Environmental, agricultural, and civil society organisation experts have called on the Federal Government to suspend all new approvals of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and launch an independent review of existing transgenic crops. 

The urgent demand was contained in an official communiqué issued at the conclusion of the National Conference on Biosafety and Agroecology held in Abuja on Monday, following growing concerns over public health, biodiversity loss, and the erosion of local farmers’ rights.

The summit was convened by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance. 

Attended by federal ministry delegates, regulatory agents, and traditional leaders, the panel evaluated the rapid commercialisation of biotech crops like Bt Cowpea, TELA Maize, and various transgenic cotton varieties. 

Activists argued that proprietary seed systems strip rural communities of their traditional rights to save, exchange, and improve indigenous seeds, creating a dangerous dependence on multinational seed companies.

The conference highlighted critical loopholes within Nigeria’s biotechnology sector, referencing a recent enforcement action by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). 

The NBMA had ordered the immediate suspension of four unauthorised transgenic cotton hybrid varieties, specifically MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, and BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002, after regulatory surveillance uncovered serious compliance abnormalities during their registration on 26 March 2026.

Conference delegates stated that this incident underscores a broader lack of transparency, accountability, and rigorous public participation within current biosafety governance frameworks.

As a sustainable alternative to technological interventions, the stakeholders strongly endorsed agroecology to restore soil health, increase climate resilience, and protect water bodies from highly hazardous chemical pesticides. 

The communiqué concluded with specific policy recommendations, urging national assemblies to amend the NBMA Act to include stricter public disclosure clauses. 

Additionally, the group demanded a total moratorium on new biotech registrations until independent, long-term animal feeding trials and comprehensive socio-ecological impact assessments are fully conducted.

Source: Premium Times