revolutionise crop yields by making plants more resistant to pests and disease.”

However, to mitigate hunger and attain food security according to Kabir Ibrahim, President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the nation needs to take several measures comprising climate-smart agricultural production, all-year-round production, embracing mechanisation and maximising investment in agribusiness as well as deploying science, technology, and innovation including agricultural biotechnology.

On measures to reduce the rising cost of food, Ibrahim noted that productivity must be optimized by deploying a regime of sustainable subsidy for all means of production in the short term and that in the long term; the nation must expand and deploy education as well as technology in agricultural production.

“We must also encourage processing, minimise post-harvest loss, maximum distribution and organise as well as control consumption thereby minimizing waste.” He also added that once security is restored, the farmers will produce optimally, supply, and the food demand of Nigerians will be met.

Prince Wale Oyekoya, MD/ CEO of Bama Farms/Agriculturist, in his view said that the money saved from the fuel subsidy should be invested in the agricultural sector to improve food production in the country by providing land with title to the real farmers, mechanised the agricultural sector so that the youths can partake in the sector and provide security for the farmers and in all the aspects of the value chain in the sector.

He further urged the government to provide irrigation systems to farms all year round, do away with the rain-fed system that we are used to in Nigeria and take the intervention funds away from political farmers to real farmers. He explained that the government should ban all importation of food that could be produced in Nigeria and that Nigerians should eat what we grow and grow what we eat, adding that the value chain in terms of processing must be encouraged in all the 774 local governments.

Hon. Ebisike suggests that mechanized farming is key to industrializing the farm-to-food value chain, which means Government in the long term needs to provide infrastructure such as electricity, steel production and also enable homegrown industrial manufacturing of farming machinery and its accouterments that will aid the use of technology to advance agricultural production.

He said the application of space and aerospace technology and infrastructure to manage large-scale farming is very key to handling food insecurity and thereby detecting diseases, climate effects on the crops amongst other necessities in achieving a positive agricultural revolution for Nigeria. “The building of infrastructure such as silos and cold storage to enable the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) value chain to handle perishable food crops is key to preserving billions of naira worth of produce and creating products that can be packaged and sold to earn foreign exchange.”