What are Nigerians eating? Tracing TELA maize from farms to dinner tables (I)

As the afternoon solar settled over the town of Bichi in Kano State, Hauwa Saminu untied the sack of maize she had purchased earlier that day at a neighbourhood market.

The buy was routine. She had examined the grains rigorously earlier than selecting the cleanest ones and bargaining with the sellers. The maize would later be taken to a close-by milling store, then cooked at dwelling into tuwo, a staple meal her 12-member family eats for dinner, often paired with Miyan kuka (Baobab soup), and sometimes once more the next morning.

She had no thought whether or not what she purchased was the traditional maize she had eaten for years or Nigeria’s new genetically modified maize.

“I always buy maize. Nobody has ever told me whether it is TELA maize or conventional maize,” she mentioned, pausing briefly as if listening to the title for the primary time.

She added that she buys 10 mudu (a Kano measure equal to about 2.4 kg) each week at N900-N950 per mudu

Ms Saminu’s expertise displays that of many Nigerian customers.

Over 13 months, from June 2025 to July 2026, this reporter travelled throughout Kano, Kaduna and Niger states, tracing the origin of the genetically modified TELA maize from analysis laboratories and demonstration farms to grain markets, flour processors, roasted maize distributors and family kitchens.

But what’s TELA maize manufactured from, and do Nigerians know what they devour as meals?

To reply these questions, PREMIUM TIMES interviewed regulators, scientists, seed firms, farmers, grain merchants, processors, customers, vitamin specialists and biotechnology critics, and reviewed regulatory paperwork and scientific assessments to hint the crop’s journey from laboratory improvement to family consumption.

What emerged was a narrative that extends past science and agriculture to questions of transparency, client consciousness and Nigerians’ proper to knowledgeable selection.

From devastating pest to scientific resolution

Maize is one among Nigeria’s most essential staple crops, consumed each day in numerous varieties, together with tuwo, pap, roasted corn, boiled corn and livestock feed. Millions of farmers rely upon it for earnings. But for years, two main challenges have threatened maize manufacturing: extended drought related to local weather change and the harmful fall armyworm (FAW).

First detected in Nigeria in 2016, FAW unfold quickly, destroyed farms, and compelled farmers throughout states to spend closely on pesticides whereas nonetheless experiencing important losses.

According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), the pest can destroy a complete maize discipline if left uncontrolled, threatening meals manufacturing and farmers’ livelihoods. To set up a baseline, 2020 ministry data put annual native maize manufacturing at about 10.5 million metric tonnes, towards a requirement of about 15 million tonnes. The ministry additionally warned that pests akin to FAW may trigger losses of up to 70 per cent of maize manufacturing.

Scientists believed biotechnology may assist tackle the issue, which led to the creation of the TELA maize venture.

The TELA maize venture is a multi-country analysis initiative coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Bayer Crop Science, and National Agricultural Research institutes throughout Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and South Africa.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (now the Gates Foundation) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) fund the venture and assist the event of drought-tolerant and insect-resistant maize for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

A 2019 Product Launch Collaboration agreement between AATF, CIMMYT, and Monsanto Company—an agricultural enterprise later acquired by Bayer—offered a framework for commercialising the TELA maize expertise in collaborating African international locations. Under the association, AATF obtained a royalty-free licence to oversee deployment and commercialisation and sub-licence the expertise, topic to nationwide regulatory and stewardship necessities.

The TELA Maize Project, constructed on greater than a decade of analysis below the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project, sought to develop drought-tolerant maize for African farmers.

According to AATF, the title TELA comes from the Latin phrase “tutela”, that means safety, reflecting the crop’s skill to shield itself towards harmful insect pests whereas additionally tolerating durations of drought.

TELA maize comprises a Bt gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium, which produces proteins that focus on particular pests akin to fall armyworm and stem borers.

Muhyideen Oyekunle, Traits Pipeline Testing Lead on the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), who evaluated the traits, defined that the Bt proteins disrupt the digestive techniques of focused pests after they feed on the plant, defending the crop from injury. In distinction, the drought-tolerance trait permits the crop to face up to durations of water stress.

In Nigeria, the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) developed and tailored the expertise at Ahmadu Bello University in Kaduna in collaboration with AATF.

But whereas scientists labored on the crop for years, questions remained about how a lot Nigerians understood concerning the expertise and the number of meals they devour.

Nigeria’s street to industrial cultivation

TELA maize handed by means of years of analysis and evaluation. The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Nigeria’s statutory regulator for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), mentioned it assessed the crop and located it safe for human consumption and the surroundings.

Hauwa Ahmed, director of Biosafety Enforcement and Operations on the NBMA, defined that the crop underwent in depth scrutiny.

“The approval of TELA maize followed a rigorous, multi-stage biosafety risk assessment in line with the NBMA Act and Nigeria’s obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,” Mrs Ahmed advised PREMIUM TIMES.

She added that researchers performed years of Confined Field Trials (CFTs) in Nigeria to generate agro-ecological information, assess environmental dangers and look at attainable results on non-target organisms earlier than making use of for industrial launch.

She additionally famous that the regulatory course of concerned public participation, because the company revealed notices in three nationwide newspapers and made the appliance file out there at designated places for 21 days for public feedback. The National Biosafety Committee and National Biosafety Technical Sub-Committee subsequently reviewed the scientific file and made suggestions to the company.

In October 2021, NBMA granted IAR a allow to environmentally launch TELA maize following assessments that included molecular characterisation, toxicology, allergenicity, dietary equivalence, environmental dangers, and comparisons with standard maize. The evaluation additionally thought of socio-economic points.

“The pre-approval risk assessment ensures that all potential risks are identified and management measures proffered before approval for commercial release,” Mrs Ahmed disclosed.

The evaluation drew on proof and expertise from international locations, together with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and South Africa, in addition to European Union member states.

Multi-location trials had been additionally performed throughout Nigeria’s ecological zones earlier than the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds/Fisheries thought of them.

On 11 January 2024, the committee formally authorised the discharge of 4 varieties in Nigeria, together with SAMMAZ 72T, SAMMAZ 73T, SAMMAZ 74T, and SAMMAZ 75T.

Mr Oyekunle defined to PREMIUM TIMES what the varieties imply. SAMMAZ is derived from “Samaru maize”, which refers to the institute’s location in Samaru, Zaria. The numbers establish the person varieties, whereas the letter “T” distinguishes the TELA varieties from standard SAMMAZ varieties.

Although the 4 varieties share the identical biotechnology traits, they differ barely in adaptation zones, plant traits, and yield potential. They had been beneficial for various agro-ecological zones, together with the Guinea savannah, Sudan savannah, and rainforest zones, and have potential yields ranging from about 9.4 to 10.4 tonnes per hectare below good agronomic practices.

The builders described the expertise as an essential device for enhancing meals safety, lowering pesticide use and serving to farmers adapt to local weather change.

The federal authorities formally launched TELA maize in 2024 to encourage nationwide adoption.

According to the NBMA, the FMAFS serves because the agricultural coverage and deployment interface for TELA maize in Nigeria, together with its adoption and farmer assist programmes, whereas the NBMA oversees biosafety approval.

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Federal Department of Agriculture below the ministry to perceive its position within the TELA maize programme and the federal government’s place on its deployment and adoption.

An official of the division, who requested anonymity as a result of he was not authorised to communicate publicly, mentioned the ministry doesn’t independently approve GMOs; relatively, it supplies an enabling surroundings for agricultural expertise.

He mentioned the ministry opinions findings from the IAR, which operates below its mandate, and different related analysis businesses to decide whether or not a expertise aligns with agricultural coverage.

Meanwhile, the NBMA handles GMO regulatory approval and the National Agricultural Seeds Council certifies varieties for seed multiplication. He mentioned TELA maize’s resistance to FAW, stem borers and drought may assist enhance manufacturing and scale back Nigeria’s meals provide deficit.

On adoption, the official mentioned uptake of TELA maize is rising, as Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) sensitise farmers by means of demonstration plots that enable them to examine TELA maize with standard varieties. However, he recognized seed availability and affordability as main challenges. He burdened the necessity for farmers to observe beneficial agronomic practices, together with correct spacing and nutrient software, to obtain anticipated yields.

Data offered by AATF to PREMIUM TIMES point out that roughly 8,000 to 10,000 farmers accessed and planted TELA maize through the 2024 cropping season. However, the determine didn’t embody farmers who might have saved seed for subsequent planting.

Kaduna, Kano, and Niger recorded the most important numbers, with about 1,800 farmers in Kaduna, 1,500 in Kano, and 1,200 in Niger. Benue ranked fourth with about 1,100, and Katsina fifth with 1,000 farmers. Other states throughout the federation, together with Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Nasarawa and the FCT, accounted for about 3,400 farmers mixed.

Muhammad Yahaya, a plant breeder and geneticist at IAR, mentioned creating TELA maize took greater than a decade.

“The development of TELA maize took over a decade, approximately 10 to 15 years.”

The course of concerned gene discovery, laboratory work, confined discipline trials, multi-location trials and regulatory assessments protecting toxicity, allergenicity, dietary equivalence and environmental dangers.

The trials and subsequent deployment lined areas together with Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Jigawa.

Mr Yahaya mentioned post-release monitoring was additionally essential as a result of regulators and researchers continued to assess discipline efficiency, environmental results, farmer experiences and compliance with stewardship necessities.

“Commercial release comes with stewardship obligations,” he mentioned, describing biosafety as “an ongoing process rather than a one-time event.”

Yet whereas regulators declared the crop protected and farmers more and more embraced it, one other query remained unanswered: After leaving analysis stations and demonstration farms, who are the top customers of TELA maize? Do Nigerians know they are already consuming it?

Following the seed

Agric Seed Care Limited is a licensed distributor of TELA seed by means of AATF.

Mr Ochoche, whose firm is predicated in Hotoro, Kano, mentioned TELA seed was initially imported into Nigeria, which delayed its availability to farmers through the first planting season in 2024. By the time the seed arrived, some farmers had already planted different crops. He mentioned the scenario has since improved because the seed is now being multiplied domestically.

Its chief government officer (CEO), Oyaje Ochoche, mentioned his firm recalled that TELA maize seed was bought for as a lot as N9,500 per kilogramme through the first two years of economic distribution. He added that the worth has since dropped to between N4,500 and N7,000 per kilogramme.

For standard hybrid maize seed, the corporate’s present comparability is between N1,200 and N1,500 for a two-kilogramme pack in lots of places, Mr Ochoche mentioned

Another licensed producer and distributor of TELA maize seed, Nagari Seed Company Limited in Kaduna, additionally obtains basis seed for multiplication into licensed seed for farmers. The firm’s advertising and marketing supervisor, Tachio Boman, advised PREMIUM TIMES that the seed is produced in two phases: basis and authorized seed.

Mr Boman mentioned the inspiration seed was initially imported from South Africa when TELA maize was commercialised, whereas native manufacturing techniques had been being established. Now, EcoBasic Seed Company collaborates with IAR to produce seeds domestically for licensed multiplication and provides them to licensed Nigerian seed firms, together with Nagari. The licensed seeds are distributed to farmers by means of AATF-provided channels.

AATF Hybrid Seed Market Development Manager Olawale Ojo mentioned the organisation operates a licensing system that includes certified Nigerian-owned seed firms.

AATF, alongside EcoBasic Seed Company Limited, sub-licenses TELA maize hybrids to certified seed firms that meet the standards, together with Agric Seed Care Limited, Nagari Seed Company Limited, Premier Seed Nigeria Limited, Techni Seed, Chinmade Nigeria Limited, Da-Allgreen Seeds Limited, Lifted Agro Limited, Boom Seed Limited, GoldAgric Nigeria Limited, Ingachi Seed Company Limited, Mastrotun Global Limited and Beta Seed Company Limited.

But after the seed entered Nigeria’s farming system, misinformation started to set in.

“There were many rumours. Some believed the maize was brought to harm Africans. Others claimed crops would never grow again on land where TELA maize had been planted,” Mr Ochoche recalled.

To counter the misinformation, AATF and FMAFS, by means of their agricultural improvement programmes, and seed firms established demonstration plots the place farmers may observe the crop and obtain coaching on cultivation and stewardship practices.

Mr Ojo mentioned demonstration plots and farmer coaching helped tackle a number of the issues.

“People are often afraid of what they do not understand. Once farmers see the crop themselves and ask questions, many of the misconceptions disappear,” Ojo disclosed.

He added that the National Agricultural Seed Council certification tags, QR codes and SeedCodex authentication are printed on the licensed TELA maize seeds to scale back counterfeiting.

Salisu Buhari, an official of the Kaita Agricultural Multipurpose Cooperative Society in Kano and an agro-dealer, said that members first realized about TELA maize at a 2024 stakeholders’ assembly organised by means of the Kano ADPs in collaboration with FMAFS.

He defined that solely a restricted variety of farmers initially obtained the seed as a result of industrial portions weren’t but out there. Distribution expanded in 2025 by means of demonstration plots in communities together with Bichi and Bagwai LGAs in Kano State.

Mr Buhari mentioned TELA maize had additionally begun showing in native grain markets, though it nonetheless accounted for a small proportion of the maize bought.

“The biggest challenge now is availability and affordability. Many farmers want the seed, but they don’t know where to buy it, and when they find it, it is expensive,” Mr Buhari mentioned.

Farmers report higher yields, fewer pests

Abdullahi Muhammad, a farmer in Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State, was among the many early farmers to plant TELA maize.

He farms virtually one hectare and has labored as an extension officer for greater than 20 years.

“I asked many questions because they told us from the beginning that it was genetically modified,” he mentioned.

“After the explanations, I was satisfied.”

Mr Muhammad planted TELA maize in 2025 and once more in June 2026.

He obtained coaching on refuge planting, spacing, fertiliser software and stewardship necessities.

He mentioned the crop confirmed resistance to FAW and stem borers and required little pesticide remedy.

“Conventional maize suffers heavy pest attacks, but with TELA maize we hardly needed pesticides for fall armyworm,” he said.

Under good administration, he estimated that TELA may produce between 80 and 100 luggage per hectare, in contrast with about 40 to 60 luggage for standard maize.

His 2025 harvest fell wanting expectations due to poor rainfall, which he attributed to the climate relatively than the seed.

He later planted cowpea on the identical land and mentioned it grew. He refuted claims that TELA seeds injury soil.

Mr Muhammad mentioned he has skilled different farmers, together with 363 in Bichi by means of AATF programmes.

But he mentioned consciousness remained a serious barrier.

“Whenever a new agricultural technology is introduced, people are naturally afraid of it. That is why more education is needed,” he mentioned.

His household has consumed TELA maize since 2025, together with roasted and boiled maize and Tuwo, with out experiencing well being issues, opposite to claims attributed to the seeds.

Seed price stays a problem. TELA seed prices about N4,500 to N7,000 per kilogram, in contrast with about N1,500 for a two-kilogram pack of standard seed.

Other farmers interviewed in Kano, Kaduna and Niger additionally reported higher harvests, fuller cobs, decreased pest injury and tolerance to dry spells, though their experiences assorted.

Cost and availability had been widespread issues.

Tajudeen Gambo, a farmer in Marke village, Makarfi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, mentioned he recorded higher yields after planting TELA maize.

He had farmed for about 15 years. He planted the seed from the AATF programme on about 0.3 hectares in 2025 and likewise used fertiliser equipped by the programme.

“I got better yield when I harvested my TELA maize,” he mentioned.

He wished to plant TELA once more in 2026 however misplaced entry to the rented farm.

He additionally raised issues concerning the seeds’ price and availability.

“People are worried about the seeds’ marketing monopoly, that farmers must purchase seed every year at an exorbitant price. Other than that, I do not have any problem with TELA maize,” he mentioned.

In Niger State, Tamiru Danbaba planted TELA maize for the primary time.

He mentioned the crop survived an extended dry spell in July whereas neighbouring farms suffered losses. He estimated that his harvest was about 25 to 30 per cent increased than what he would usually anticipate below related situations.

“It’s a relief to see a crop that doesn’t get ravaged.”

Mariya Lawal, a farmer in Bagwai LGA, Kano State, and Ismail Ibraheem in Zaria, Kaduna State, additionally reported improved harvests.

Ms Lawal mentioned TELA produced fuller cobs, bigger grains and extra flour.

Tamatu Idi, a small-scale farmer in Kano, mentioned her TELA maize survived a two-week dry spell.

But farmers, together with Ms Lawal and Mrs Idi, continued to increase issues about the price of the seeds.

In response to the farmers’ issues, the official from the Federal Department of Agriculture on the FMAFS mentioned the federal government was searching for to enhance seed manufacturing, together with by means of subsidy interventions.

The official added that elevated funding may broaden provide and scale back worth constraints.

After the 2025 harvest, nonetheless, the crop was not confined to farms.

It started shifting by means of grain markets, flour mills and meals distributors, finally reaching Nigerian households.

This investigation is revealed in two components. The second half will look at how TELA maize reaches customers and whether or not they obtain sufficient details about what they are shopping for.

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This reporting was supported by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) below the SAIL+ Programme Fellowship.