GMOs, misplaced priorities and underdevelopment

WITH each passing day, new discourses are being pushed forth, all revolving around the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) debate in Nigeria. For something that has quite literally been around since the early 2000s, and has generated several debates over the years, this outrage could have come in full force much sooner. As it is, the plethora of nerve-wracking events that have shaken the country in the course of the last decade have made it quite frankly understandable that such an important discourse would have been mired in controversy. Nonetheless, I will utilize the growing cycle of outrage and concern surrounding the GMO discourse as a strong rope in pulling out the especially less addressed issues. Channels TV’s recent interview with the Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Agnes Yemisi Asagbra, was nothing short of an eyesore. She stated that rural farming does not provide the ability to meet up with food requirements, advocating GM seeds at the expense of Nigeria’s traditional form of cultivation. Pushing this narrative that seems to indicate we cannot survive without these GM seeds, as if we quite literally haven’t been doing so, is such an odd thing to do.

 The agency seems concerned about food security in Nigeria but promotes an initiative that does more to threaten this security than drive it. She said that the country cannot meet its food requirements with the rural farming, so, apparently, throwing billions of currency into GM seeds, some of which are legally not allowed to be replanted, leaving the country dependent once again on foreign manufacturers, according to her, will give the nation that food security it so desperately seeks.  But in all honesty, ensuring that the seeds are produced in Nigeria and not always imported is still neither an indication of sovereignty nor a sign of decrease in Nigeria’s consistent trend of importation. We do not own the patents, therefore, we do not exactly control the production. The situation is like earnestly seeking protection from the harsh weather, then proceeding to find refuge in a house, with the literal keys and lock in the hands of someone else. Hence, the thin line between safety and the constant fear of being trapped emerges and that is tantamount to insecurity or bondage.

Meanwhile, we’ve got massive amounts of crop harvests wasting away every year due to the unavailability of proper storage infrastructure, as well as a number of agro-equipments locked away, with the supposed users untrained as the infrastructure remains abandoned. Has enough efforts really been put into the growth of our agricultural sector to reach such a conclusion that rural farming is ineffective? Have we truly exhausted all options, such that leaves us banking on foreign imports all the time? We did that with our crude oil sector and how far has that taken us? Also, little is said about the ‘not-so-positive’ effects of cultivating these GM seeds, especially with regard to the use of ‘Roundup’ (herbicide glyphosate) that is sprayed on farmlands to kill weeds which  has no effect on these GM crops, given that they’re mostly Roundup-resistant. Even with the argument that chemicals are not incorporated into the genetic engineering process of these seeds, the constant use of Roundups (which have been classified as probably kasinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer) would leave the crops with residues of these chemicals which people will consume. So gradually, we will have to worry about health implications and risks all on this journey to ‘food security,’ even as our healthcare system perpetually remains in a not-so-great shape.

In a recent interview on this subject matter, Vice Chancellor of the Benue State University and executive director of the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR), Professor Qrisstuberg Amua, noted that “so much concentration of glyphosate in the environment makes it to even cross to non-target organisms, overflow surface water, also leeches into ground water, all being directly consumed by the people.”  There’s apparently a lot more cons than the pros.  Also, according to Prof. Amua, Nigeria is suffering from chronic food insecurity, not because of insufficient production of food but economic deprivation. Only the right medication can cure any given ailment. Hence, if we channel the same energy we put into propagating the infiltration of Nigeria’s agronomical sphere by GMO seedlings and technology into actually appropriate multifaceted approaches, the positive results which we crave will not seem so far-fetched any longer. We could focus on improving agricultural infrastructure. Rather than abandoning and sidelining small-scale farmers, we can support them as they constitute majority of our agricultural manpower. We can also improve soil health and fertility rather than likely endangering the soil with the infusion of foreign elements. We can, in the same vein, create more jobs for the readily available youthful population, among several others. We could go on and on.

 The point is, investing in GMO is like using amoxicillin tablets for a headache: useless. It is good to also add that consistently utilising the argument “Even in advanced countries, GMO is being used” should not arise. Is there a rule that states that we must always follow the blueprints of the West? Are we that dependent that we ascribe any possible opportunity of growth and development to following advanced countries? We should tailor our actions, initiatives and innovations to meet our needs, solve our problems and sustain our economy. We shouldn’t have to play this comparison game every single time. Matters of this sort are not of the “one size fits all” model. In the context of this discourse, at this point in time, let’s face it, we do not need GMO. Not yet, not now. A lot more has to be done. Several countries have even restricted or banned the import and cultivation of GMOs, and that didn’t hinder “advancement.” France, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, among others, have placed bans and restrictions on GMOs. Nigeria’s agricultural sector has much more potential in contrast to many of these countries and if adequately invested in, will yield positive results.We should not choose to trail the restrictive and counter-productive path of GMOs, which even the aforementioned countries rejected. We need to rethink, restructure, and restrategise, or else, the closer we think we are to our goals as a nation, the farther success lies. At the end of the day, different nations possess different problems, hence, require different solutions.

•Azeez is a 400-level student of the University of Ilorin

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