Ghana made history on Thursday, July 25, 2024, with the commercial release of her first ever biotech crop, “the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea” (PBR Cowpea). It is developed to specifically resist the Pod Borer pest, scientifically known as “Maruca vitrata,” which destroys yields by boring the pods.
The release of the PBR Cowpea, which is a new variety of the black eye beans, follows 12 years of extensive regulatory, laboratory and field-testing processes by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) under the PBR Cowpea Project – a public private partnership coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), to promote technological interventions that will optimise cowpea productivity and utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Referred to as “Songotra T,” the PBR Cowpea’s commercial release on Thursday became possible following its recent approval for release and registration in Ghana for commercial cultivation by the National Seed Council. This was after the National Biosafety Authority (NBA)’s approval of the application submitted by the CSIR for the PBR cowpea’s environmental release and placement on the market.
