The National Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA, says it will continue to ensure the safe application of modern biotechnology and genetically modified organisms GMOs in Nigeria’s Food System.
The agency’s Director General, Rufus Ebegba who gave this assurance while reeling out achievements in 2022 at a media engagement said modern biotechnology will ensure food sufficiency for the country’s teeming population in line with the agency’s mandate.
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The National biosafety management agency was established in 2015 with a mandate to establish institutional and administrative mechanisms for the safe application of modern biotechnology in Nigeria with a view to preventing adverse effects on human health and the environment.
The agency’s director general, Rufus Ebegba says there have been concerted efforts to deliver on this mandate which culminated in the granting of biosafety approval for the commercial release of Bt cotton, cowpea and TELA Maize after rigorous biosafety risk assessment, a move geared towards ensuring food security.
These achievements are however coming amidst criticisms by opponents of GMOs who believe that GM products are not safe for human health and the environment, a claim the agency’s Director General denies.
The biosafety approvals according to Ebegba have led to increased confidence in the sector by investors, researchers, farmers and consumers with overall increased benefit to Nigeria’s economy.
(Editor: Ena Agbanoma)
