Civil society groups have rejected a plan by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to grow genetically-modified cassava in the country. The Health of Mother Earth Foundation, along with 87 others civil society groups, disclosed their position in a statement.

The HOMEF Biosafety Project Manager, Joyce Okeoghene, said the IITA admitted that such approval had never been given anywhere in the world.

According to the groups, an application for the actualisation of ‘confined’ field trial of transgenic cassava had been submitted to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).