What is GMO?
GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms - which means the gene (unit of hereditary) the organism has is modified (minor change) to give us a trait (characteristic) we want or desire.
"Why Modify our Food"
Most of the food we produce is from the wild, some have too many seeds, some do not taste sweet, and some are not insects or pest-resistant - when farmers cultivate them we get small yields because of insects and pests & they are also not quality because of the pest contamination.
Maize for instance - in Nigeria our yield per hectare is 2 tons other countries are getting 5/6/8/10, the major reason for that is the pest called Army Worm and Stem Borer, which can cause up to 80-90% loss in yield, you'll have to use plenty pesticides & the pesticide contaminates our food and cause serious health problems.
Now these GMOs are modified such that only these pests can't feed on them giving us good yield and we don't have to use plenty of pesticides that contaminate our food. Also, they are drought-resistant (if we don't have plenty of rain they won't die off).
"Can GMO be replanted?"
Yes! GMO seeds can be replanted just like hybrid seeds out there. Any seed either GMO/Organic/Hybrid loses its desirable traits viability after the first season - that's why we advise farmers to buy seed either GMO or hybrid every season because if you replant them, they won't do well like the first year.
"Is GMO safe?"
Yes to a large extent, food scientists worldwide have declared GMO safe, some quarters are not 100% in agreement because Genetic Engineering involves adding external material to the gene of the plant and might cause some issues later.
"Why are other countries banning GMOs"
There's something called production advantage, if you produce more than enough of a type of crop, there's no point using GMO, so countries use GMOs for crops they do not have production advantage. For example, Nigeria is the highest producer of Onions in sub-Sahara Africa - there's no point asking for GMO onion seeds because we produce more than enough through hybrid seeds.
Russia banned GMOs because of the rift with the US because of Monsanto (a big GMO seed player is a US company), the UK is growing GMOs on a large scale, GMO is banned in India but they cultivate GMO cotton, China banned GMO but grow GMO papaya, Austria banned because they are not sure of the health implications, Italy banned because of precautionary principles. The USA is the highest producer of GMO foods, their maize is 90% GMO.
"Why are people worried about GMOs?"
It is the fear of the unknown plus the propaganda about GMOs. GMO production has reduced the use of pesticides by up to 37% (world average), increased farmers’ income by up to 40% (world average), and reduced food insecurity by 12% (world average).
The TELA MAIZE is a GMO developed and designed by our local food biotechnologist, it has been tested & confirmed to be safe & healthy for consumption. No one is going to kolobi the seed & make us starve. We are doing our own to improve our food.
Fact: Many of our foods in Nigeria are already GMO examples including the PBR beans (white beans), Cotton, Maize, Rice, etc lack of proper labeling of our foods many aren't aware. Many of the imported food into the country are also GMOs but many are not aware, hence do not know what they are consuming.
What I will advise is to make our leaders accountable to ensure they do the right things to ensure whatever they are approving has gone through rigorous testing and approval processes to ensure people are safe from consuming such
Cheers
Lanre NaijaFarmer
Thanks for the update