Post by Trade facilitator on May 31, 2022 3:40:39 GMT 1
Biotechnology: Nigeria Among six African countries leading In GM Crop Adoption: The Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) Cowpea Journey
The number of countries planting biotech crops in the continent of Africa has grown up to six (6).
The countries that are now planting genetically modified (GM) crops in the continent of Africa are the following:
Nigeria
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Ethiopia and
Malawi
This report is according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
From ISAAA global status of commercialized biotech crops report, Africa has doubled the number of countries planting biotech crops from initial 3 in 2008 to 6 currently; this makes Africa to be among the regions that are leading the world in GM crop adoption.
According to the report, the aforementioned six countries grew three major biotech crops (maize, soybean and cotton) on approximately 3 million hectares by the end of 2019.
"Nigeria approved commercial planting of Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) GM cowpea, adding a new biotech crop to the global biotech basket," the report added.
Some experts are saying that Nigerian farmers are yet to fully understand the efficacy of planting GM seeds. While some believe that GM seeds might contribute to the toxicity already being observed in their farms alongside other complications.
We of this forum believe that this GM seed must be given opportunity to prove itself, because this is the reason why African farmers had continued to face several farming challenges, ranging from impact of climate change, pest and disease infestation, poor soil fertility among other problems.
What really are GM Crops?
Genetically Modified crops (commonly referred to as GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering methods.
In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
There is no African farmer that does not want to eliminate pests and diseases from his plants or crops, but in most cases it is very difficult as they don't have any means of doing such things except manually. And this can only be managed with pesticides and insecticides; these of course are dangerous to health.
With this technology, food crops for example can be genetically engineered to be resistant to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, chemical treatments, (e.g. resistance to an herbicide) or just to improve the nutritional profile of the plant or crop.
How on Earth do you expect African farmers to achieve the above?
Therefore the people resisting this technology or trying to go against it should think twice.
Apart from food and crops, genetic modification can also be applied to non-food crops for the production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially useful goods, as well as for bioremediation.
The Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) GM Cowpea:
Nigeria is the world's largest producer and consumer of cowpea, popularly called beans. Some people call it white beans and some call it black eyed beans.
Whatever name it is given, Nigerians love the beans so much, that is why the country consumes more than 3.6 million tonnes of cowpea annually, but it still needs to import about 500,000 tons of the commodity annually to meet local demand.
Cowpea in Nigeria or beans as it is popularly called is a popular protein-rich delicacy that is usually cooked and eaten with other carbohydrate sources. Every region of the country loves using it because they make different types of delicacies with it.
The effects of pests:
Maruca pests feed on cowpea plants, sometimes causing farmers to lose up to 80 -100% of their crops. To control the pod borer pest, farmers typically spray their fields with insecticides between 8 and 12 times in the 12-week life cycle of the crop.
Sometimes you will even see some traders in the market spreading the crops in the sun and using insecticide to kill the pests.
But about a decade ago, the Institute for Agricultural Research at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria started developing a genetically modified (GM) cowpea variety that uses a gene from bacillus thuringiensis (BT) to provide inherent resistance to Maruca pest attacks.
In 2019, the Nigerian government approved the GM Pod borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea for commercial release. The crop is expected to help increase production and support food security by reducing the need for imports.
Farmers all over the federation are excited about the opportunity to grow GM cowpea.
This is because with just only two sprays many farmers are able to have their fields healthy.
In our next article on this, we are going to bring to you a lot of testimonies about the benefits that people have enjoyed with this genetically modified cowpea in Nigeria.
You will enjoy it, it is a fantastic experience.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
The number of countries planting biotech crops in the continent of Africa has grown up to six (6).
The countries that are now planting genetically modified (GM) crops in the continent of Africa are the following:
Nigeria
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Ethiopia and
Malawi
This report is according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
From ISAAA global status of commercialized biotech crops report, Africa has doubled the number of countries planting biotech crops from initial 3 in 2008 to 6 currently; this makes Africa to be among the regions that are leading the world in GM crop adoption.
According to the report, the aforementioned six countries grew three major biotech crops (maize, soybean and cotton) on approximately 3 million hectares by the end of 2019.
"Nigeria approved commercial planting of Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) GM cowpea, adding a new biotech crop to the global biotech basket," the report added.
Some experts are saying that Nigerian farmers are yet to fully understand the efficacy of planting GM seeds. While some believe that GM seeds might contribute to the toxicity already being observed in their farms alongside other complications.
We of this forum believe that this GM seed must be given opportunity to prove itself, because this is the reason why African farmers had continued to face several farming challenges, ranging from impact of climate change, pest and disease infestation, poor soil fertility among other problems.
What really are GM Crops?
Genetically Modified crops (commonly referred to as GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering methods.
In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
There is no African farmer that does not want to eliminate pests and diseases from his plants or crops, but in most cases it is very difficult as they don't have any means of doing such things except manually. And this can only be managed with pesticides and insecticides; these of course are dangerous to health.
With this technology, food crops for example can be genetically engineered to be resistant to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, chemical treatments, (e.g. resistance to an herbicide) or just to improve the nutritional profile of the plant or crop.
How on Earth do you expect African farmers to achieve the above?
Therefore the people resisting this technology or trying to go against it should think twice.
Apart from food and crops, genetic modification can also be applied to non-food crops for the production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially useful goods, as well as for bioremediation.
The Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) GM Cowpea:
Nigeria is the world's largest producer and consumer of cowpea, popularly called beans. Some people call it white beans and some call it black eyed beans.
Whatever name it is given, Nigerians love the beans so much, that is why the country consumes more than 3.6 million tonnes of cowpea annually, but it still needs to import about 500,000 tons of the commodity annually to meet local demand.
Cowpea in Nigeria or beans as it is popularly called is a popular protein-rich delicacy that is usually cooked and eaten with other carbohydrate sources. Every region of the country loves using it because they make different types of delicacies with it.
The effects of pests:
Maruca pests feed on cowpea plants, sometimes causing farmers to lose up to 80 -100% of their crops. To control the pod borer pest, farmers typically spray their fields with insecticides between 8 and 12 times in the 12-week life cycle of the crop.
Sometimes you will even see some traders in the market spreading the crops in the sun and using insecticide to kill the pests.
But about a decade ago, the Institute for Agricultural Research at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria started developing a genetically modified (GM) cowpea variety that uses a gene from bacillus thuringiensis (BT) to provide inherent resistance to Maruca pest attacks.
In 2019, the Nigerian government approved the GM Pod borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea for commercial release. The crop is expected to help increase production and support food security by reducing the need for imports.
Farmers all over the federation are excited about the opportunity to grow GM cowpea.
This is because with just only two sprays many farmers are able to have their fields healthy.
In our next article on this, we are going to bring to you a lot of testimonies about the benefits that people have enjoyed with this genetically modified cowpea in Nigeria.
You will enjoy it, it is a fantastic experience.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
