The director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) Bar. Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, has reiterated calls for urgent and critical amendments of Nigerian Biosafety Management Act (NBMA) 2015, saying Nigeria do not need Genetically modified Organisms (GMOs).
Speaking during a dialogue on GMOs in Nigeria, organised by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) with Mother Earth Defenders, Food Sovereignty and Food Rights Advocates and Promoters of Agroecology in attendance in Abuja recently, she said “Nigeria needs a strict Biosafety law and this should be based on the African Model Law as the minimum standard.” She added that the current Biosafety Law is weak and it undermines. “The ACT has to truly travel a Nigerian Journey without any interference. It MUST be a Law for Nigerians and by Nigerians!
“For instance the National Agency for Biotechnology Development (NABDA) that NBMA is supposed to regulate seats in the Board of NABMA. NABDA and some foreign groups with vested interest were part of the groups that sponsored the Biosafety draft bill of 2011. Key principles like the precautionary approach, strict liability, mandatory public consultation and participation, clear provisions on liability and redress, labelling and the right to know, are clearly missing in our law. Also the need to address the enormous powers granted to the Agency, and provisions on decision making, appeals and reviews.
“Infect, a cursory look at NBMA, the debate on whether or not GMOs are an appropriate development or intervention appears to be over. The general tone of the Act is clearly set for GMOs.
“Ugandan President recently recalled their Biosafety law to ensure it protects its citizens and included very strict laws that would ensure that its people come first over corporations. Their law is based on strict liability,” she said.
“Let me give a brief background first.We () were invited to a The GMOs Makerters/ Promoters and “Regulatory” Agencies were also invited . They did not show up. This will not be the first time they are shying away from a dialogue or debate. We came prepared. We brought evidence to show why
Meanwhile Uttarakhand government in a bid to go organic, has passed a law which criminalizes usage of chemicals in the form of fertilisers or pesticides in selected areas. The aim is to make the hill state 100 per cent organic.
“We are aiming to go back to traditional knowledge combined with modern science to reduce health hazards and make farming products of our state mire viable for people of the country as well as the world,” said Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. The act titled as Organic Agriculture Act 2019 will come into force soon.
