The National Environment Management Authority [of Kenya] will approve performance trials for genetically modified cotton by [May].
Chief compliance officer Margaret Njuki … said they are waiting for feedback from the public before they can give a go-ahead.
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The sites proposed for the field test include Mwea, Katumani, Kampi ya Mawe, Bura, Perkerra, Kibos, Alupe, Barwessa and Matuga. The GM cotton variety is resistant to the bollworm, which lowers the crop’s productivity by 50 to 90 percent.
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Rajeev Arora, an adviser on textile value chain at the ministry of Industry and Trade said a cotton task force was formed last year to ensure the implementation of a roadmap that will be in operation for the next five years.
“The plan is to initially develop cotton using hybrids and conventional seeds and, by 2019, to grow Bt cotton after its commercialisation, which will have three times production yield compared to present conventional varieties,” he said.
Arora said production will take place in more than 494,210 acres in the five years. Last year, cotton production stood at about 30,000 bales of lint against a potential of 368,000.
Read full, original post: Nema to approve trials of GM cotton by next month
