False claims of Burkina Faso abandoning GMO cotton threaten support for African crop biotech

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Photo by Kimberly Vardeman/Wikimedia

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

Last year. . . Burkina Faso produced a record 707,000 tons of cotton. . . .

. . . . [C]otton companies that have questioned the quality of the cotton saying that the fibre length of the cotton from the GM varieties is too short. This issue . . . can be rectified . . . using varieties with longer fibres together with the insect resistance gene. Burkina Faso is now conducting field trials on the next generation of insect resistant GM cotton. . .

Yet the headlines. . . mostly highlight that Burkina Faso, once a strong supporter of GM technology, is . . . “abandoning” the technology. . . What is also concerning is the use of this story to influence the EU not to support the introduction of GMOs in Africa, in a resolution criticising the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. 

. . . .

. . . [S]ome MEPs urged “the G8 member states not to support GMO crops in Africa” in their resolution. . . . Should European politicians be making decisions that will mean new GM varieties such as drought resistant maize will not be commercialized in the countries that need them the most?

Read full, original post: What’s really behind the negative GM cotton story in Burkina Faso?

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