GMO field trials for cowpea begin in northern Ghana

Confined Field Trials for pod borer-resistant cowpea project, which seeks to contribute to food security to improve the livelihoods of small holder farmers, has started at Nyapkala in the Tolon District.

The crop is among three others – cotton, rice and sweet potatoes – which have been cleared by the biosafety regulation for test trials for the purposes of research and evaluation to generate improved and high yielding farmer-preferred cowpea variety that is resistant to the pod borer, maruca pest.

Speaking at a forum in Nyankpala to educate seed growers and farmers on the field trial in some catchment areas, Dr Ibrahim Dzido Atokple of the Savanna Agriculture Research Institute, said farmers who cultivated the cowpea crop lost greater yield due to destruction by maruca pests, which chemicals could not effectively control.

He said, “This is a major problem in Africa so a new innovation has been developed whereby a gene of the maruca pest has been infused into the crop to prevent it from attacking.”

Dr Atokple said the innovation was developed through a joint public/ private partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) and is under trials by some institutions of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Ghana as well as other institutions in Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

He said the results of the pod borer resistant cowpea plant was expected to substantially reduce cost of insecticide sprays often required for cowpea production to enhance productivity, nutritional well-being and economic status of farmers.

Dr Prince Addae, Project Manager of AATF, said fears surrounding genetically modified organism (GMO) such as the pod borer-resistant cowpea project needed to be dispelled because research had proved that there was no side effect of GMO related products.

“I think some people do not understand the issue on GMO very well and this is because it is just an innovation to address challenges. There are many countries that had adopted and are using GMO foods”, he said.

Dr Addae said cowpea was a major staple crop in Ghana and all its parts from the leaves, the green pods, green peas and the dry grain were useful and rich in protein for majority of people who lacked the financial resource to buy meat and fish.

He said aside the pod borer-resistant cowpea project AATF had formed partnership with seed companies and agro-dealers in countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya to develop maize varieties resistant to striga pests.

Source: GNA