The Director-General, National Agency for Biotechnology Development Agency, Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, in this interview with EVEREST AMAEFULE, speaks on the benefits of the National Biosafety Bill recently passed by the National Assembly
The Biosafety Bill has been passed by the National Assembly. If the President gives his assent to the bill, what will change?
With the passage of the bill into law, it means that we now have a regulatory framework that will control the movement of Genetically Modified Organisms in and out of the country. It also means that Nigerian scientists will now have the legal backing to practise very well in the area of molecular technology. They will be able to practise fully because it then means they are covered by law. It also means that those that are concerned about the technology, their fears will be laid to rest. It also means that people can bring the GMOs into the country but a national committee will have to scrutinise their documents before they bring them in. It means a whole lot of things to safeguard the interest of the populace.
Will the movement of the GMOs in and out of the country not jeopardise the food security of the nation?
No. It does not mean that at all. You are looking at the GMOs as products that are alien to agriculture. They are not. You are looking at the GMOs as monstrous products that are out of the ordinary. They are not. You are already consuming most of the products. The difference is that it may be a product heavily weighted in carbohydrates; vitamin is added. You are looking at products that probably will decay within five days; and the shelf life is extended to one week or beyond. You may not be able to spot the difference because they are modified genetically. If they are not good for our health, most people would not be able to determine that by looking at them. For instance, if you go to the market; and you want to buy the conventional cowpea or beans, don’t you see different varieties of beans in the market? Don’t you see white beans and brown beans? Don’t you see the brown eyed and white eyed beans? All these are varieties that have evolved over time as a result of selection.
Isn’t that natural selection?
Yes, it is natural selection. Even before we got to the stage of natural selection, we were using an advanced technology of breeding. Nature has its own crops that if you are given them today, you will not accept because the yields of those crops are small compared to what you will get using improved farming techniques. So, this is what is happening and science is there for this purpose. We cannot be stagnant when science is bringing results that can benefit mankind.
Some 100 or 200 years ago, nobody in this environment had access to the fabrics you are wearing today. It is as a result of science and technology. You probably would have had no access to this if there was no science and technology.
How do you respond to the fear that if biotechnology is legalised, the big corporations will take over the whole space?
This is how it works. The reason why we are at this stage of development in terms of recombinant DNA technology is because our scientists have not been actively engaged in the practice of this technology.
To start with, we are already far behind. Second, I want to tell you that there is no product that can come in anyhow. Before any product can come in, there must be the involvement of our scientists to make sure that what have been developed will be integrated into our own variety to ensure that it is acceptable. So, there is not going to be any wholesale importation of products from outside. There must be some scientific input into what is developed to make sure that we are satisfied with the work or with the product before it is released. That is how it happens everywhere. And that is why there is a need to ensure the domestication of what we signed as a treaty under the Cartagena Protocol. That is exactly what we are saying – that we should be allowed to practise along with our counterparts in other parts of the world and not just wait for them to develop and export to us. That is another thing that this law seeks to achieve.
It is not as if those companies that you are referring to outside will develop these products and dump them on us. As a matter of fact, there will be no agricultural product that will be imported wholesale. If there is any GMO that is already in the country, it means they have come in because our biosafety law has not been in place to check and address those issues – to close our borders and scrutinise them before they come in.
Without the biosafety law, the GMOs are already in the country. Why is it so?
If you go out now and do an opinion poll, many people will tell you that they suspect that the GMOs are in the country. So it is not about our scientists telling you this. It is a suspicion or a rumour that is rife. Simple knowledge will tell you that because we do not have this legal framework in place, and because our borders are porous; that these materials may likely be in the country.
Second, some people have called and told me that they are sure they have seen some products that look like the GMOs in the market. This is not far from what you are saying. It is expected because these things can be smuggled into the country. Brazil and Argentina share borders. When Brazil delayed in doing what they were supposed to do, the farmers went across the border and smuggled the GM products into the country. This is what we do not want to happen in this country.
As a matter fact, our cotton farmers are already threatening that if we delay any further, they are going to smuggle them into the country. This is common sense. These are people who know the benefits of what we are talking about and yet we want to deprive them of having it. It is normal for them to want to smuggle them into the country.
You have acknowledged that the borders are porous and these GMOs can come in through them. So, what will be different if the President signs the bill into law?
If it becomes a law, our law enforcement agents at the borders will be equipped and they will know what to look out for and they will know that any product that is coming in must not be allowed to pass through without going through the necessary protocol. They will also know that a national biosafety committee is in place that will scrutinise their documents. They could be law abiding citizens but because we have not availed them of what it takes, that is why this could be happening.
Let me take you upon the issue of capacity. Our capacity in biotechnology is low as you acknowledged. Again, does this not imply that the opening up envisaged in the law will give the nation’s space to mature corporations outside?
I didn’t say we don’t have the capacity. What I said is that we are behind. What that means is that for now, we have to continue to work with our collaborators outside and ensure whatever product that is being developed out there will be in conjunction with our scientists.
Secondly, when the work is completed, the backcrossing of this material into an accepted variety will be done by our scientists. At least, that aspect, we are fully equipped to carry it out. It is our capacity to do genetic modification that is not fully developed. This is capital — intensive and it requires equipment. It is a painstaking process – nothing less than 10 years to complete. It is a rigorous process and that is to show you that these scientists are not just working and throwing up products. They make sure that all that needs to be done is done before any product is brought out including passing it through several trials in various locations. This is to ensure that the product meets the required standard before it is released.
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