Sudanese Farmers Reap Benefits from Bt Cotton

A team of scientists recently held a fact finding tour to Sudan's Bt cotton fields on November 4-7, 2014. The team, from COMESA/ACTESA, ISAAA AfriCenter, Egypt Biotechnology Information Center, and Science Foundation for Livelihoods Development (SCIFODE, Uganda), established that Sudanese farmers have enthusiastically adopted Bt cotton in all production areas toured.

"Sudan is the first COMESA member state to commercialize a GM crop, thus providing good experiential learning ground for COMESA countries" said Dr. Getachew Belay, Senior Biotechnology Policy Advisor - Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern & Southern Africa (ACTESA/COMESA). Dr Belay said that the visit was an important activity, in view of the recently developed COMESA Biosafety Policy intended to provide an enabling scientific regional risk assessment of GMOs for commercial planting, trade and access to emergency food aid for COMESA Member States. "The lessons learned by Sudanese farmers should be shared for the benefit of Member States within the region," said Dr. Belay.

The team toured farmers' fields and held discussions with senior government officials, biosafety officers, agricultural researchers and media representatives. From these engagements, it emerged that adoption of Bt cotton in Sudan was farmer driven. Farmers were fed up with spraying pesticides to control bollworms and when the technology was introduced, they rapidly picked it up. There is also a very good political will and support that is enabling the rapid adoption.

For more information, contact Dr. Faith Nguthi at fnguthi@isaaa.org.