Experts Call for a halt on Commercial Release of Genetically Modified Cowpea

African experts have called on the Nigerian government to revoke the permits granted by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, for the commercial release of genetically modified (Bt) Cowpea (PBR-Cowpea).

The experts, which include non-governmental organisations, farmer groups and research professionals from various African countries, made the call during a virtual international press conference. Themed: “Pushing Back Bt Cowpea in Africa”, the conference was organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with the African Center for Biodiversity (ACBio).

The experts unanimously demanded that the distribution of the cowpea to farmers be stopped immediately, adding that it is bound to have severe long-term negative implications on the environment, population, and production practices.

Furthermore, the stakeholders said Nigerian farmers could become trapped in unsustainable, unsuitable, and unaffordable farming practices, which according to them, would deepen the threat to food and nutritional security and ultimately farmers’ rights.

“We also admonish other African governments to desist from the use of this variety and other GM crops on the continent, which represent continued exploitation of smallholder farmers,” they added.

source Agro Nigeria