Nigeria’s commercially released GM crops performing well, NBRDA DG assures

Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, Director General, National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) says that the three genetically modified (GM) crops which Nigeria approved and released commercially for cultivation are performing well.

Mustapha spoke in an interview with Mainstream News Global NG(MNG) in Abuja on Wednesday.

The DG, giving update on status of the GM crops which consisted of Bt Cotton, Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea and Tela maize, assured that the results were encouraging after reaching farmers’ field.

He disclosed that trials and field reports showed that TELA maize improve yields, with visible evidence on farms under pest pressure and erratic rainfall.

According to him, these yields sometimes were around 20 to 35 per cent compared to local varieties, while reducing pesticide application.

He said Pod-borer resistant cowpea has substantially reduced crop losses to Maruca, the insect pest of beans, and lowered farmers’ expenditure on insecticides.

Mustapha further mentioned that reports from cotton-growing belt communities indicated dramatic improvements in productivity for farmers who had adopted Bt cotton.

“These are not abstract scientific claims, they are the lived experiences of households whose incomes, nutrition and food security have improved as a result.

“Yet none of this progress was accidental, it rests on robust science, rigorous biosafety oversight and, critically, the informed consent of citizens,’’ he said

The NBRDA boss clarified that Nigeria’s regulatory architecture, anchored by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), and supported by research partners, adopts a case-by-case approach to risk assessment, consistent with international best practice.

He noted that biosafety was not a brake on innovation, but the mechanism to ensure that innovation proceeded responsibly.

He said transparency in testing, post-release monitoring, and public engagement were essential elements of that process.

“Food security, job creation and economic renewal are at the heart of that national vision.

“Agricultural biotechnology is not a silver bullet, but is an eminently practical tool that complements other policies to increase productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and generate value across the agricultural value chain,’’ he said.

Mustapha underscored that when farmers harvest more reliably, processors and transporters have more to work with, that when yields improve, agribusinesses expand and create jobs.

He added that when crops require fewer chemical inputs, the environment gains and production costs fall.

“These ripple effects align precisely with the government’s ambition to make Nigeria more self-reliant, to create dignified employment for our youth, and to leverage science and technology for national development.’’

Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea variety also known as GM beans, was approved in 2019 and was engineered to resist the Maruca vitrata (pod borer) pest, which can cause up to 90% yield loss in conventional varieties.

Tela Maize variety was approved for commercial planting in January 2024. The crop was engineered to be resistant to the fall armyworm and stem borers, and also tolerant to drought conditions.