PUBLIC DISPLAY OF BIOSAFETY APPLICATION DOSSIERS

In accordance with the National Biosafety Management Agency Act 2015 (as amended), which requires that before any permit is granted for intentional release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) there must be a public display of the biosafety application for comments and contributions. The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) hereby announces a twenty-one (21) day public notice of the display of application dossiers by:

1. Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, Kaduna State for the Confined Field Trial (CFT) of Transgenic Cowpea conferring dual-mode resistance to the pod-borer Maruca vitrata and bruchids field and storage insects, and the Commercial Release of Transgenic Cowpea.
2. National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Abia State for the CFT of Transgenic potato resistant to late blight, and the Commercial Release of Transgenic potato.
3. Syngenta South Africa (Pty) Ltd. For authorization and gene registration of GM maize event (MZIR260) modified for insect resistance, for use as food, feed and processing.

This display will take effect from Thursday, 30th July 2026 to Thursday, 20th August 2026 to enable the public to provide inputs that will facilitate informed decisions on the applications.

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Description of the Proposed Applications:

• The CFT trial in IAR is to evaluate the efficacy of transgenic cowpea expressing Cry1Ab, Cry2Ab, mCry1Ca, and αAI-1 (SAV) proteins for dual resistance against the Maruca pod borer (Maruca vitrata) in the field and the bruchid weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus) during storage.
• The General Release application by IAR is for approval for the Commercialization of transgenic cowpea event DPS-14208, expressing Cry1Ab and Cry2Ab proteins for the control of Maruca pod borer (Maruca vitrata) and the alpha-amylase inhibitor-1 (αAI-1) protein for the control of the bruchid storage pest (Callosobruchus maculatus).
• The CFT trial in NRCRI is to evaluate transgenic potato carrying the 3R-gene stack for resistance to late blight disease caused by Phytophthora infestans and Potato virus Y (PVY) under confined field conditions.
• The General Release application by NRCRI is for approval for the commercialization of transgenic potato events Des.52, Dia.255, Sha.105, and Vic.185, developed for resistance to late blight disease.
• The application by Syngenta South Africa (Pty) Ltd. is for authorization and gene registration of genetically modified maize event MZIR260, developed for insect resistance, for use as food, feed, and processing.

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Display Centre are :

Physical display Centre are :

• Department of Biosafety Enforcement and Operations - National Biosafety Management Agency, Plot 3, Kalahari Close, Off ICS Drive, Dakibiyu, Jabi, Abuja;
• Office of the Executive Director, Forest Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Oyo State
• Office of the Executive Director- National Cereals Research Institute Badeggi, Niger State;
• Office of the Executive Director- National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State.

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Online display Centre are :

Website of the National Biosafety Management Agency; www.nbma.gov.ng

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APPLICATION DOSSIERS

Display Duration

Date: Thursday, 30th July 2026 to Thursday, 20th August 2026.
Time: 8:00am – 4:00pm daily

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ALL COMMENTS SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL/CEO, NATIONAL BIOSAFETY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, Abuja ON OR BEFORE THURSDAY 20TH AUGUST 2026.

E-mail: nbma@nbma.gov.ng