Regional Representative for West Africa at the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Jean Baptiste, has said TELA maize is a climate-smart, genetically modified (GM) variety that offers solutions to food security and nutrition challenges by using biotechnology to address some of the most pressing agricultural issues.
Baptiste emphasised the benefits of TELA maize during its first harvest in Abuja. “TELA maize is a climate-smart variety developed using biotechnology methods. In addition to being a climate-smart variety, it also enables you to control insects.
Of course, you know that insects are one of the major constraints that reduce crop yield for our farmers. “This maize variety is a triplepurpose technology.
First of all, it confers the resistant to drought, secondly, it enables farmers to control fall armyworm, so at the end of the day, the benefit of all these is to enable farmers to increase yield and to be able to meet food security issues and also sell the extra so that they can have income and improve their livelihood,” he said.
Baptiste further addressed concerns due to misconceptions surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their development by emphasizing that Nigerian farmers were deeply involved in the development process.
Through confined field trials, Baptiste noted that farmers were given opportunities to evaluate and provide feedback on the maize variety to ensure it met their needs.
This approach not only allowed for essential feedback but also ensured farmers were included in selecting specific traits, making the new variety tailored to local conditions.
Furthermore, he said the maize variety adhered to stringent regulatory standards established by Nigeria’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), which has rigorously evaluated the variety to guarantee its safety for both humans and the environment.
He affirmed that no targeted organisms, including animals like rodents and pollinators, would be adversely affected by the introduction of this maize, thus establishing it as a safe and beneficial crop for Nigerian agriculture.
Baptiste also addressed the criticism that GMOs, including TELA maize, represent foreign impositions on Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
He explained that TELA maize was tested and developed by Nigerian scientists in response to specific challenges faced by local farmers, such as pest resistance. He pointed out that traditional methods were inadequate to protect crops against pests like the fall armyworm, which prompted researchers from Nigeria’s Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) in Zaria to turn to biotechnology to fill the gap.
This research approach has led to viable solutions for Nigerian farmers and represents a pioneering step in utilizing modern agricultural technology to address local challenges. Nigeria has made remarkable progress in biotechnology, setting an example for other African countries.
According to Baptiste, Nigeria’s leadership in the field is exemplified by its successful development of the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea, which was the first genetically modified crop released on the continent. Baptiste noted that Nigerian scientists played a key role in this innovation, inspiring neighboring countries, including Ghana, which later adopted the cowpea variety.
Addressing concerns that GM crops could eventually undermine Nigeria’s local seed systems, he reassured stakeholders that traditional seed breeding methods would continue to coexist with biotechnolog.
