“Like almost all of Africa, prior to 2019, Nigeria had never grown any kind of GM food crop despite having an agricultural sector that constituted 22 percent of its GDP. But that year, the Nigerian government approved the cultivation of Bt cowpea. The Bt cowpea proved popular with farmers and is estimated to add $336 million to the Nigerian economy over the next 25 years. More importantly, the governmental bodies responsible, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA, which regulates GM crops) and the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA, which conducts research and field trials), demonstrated that they could safely develop and regulate Nigeria’s first GM crop for human consumption.

And success with Bt cowpeas quickly paved the way for other GM crops.

In 2024, Nigeria started growing its first GM cereal — TELA maize — which has proven resilient to both drought and several of the region’s most pernicious insect pests.”

From Asimov Press.