Nigeria’s decision to commercialize Bt cotton has revived hopes for the novel variety in Ghana, its West African neighbor. Science-focused civil society groups are confident Nigeria’s move will serve as a good role model and push players in the agricultural space to resume work on processes to make Bt cotton available to farmers in Ghana.
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Cotton is grown in the northern part of Ghana but the sector has struggled for many years. One of the major causes of this has been the use of poor seeds. The trend of cotton production has been erratic in Ghana, and the country contributes less than 1 percent to the continent’s production, although it has excellent conditions for cultivation ….
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“Nigeria came on board later thinking of commercialization of GM cotton and already it is out,” Dr. Richard Ampadu Ameyaw, Ghana coordinator of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), told Alliance for Science. “Ghana would have to take a cue from Nigeria, especially if we want to create more jobs in Africa and develop our textiles industry. So that we can create jobs for our farmers and teeming youth who walk about with no jobs. We need to be fast with coming out with our varieties to commercialize it.”
Read full, original article: Ghana eyes Bt cotton following its approval in nearby Nigeria
