Coalitions rally against GM foods, canvass agro-ecology

Coalitions of 1,000 groups and individuals, including civil society organisations, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), under the umbrella of GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, at the weekend, held a rally in Lagos to sensitise the public to the health danger in the consumption of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products.

Speaking during the event, tagged #SayNoToGMOs, #FoodNotPoison, the Programme Officer of CAPPA, ZikoraIbeh, pointed to several harmful effects of the products, which she noted, had been altered to suit certain ends.

Stating that the offerings were not anything near natural, the activist lamented that relevant authorities in the country were not giving the issue the attention it deserved. Ibeh urged the government to promote local farming, reiterating the coalition’s advocacy for agro-ecology.

According to her, the products contaminate the environment and destroy the biodiversity. The group claimed that genetically modified beans, cotton and maize had been approved for release in Nigeria by the government.

It stated: “GM maize is imported into the country. Toxic herbicides like Rundup Ready are endorsed by NAFDAC and are freely sold in our markets.

“Nigeria is wide open to GMOs, and promoters are having a field day.” The coalition said: “This rally is in direct response to the potential adoption of GMOs by Nigerian authorities as a ‘silver bullet’ solution to our agricultural challenges. While we recognise the government’s intention to improve food security, we are not convinced that GMOs are the way forward due to the unresolved controversies surrounding their global use, including their potentially harmful effects on human health. The continued promotion of GMOs in Nigeria threatens our food sovereignty, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.

If this trajectory continues, it risks becoming a costly and irreversible error.”
ALSO in Calabar, a coalition of CSOs and the media decried the influx of GMO products in Nigeria despite its obvious implications for human health.

The group appealed to the Federal government to ban GMOs and invest more in organic agriculture, regenerative agriculture, and agro-forestry, among others, to guarantee the safety and well-being of the masses.

The group, led by its convener, MrUmoIsua-Ikoh, of Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF) raised the concern at a rally held at the weekend in Calabar to sensitise the public to the inherent dangers of GMO products in circulation across the country.

The rally, which was organised in collaboration with Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), and GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, among other partners, took to the streets of Calabar, carrying placards with different inscriptions against GMO products.

While presenting a letter of protest to ADP’s Programme Manager, Mr Bassey Emogor, and the Chairman of Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Environment and Sanitation, AgborOvat, respectively, Isua-Ikoh described the rate GMOs were flooding the nation’s market as alarming and called for concern.

“We are here to sensitise the masses to the GMO products currently in circulation in the markets across Nigeria. When you go there you won’t even be able to identify which one is GMO. And it’s not safe for human consumption neither is it friendly to our environment, but coincidentally, the Federal government endorsed it”, Isua-Ikoh stated.

Responding to the petition from the CSOs, a representative of the ADP’s programme Manager, MrIfork Sunday, said the agency was not unaware of the development and said concerted efforts were being made in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to address all the issues raised on the GMO products in the letter.

SIMILARLY, a coalition of farmers and civil society groups in Enugu State weekend staged a rally demanding a ban on all GMO materials for planting, consumption and processing in Nigeria.

The farmers, who matched from the state Ministry of Agriculture on Okpara Avenue, Enugu, converged on the Enugu State House of Assembly, at Independence Layout, where they submitted a petition to the Speaker, Uche Ugwu.

The petition was endorsed by the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance and the Say No to GMOs Group in a nationwide campaign against GMOs led by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) on Friday 13th December 2024.

Addressing the Speaker, the spokesperson for the coalition, LovelynNnenna Ejim, while recognising the government’s intention to improve food security in Nigeria, described the adoption of GMOs as a wrong approach.

The petition called on the Federal Government to ban GMOs in Nigeria and to invest in agro-ecology. Receiving the protesting farmers on behalf of the Speaker, the member representing Nsukka East constituency and Chairman House Committee on Agriculture, Pius Ezugwu, said the lawmakers would do their best to ensure that GMO foods were stopped in the state.