Cotton farmers in Africa’s most populous nation were excited in 2018 when genetically engineered cotton seeds were introduced for cultivation, raising hopes of bumper harvest and pest-free cotton regimes.
Six years later, however, the introduction of the genetically modified MRC 7377BG11 and MRC7361BG11 seeds failed to increase the cotton yield per hectare and revive the dying industry.
According to Anibe Achimugu, president of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), farmers who cultivated the two genetically modified strains introduced six years ago did not record any significant increase in their yields compared to the local seed varieties.
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“Unfortunately, the problem with the genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds that were approved is that they did not significantly improve yields, and it is difficult for farmers to be able to cope due to how expensive it is,” he noted.
Abdulsalam Musa, a cotton farmer in Katsina and a member of NACOTAN, said that since the introduction of GM cotton seeds by the association during the 2020/2021 farming season, which were planted across different farms in the country, yield per hectare has remained almost the same.
“When we purchased the seeds in our association, we planted them in different locations in the country. But when we did a comparison, no farm could get up to four tons per hectare while local seeds produced up to four to five tons per hectare,” he said.
Musa said no other plant has been able to germinate on the farmlands where the GM seeds were planted, even after four years.
“The farm where we planted the GM seeds can no longer germinate our local seeds anymore. The land has been destroyed,” he noted.
There are no accurate data on the country’s yield per hectare for cotton. The most recent data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation shows that the country’s cotton production declined marginally to 115,000 metric tons in 2021 from 125,000 metric tons in 2020.
According to experts, Nigeria’s dying cotton market has led to the extinction of the textile industry and also the loss of multiple jobs.
Data from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment shows that between 1980 and 2016, about 145 companies operating in the textile sector had shut down, due to policy somersaults, poor research and development, shortage of raw material, smuggling, and poor power supply, among others.
Further research shows that between 2019 and 2023, there has been a steady rise in textile imports, reflecting Nigeria’s inability to meet its local demands.
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In 2019, N220.5 billion worth of textile products were imported into the country; N182.5 billion in 2020; N278.8 billion in 2021, and N365.5 billion in 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Despite the foreign exchange crunch in 2023, the figure still went up to N377.1 billion. Analysts say about 90 percent of textile materials in Africa’s biggest nation are imported.
The GM varieties approved in 2018 were expected to bring succour to cotton farmers by increasing their yield per hectare from an average of 450kg per hectare to 4.2g per hectare and also address issues of diseases and quality of the Nigerian cotton, but experts say their impact on yield and farmlands has been negative.
Lawal Matazu, president of the Cotton Producers and Merchants Association of Nigeria, said that since the introduction of GM seeds to the cotton value chain, productivity has declined.
“The increase in productivity that the GM promoters are talking about was just experienced in the early years, maybe in the first and second year. However, we encountered a lot of problems that have reduced productivity. One of such was the inability to replant the seeds,” Matazu said.
He said the introduction of GM seeds into the cotton value chain has done more harm than good to the industry.
Cotton was one of Nigeria’s major cash crops in the ’70s, but years of government neglect, low-quality key inputs such as seeds and the death of the country’s textile industry have led to the collapse of the market.
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Jude Obi, president of the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria, said the country’s approval of GM seeds will not help address the most pressing issues leading to low food production.
Obi said one of the major dangers of genetically-engineered crops is that it distorts the ecosystem, noting that it poses a huge danger to the environment.
“The danger of GMO is that it creates an imbalance in the ecosystem and it will push our farmers into seed slavery,” he said.
