To mitigate potential risks and engender transparency in the release of genetically modified (GM) crops, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has disclosed plans to ensure that every GM product follows standard regulatory procedures, such as labelling and traceability, to reinforce trust and accountability.

Director, Food and Drug Service, Mr. John Atanda, dropped the hint in Abuja at a GMO sensitisation workshop for the Directorate Officers, organised by the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB).

He stated that the directorate would work with other MDAs, including the National Administration for Food and Drug Agency (NAFDAC) and the National Biotechnology Management Agency (NBMA), to ensure proper labelling of GMOs.

While reiterating commitment to protecting and promoting public health through safe, nutritional and wholesome foods, Atanda pledged that every product born from modern biotechnology will be held to the highest safety standards, as rigorous risk assessments – covering allergenicity, nutritional composition, long-term health impacts, and environmental considerations – will guide their approach.

The Nigeria Country Director, Open Forum for Biotechnology Dr Rose Gidado, in her presentation on the Science of Agricultural Biotechnology, emphasised that GMO has a history of safe use of over three decades in about 45 countries.

She said: “The government cannot give poison to its people. If the story is that when you plant GMOs, it will destroy all the crops around it, then Nigeria should have died of hunger.”

Gidado explained that GM crops were developed from evidence-based research, saying, if Nigeria does not invest in research and development, it might keep depending on importation.

The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development and Research Agency (NABDA), Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, revealed that farmers recorded a 50 per cent yield increase after planting GM maize, also known as TELLA Maize.

He added that field studies and economic evaluations on cowpeas have also indicate striking returns to farmers cultivating Pod borer resistant cowpea, as there has been a dramatic reduction in insecticide sprays, thereby increasing substantial yield and strong returns on investment.(The Guardian)

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