Biotech Agencies Reassure Nigerians Over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOS)

As much as there are concerns over overall impact of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Nigerians do not have much to worry aboutm so say two apex agencies in the country.

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) went all out and organized a sensitisation workshop with the sole purpose of addressing those public concerns and clear up misconceptions surrounding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Target audiences for the workshop which held in Keffi Nasarawa State on Tuesday included Students, Academicians and civil society organisations (CSO).

While agreeing that matters bordering GMO in Nigeria remained controversial, Director-General (DG) of NBMA Mr Bello Bawa Bwari, the idea of bringing key stakeholders together was to provide education on the subject matter.

This he said was with purpose of avoiding misinformation.

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“As you are all aware, President Bola Tinubu is interested in food security and biosafety enhances food security”, Bwari who was represented by the Director of Planning and Statistics, Research Department NBMA, Mrs Scholastica Bello.

According to him there was no doubt that the programme would knock off some half truths about GMOs after then.

According to Head of the Department of Biosafety Operations and Enforcement at NBMA, Mrs Hauwa Ahmed, biotechnology cannot thrive without biosafety.

Referring to the participants, he stated: “We have told them how safe and harmless biotechnology techniques are to humans and the environment.

“We have successfully sensitised biotechnology, microbiology and environmental scientists on how to apply modern biotechnology,” Ahmed said.