Health stakeholders and experts have raised concerns over the deployment and consumption of Genetically Modified Organism, GMO, foods in Nigeria, alleging that they could contribute to the spread of cancer and other terminal illnesses in Africa’s most populous country.
The concerns were expressed on Tuesday during a one-day media training on biosafety and agroecology in Nigeria attended by journalists, including DAILY POST.
The training focused on Nigeria’s food future, biosafety regulations, and the perceived negative impacts of GMO crops on health, biodiversity, and food security.
Recall that in March 2026, the National Committee on Naming, Registration, and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds, and Fisheries approved and registered four new transgenic cotton varieties without requisite clearance from the National Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA.
The development came amid growing national debate over the deployment of GMO crops in Nigeria. The House of Representatives had also conducted an investigative hearing on the introduction of GMOs into the country’s agricultural system.
DAILY POST reports that the adoption of GMO crops has continued to generate mixed reactions among scientists, policymakers, farmers, and civil society groups.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Ifeanyi Casmir, a health expert, cautioned Nigerians against embracing GMO foods, warning that the country’s major staple crops could become controlled by proprietary interests.
“Now, the worry we have is the quest to take our staple foods, cassava, maize, beans, and cowpea, which Nigeria is one of the leading producers of globally, and to now modify them and make them proprietary. And our farmers, smallholder farmers, which globally is being agreed upon by the FAO and other agencies, are the feeders—those who produce the food that feeds the world.
“Over 80 percent of GMO crops in Nigeria and in other parts of Africa and the world depend on the use of herbicides and pesticides.
“Are you aware that 7 out of every 13 herbicides used currently in our country, including with the ban on it, have been known to cause cancer and are considered highly hazardous pesticides?” he said.
Also speaking, Programme Director at Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, said concerns over biodiversity loss and food security continue to drive opposition to GMO crops.
“So key issues, key reasons why we are still on this campaign, are the fact that GMOs can contaminate Nigeria’s genetic resources and can bring about loss of biodiversity, which will then critically impact Nigeria’s food security, right?
“And we’ve had the Cotton Farmers Association of Nigeria come out to say that the GMOs do not have a substantial or significant advantage over the conventional varieties. But at the same time, these GMOs are causing soil degradation, right? So after planting the crops, farmers have reported that the soils are no longer supporting the local varieties. So this is a situation that we don’t want to become mainstream in Nigeria,” Bassey stated.
Similarly, the executive director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, urged the federal government to exercise caution in its approach to GMO adoption.
“There are global concerns over the health implications of GMOs. And so many countries have taken precautionary principles against GMOs.
“We don’t want the Nigerian government to open again our food system to an unproven science. There is an attempt to takeover our food environment by big corporations outside our chores,” he said.
According to available data, cancer cases have continued to rise in Nigeria, with about 128,000 new cases reported annually.
The stakeholders collectively urged the Nigerian government to urgently review its GMOs policy and stronger support for biodiversity, agroecology, and indigenous seed systems as better alternatives to GMOs.
