Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, disclosed this yesterday at the presentation GMO cowpeas in Abuja.Ebegba said this would afford government the opportunity to sustain its efforts to ensure information sharing among stakeholders.

He explained that the agency was not established to stop GMOs, but was set up to ensure that the crops were safe to the environment and public health.

He explained that the application for commercial release of GMO crops was the first of its kind and in line with NBMA Act to build on past efforts of basic science of PBR cowpea.

Ebegba added that every new technology is bound to face suspicion and concerns, stressing that Nigerian farmers should not fail to explore due to fear of the unknown.

“We would not fail in the discharge of our responsibility in the area of safety to humans in regulation of application, handling and use of GMOs,” he added.

