A coalition of environmental, agricultural, and civil society organisations has urged the Nigerian government to put on hold new approvals of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.

It is also asking the government to conduct an independent review of existing approvals, citing concerns over biosafety, public health, biodiversity, and farmers’ rights.

The group made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of the National Conference on Biosafety and Agroecology held on Monday in Abuja.

The conference, attended by the representatives of federal ministries, regulators, farmers, researchers, civil society organisations, and legal practitioners, among others, reviewed the increasing approval and commercialisation of genetically modified crops in Nigeria, including Bt Cowpea, TELA Maize and recently registered transgenic cotton varieties.

Participants raised concerns about the implications of GMOs for biosafety, environmental protection, food sovereignty, public health and farmers’ rights, the communiqué said.

They similarly urged the federal government to place a moratorium on new GMO approvals pending independent, long-term and peer-reviewed assessments, including feeding trials, environmental impact assessments and social impact studies.

An independent review of existing approvals to ensure compliance with the National Biosafety Management Act (NBMA) and the precautionary principle also featured in their demands.

Other recommendations included bolstering public agricultural research and extension services, protecting indigenous seed systems, supporting community seed banks, phasing out highly hazardous pesticides and increasing investment in agroecological research and training.

GM concerns in Nigeria

The adoption of GM crops has remained contentious among food system experts in Nigeria, creating two divides. GM proponents argue that the technology can help scale up food production and boost food security. Critics, however, fear the technology could trigger environmental and health risks, and have expressed worries about weak regulatory enforcement and inadequate labelling.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, more than 30 major food crops have been genetically modified globally.

Nigeria has approved four crops—maize, cowpea, cotton, and soybean—for commercialisation and is among the six African countries leading in biotech crop adoption.

In 2024, the government approved four varieties of Tela maize, further intensifying debates over GM crop safety and transparency.

Farmers’ limited knowledge of GM seed characteristics, potential dependence on seed companies, and the broader impact on traditional farming systems have been identified among the downsides.

An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and international partners in 2024 laid bare how the U.S. government, through the now-defunct USAID, funded pesticide and GM-related advocacy campaigns in Nigeria, including efforts that profiled critics of GMOs.

In March, the National Biosafety Management Agency ordered the suspension of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties in Nigeria.

The varieties are MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, and BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002. They were allegedly registered by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries on 26 March 2026 without the requisite approval of NBMA.

The agency said its regulatory surveillance and compliance-monitoring mechanisms identified “serious compliance abnormalities” in the varieties.

The suspension of the new cotton varieties underscores ongoing challenges around biosafety compliance and regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s biotechnology sector.

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Concerns over food security approach

The conference noted that Nigeria’s food security challenges require “holistic, people-centred and sustainable solutions” rather than sole dependence on technological interventions.

Participants also raised concerns about biodiversity loss, genetic contamination of indigenous seed varieties, monoculture farming systems, dependence on pesticides and the absence of sufficient long-term ecological studies on GM crops.

The communiqué stated that proprietary seed systems could undermine farmers’ rights to save, exchange and improve seeds, with implications for rural livelihoods and local food systems.

It further observed that existing biosafety governance frameworks require greater transparency, accountability, scientific rigour and meaningful public participation.

The conference spotlighted the far-reaching consequences of continued use of hazardous pesticides, warning that they constitute risks to human health, biodiversity, soil fertility and water resources.

It endorsed agroecology as a viable pathway to sustainable agriculture, noting that it has demonstrated the potential to improve soil health, biodiversity, climate resilience and farmers’ livelihoods.

Participants said structural barriers, including limited access to land, finance, information and technology, continue to affect farmers, particularly women and young people.

In their conclusion, participants remarked that ecological sustainability, food sovereignty, public accountability, social justice and the well-being of present and future generations should guide Nigeria’s food and agricultural policies.