GMO: Stakeholders demand ban, raise health, food security concerns

By Gabriel Ewepu and Cynthia Alo A coalition of scientists, farmers, environmentalists, nutritionists and civil society organisations has called on the Lagos State House of Assembly to ban genetically modified organisms, GMOs, in the state, warning of potential threats to public health, biodiversity, farmers’ livelihoods and food sovereignty. The coalition, under the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, made the demand during a mass awareness rally last week in Lagos, where it submitted a joint position paper to the state legislature, urging lawmakers to restrict the cultivation of genetically modified crops and strengthen regulations governing genetically engineered foods.

The GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, which said its position was endorsed by more than 70 organisations, maintained that protecting indigenous seeds and promoting sustainable farming systems were critical to Nigeria’s long-term food security. The coalition urged the Lagos State House of Assembly to consider its demands and take legislative action to protect consumers, farmers and the state’s agricultural environment.

Some of the stakeholder groups involved in the rally are Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF; Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN; Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA; Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre; and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance. The groups raised concerns about possible contamination of indigenous crop varieties through cross-pollination, soil degradation, health risks and increasing corporate control of seeds through patent rights, which they argued could undermine farmers’ traditional practice of saving and sharing seeds.

Speaking at the rally, HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Joyce Brown, said opposition to GMOs was not peculiar to Nigeria, claiming that more than 30 countries had imposed partial or total restrictions on genetically modified crops. She listed France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland and other European countries, as well as countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa, including Algeria, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, among those that had adopted restrictions.

According to her, the Lagos Assembly has an opportunity to build on the motion moved by the House of Representatives in 2024 seeking the suspension of GMOs and an investigation into approvals already granted. Also speaking, a Molecular Biologist and Public Health Policy Analyst, Dr. Ifeanyi Casmir, called for a precautionary, transparent and people-centred biotechnology policy, warning that Nigeria could face serious consequences if potential risks were not adequately investigated before the commercial deployment of genetically modified crops.

Casmir said a review of scientific literature published between 1995 and 2025 identified evidence, largely from animal and laboratory studies, pointing to possible allergenic, toxicological, reproductive and ecological concerns. Similarly, Associate Director at CAPPA, Mr. Olamide Martins, questioned the adequacy of Nigeria’s biosafety regulatory framework, alleging that independent long-term risk assessments had not been sufficiently demonstrated despite the approval of more than 20 GMO products since 2016.

Matins said the approvals covered different purposes, including commercial cultivation and use in food, feed and processing. He described the situation as unacceptable, insisting that the country’s food safety, environmental protection and food sovereignty should not be compromised.