Anti-GMO activists in Africa typically warn that if genetically modified crops are introduced on the continent, its traditional farming practices will be disrupted.

However, the validity of such warnings, as well as labels issued by groups such as the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa claiming that GMO seeds are “seeds of neo-colonialism” continue to be called into question.

One seasoned African scientist who continues to challenge and refute the veracity of claims that GMOs will eliminate Africa’s native seeds and biodiversity if adopted, is Dr. Rose Maxwell Gidado, a Nigerian industrial microbiologist and the Deputy Director of the  National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) in Abuja, Nigeria.

Professor Richard Okoth Oduor, associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Kenya’s Kenyatta University

Gidado, who has, through the years, worked to dispel myths about GM technology in Nigeria and Africa, told the New Vision that it was incorrect for anti-GMO civil society groups in Africa to claim that agribusiness conglomerates were attempting to take control of the continent's production systems and eradicate its traditional crops and seeds.

“There are no agribusiness conglomerates pressuring African governments to accept GMOs. The notion that using GMOs and genome-edited products will result in the erosion of biodiversity is likewise incorrect and far-fetched,” Gidado said.

“With GMO seeds, which critics have failed to prove are unsafe and which over 3,000 peer-reviewed journal papers have underscored are safe, our farmers can produce more on less land.”

“They don’t have to destroy any more forests, which are important for biodiversity conservation. For good measure, recent advances in plant biotechnology (in vitro culture technologies) have created new opportunities to preserve biodiversity rather than destroy it.

Andrew Kiggundu

Gidado added: “The adoption of agricultural biotechnology will bring liberty to Africa’s agricultural systems. It will reduce the continent's reliance on other continents for food, granting ultimate independence and accelerating its development.”

Professor Richard Okoth Oduor, an associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Kenya’s Kenyatta University, has similarly expressed disapproval of the anti-GMO claims, some of which have originated from the groves of Africa’s academia.

“The assertion that GMOs will lead to the destruction of Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems is a fallacy. Experts who are knowledgeable about GMOs and gene editing should be left to comment on how, for example, new genome editing tools like CRISPR will provide the African continent with necessary traits in the era of climate extremes like droughts to make staple crops like cassava and maize more climate resilient, and more resistant to diseases like brown streak, pests, and drought,” said Oduor, whose country, Kenya, lifted a ten-year  on the importation and cultivation of GMO crops last year.

Simon Makafui, a Ghanian agroecologist, however, took issue, urging the cautious use of CRISPR technology.

“That is because an independent study indicated that CRISPR-modified cells had the potential to seed tumours or trigger mutations that lead to tumours. I also believe that GMO patented seeds would threaten Africa’s seed sovereignty yet, by all accounts, 85 percent of Africa’s food originates from seeds preserved from prior season harvests.”

“The continent must protect the integrity of its traditional seeds and crops because their phasing out would raise the spectre of hunger and malnutrition.”

Nigerian plant scientist, Peter Adeolu Adedibu who recently co-authored a paper titled “Modern plant biotechnology: an antidote against Global food insecurity” however agrees with Professor Oduor.

“CRISPR-cas based genome editing is a promising tool that is already being used to improve Africa’s staple crops for biotic and abiotic stress resistance and for improved nutritional quality.”

GM seeds will not cause the extinction of African crop harvest seeds

Concerning the notion that selling GMO seeds to Africa's smallholder farmers will lead to the extinction of the long-standing indigenous African practice of saving crop harvest seeds, Gidado stated that the practice was not even the optimal approach for increasing seed output.

“Experts always advise farmers to use certified seeds for the best harvest possible. GMO seeds or crops that are not hybrids can be replanted again and again. So, that means our local farmers can still be able to continue with the ancient African indigenous practice of saving crops harvest seeds.”

“Nigeria’s GM Cowpea is now in the hands of farmers, and they have been replanting without any complaint. However, the only kind of seeds that are not replantable are hybrid seeds and hybrid seeds are not exclusive to GMOs alone,” Gidado explained.

Adedibu chimes in, noting that GM varieties will not replace native seed and crop varieties, but complement them.

“I don’t see GMOs as a threat to indigenous crop varieties, but rather as a complement to the indigenous ones.”

Prof. Ademola A. Adenle, a guest Professor of Sustainability Science and Innovation Policy at the Technical University of Denmark, who recently wrote  that GMOs may be the solution to hunger, stated that they, like other technologies, should be allowed to address challenges African countries face in their agricultural sectors.

“GM technology is one of many technologies that can be used to boost agricultural productivities, tackle food security problems and malnutrition as well as improve quality of life among farmers while generating more income.”

No evidence that GMOs are toxic
On the current infodemic of false information about GMOs on the continent, Gidado projected that it would eventually be supplanted and drowned out by positive trends.

“The good news is that the safety and benefits of GM crops on the market are already speaking for themselves. In Nigeria, for example, since the commercialization of the two GM crops, BT Cotton and PBR Cowpea, there has been no evidence of any poor health or hazard,” said Gidado.

"In Africa, the GMO debate has been left for every quake to comment on," Oduor observed.

“Every time GMOs are mentioned, everyone becomes an expert, including politicians and non-scientists, which is uncalled for because it is not their area of expertise.”

Oduor cautioned that if the anti-GMO lobby gets its way, Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounted for the highest level of hunger in 2022, will struggle to feed its growing population, on account of heightened climate change extremes that are causing severe damage to crops.

“As the climate changes, crops that were previously resistant to environmental stresses become more vulnerable. Biotechnology enables some of the most sensitive crops to be equipped to endure climate extremes.”

Andrew Kiggundu, a plant biotechnologist and senior research scientist at the National Agricultural Research Organisation in Kawanda, agreed, noting that the continent's population was growing faster than current farming techniques, necessitating the use of cutting-edge technologies such as biotechnology.

“African countries must adapt and modify their farming practices to feed more people while protecting the environment. Climate change will make it increasingly more difficult to feed people in the future, necessitating the use of agricultural biotechnology."

Africa must take the lead in genomic research

Oduor stressed that going forward, Africa must assume the initiative in the next-generation field of genomic research.

“The continent needs genome editing and all cutting-edge genetic innovations. Africa must take the initiative to patent its own innovations so that, even if there are subsequent complaints that we have no control over the patents, we are still making an investment in it.”