Biosafety Agency partners Customs to checkmate unapproved GMOs


The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) says its Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Nigerian Customs Service will checkmate unapproved Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to have their ways into the country.


Director General of the agency, Dr Rufus Ebegba made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.


He said that the step would strengthen the working relationship between the two agencies as a way of regulating the importation of GM foods and to ensure that only safe GM foods were allowed into the country.


“Due to the sensitive nature of GMO, it is imperative for both agencies to work together as our mandatory functions are to ensure total compliance with conditions of safe environment and health.’’


He reiterated the readiness of the agency to ensure total and holistic biosafety in the application of modern biotechnology in the country.


“We are working closely with line agencies, like the Nigeria Customs Service and other border agencies and will provide them with simple detection kits to be able to detect and analyse GMOs.


Ebegba said that the relationship between NBMA and NCS would ensure that all import approvals granted by the NBMA served as part of the documentations that the NCS would require at entry points.


“There is a need for us to develop a central working system, where all permits granted by NBMA can be accessed by the NCS.’


“And some of the products that customs should be particular about at the entry points include; Soya, Maize and Cotton.’’


The director general, however, said that there was the need for customs to carry out intensive enlightenment programme for its staff to equip officers on the knowledge of the mandate of the NBMA.


NAN reports that NBMA and the NCS had in 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that itemised the duties and responsibilities of each agency in respect to effective regulation of GMOs and their products.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato disease outbreak: Institute appeals for research funding

The National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, has appealed for funding to carry out research and create awareness on the tuta absoluta pest on tomatoes. The Institute’s Head of Vegetable Programme, Dr Olagorite Adetula, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday that there was an urgent need to tackle the problem to save the economy. Adetula said the institute needed money to do surveillance survey of the pest/damage, ascertain the impact of the damage and proffer solution for eradicating the pest. She appealed to the Federal Government to help the institute get pheromones to lure and trap the pests and distribute to farmers. ``Spraying insecticides is not the best, the pest has high production rate, some of them can escape while spraying it and they will be resistant to the insecticide thereby causing us more cost. ``The pheromones can be used for six to eight weeks before changing it, it is very effective, the pest has short life cycle, wit...
Read more

10,000 women farmers to be engaged in ECOWAS rice project – official

Image
 Mr Richard Olafare, the President, Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) says 10,000 women will be engaged in the recently inaugurated Rice Seed Up-Scaling Project. This is contained in a presentation on the project made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. Olafare said 8,000 youths would also be engaged in the scaling project. According to him, the number of women and youths represented 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the 20,000 farmers that will participate in the project. NAN reports that the project is an initiative of the West Africa Seed Programme (WASP) in support of the ECOWAS Rice Offensive Programme that was inaugurated in 2014. Among other objectives, it is targeting the production of 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice for Nigeria by December 2017, using 1,200 certified seeds. The project is being implemented by SEEDAN in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultura...
Read more

Monsanto Nigeria Launches 3 Conventional Maize Hybrids

Maize farmers across Nigeria now have 3 high yielding conventional maize hybrids to choose from the DEKALB ® brand as Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited launches 3 conventional maize hybrids. The launch held in Abuja on Tuesday May 17 2016 had in attendance farmers, development partners, government regulatory bodies and other stakeholders from both the private and public sectors of the economy. The launch of these hybrid seeds follows their registration by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries in February 2016. The white maize hybrid, DK234 alongside the 2 yellow maize hybrids, DK920 and DK818 obtained registration approval for use in Nigeria after testing across various agro ecological zones on multi-location farms. The white maize hybrid DK234 with yield potential of 13 tonnes per hectare is well adapted for the Southern and Northern Guinea Savanna ecologies and shows tolerance to Maize Streak Virus, ...
Read more