Ghana set to release first Genetically Modified cowpea – SARI
From: Yahaya MASAHUDU, Tamale
Scientists at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are at the concluding stages of releasing a Genetically Modified (GM) cowpea in Ghana.
When released, the Biotechnology (Bt) cowpea, also known as the Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) cowpea, will be the first ever genetically modified food crop in Ghana and second in West Africa only after Nigeria.
This was disclosed at a media workshop organised by the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Ghana to bring clarity on GM technology activities in Ghana and the status of work on a GM product (PBR Cowpea) within CSIR in Ghana.
Speaking to The Finder on the sidelines of a workshop, a senior research scientist at SARI and team lead for the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea Project, Dr Jerry Nboyine said the first year of trials in all five regions of the north where cowpea is popularly grown has been completed.
He noted that the instituteis looking forward to getting approval from the National Seed Council by the end of the year and that by next year famers should have access to the new cowpea variety.
“With all the over 100 farmers we have worked with in the last two years, there’ve been a lot of enthusiasm on their part because they can see the benefits that come with planting the Bt Cowpea, that is the reduced number of sprays and the high yields compared to their traditional varieties,” he added.
The Genetically Modified Cowpea, Dr Nboyine said, will be the game changer in cowpea cultivation in Ghana as it is engineered to be resistant to Maruca pest which contributes up to 80 percent loss in cowpea production.
“Just by controlling Maruca pest, the PBR cowpea increases yield up to 20 times more and reduces spraying of pesticides from eight to two times,” he stated.
A Principal Research Scientist at the CSIR, Dr Richard Ampadu Ameyaw advised farmers in Ghana to adopt the PBR Cowpea in other to cut production cost through reduced spraying and also improve the safety of their produce.
Why cowpea?
According to Dr Nboyine, Ghana only produces 57,000 tons of cowpea annually against an annual demand of 169, 000 tons.
This, he said, is because the average yield on farmer’s field is below 1.0t/ha as a result of the destruction of the farms by insect pests.
The deficit is catered for by imports from countries such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Niger.
Goal of PBR Cowpea project
The project seeks to contribute to food security and to improve livelihood of small-holder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa by using biotechnology tools to develop improved, high yielding farmer-preferred cowpea varieties that are resistant to attacks by Maruca Vitrata.
