ABUJA – The Federal Government says it will soon make “a statement’’ on the complaints made by Nigerians on the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.
Dr Shehu Ahmed, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
Ahmed was speaking on the sideline of the ongoing 2016 Agricultural Technical Training sponsored by the Chinese Government.
According to him, the government is still investigating the issues relating to the use of GMOs and studying the public’s complaints with the help of its experts and research institutes.
“We are still looking at it; we have received some complaints from the public, but we are looking at it.
“Our experts are looking at it; our research institutes are looking at it.
“We have not yet come up with a decision on that, we are still investigating, but very soon we will make our statement on that.’’
NAN reports that GMO is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques to achieve a certain result.
NAN further reports that genetic engineering is a technique for boosting agricultural production in commercial quantity and ensure food security for densely populated countries.
It is an organism whose genetic makeup has been altered by the addition of genetic material from an unrelated organism.
Critics have, however, blamed it for the rise in cancer-related diseases. (NAN)
