By Asma’u Ahmad
The African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building (ACSDoCB) has urged the Federal Government to take measures to improve Nigeria’s health systems to accommodate Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods.
Executive Chairman of ACSDCB, Professor Olu Ajakaiye said this in an interview with media men in Abuja.
According to him, Nigeria cannot swim against the tide of technological food production which is the basis of agricultural increase for many developed countries.
He said that what was most important from the first world perspective was to increase the quality of food and agricultural produce through the GMO.
“We have been on this for years and the whole idea of shifting from manure to fertilizers is actually modifying the system. So the modification has been going on, it is only that it has become more visible and at a higher grade,” he said.
Professor Ajakaiye said that the fear of many Nigerians was on the adverse effects of GMOs, which may eventually start showing up.
He said: “Are we ready to start coping with those adverse effects through high class sophisticated health systems and sensitisation? You need information about your health status and what advances it so that when you go to the shops you can make your choice as to what you need.
“Not everybody will be able to consume particular GMO products because of their health status, but if you do not even know your health status how will you know what to take and what to avoid.”
According to him, resisting GMOs is not the solution, rather, Nigeria should prepare itself to make productive, effective and mutually beneficial use of the technological advancement.
Newsmen report that GMOs are foods derived from organisms with genetic materials (DNA) that have been modified in a way that does not occur naturally.
However, there have been calls by various stakeholders in Nigeria to disallow it as it may have adverse effects.
