[ad_1]
The Scientific and Industrial Research Council of the Savana Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has developed a genetically modified (GM) cowpea bean resistant to pests, to prevent farmers from spraying the crop multiple times with pesticides.
The pest known as ‘maruca vitrata’ attacks bean crops in the flowering and pod stage and can cause approximately 80 percent crop loss, depending on the severity of the attack.
Due to the lack of adequate technology, the country’s farmers manage the pest by spraying with insecticides, which can cause health problems.
This was made known by a team of scientists who developed the Bt cowpea, during a field day organized for 100 farmers and agricultural officials at a field test site at CSIR-SARI, Manga station, in the Upper Oriente region.
The farmers came from the Binduri district and Bawku municipality.
Dr Jerry Nboyine, the project’s principal investigator (PI), said that CSIR-SARI in association with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) had developed Genetically Modified (GM) technology that involved the introduction of a trait / trait of a fungus called Bacillus therigiensis (Bt) on the cowpea plant, the common bean.
This, he said, would minimize the negative effects of overuse of pesticides on human health and the environment, as farmers would not need to spray the crop multiple times with pesticides as is currently being done.
The genetically modified crop, according to the IP, was “one of the most tested and safest crops for human consumption because this technology reduces the spraying of chemicals on the crop.”
Gloria Adazebra, a CSIR-SARI cowpea breeder, said her team had made a research finding and found that farmers were impacted by the pest on the four main cowpea varieties, Padi tuya, Apagbaala, Wan-kai and Kirkhouse Benga, which are the most cultivated in the country.
“Once we realized that farmers grow these varieties and they are going to love having this resistant gene in them, that’s why we picked these varieties and introgressed them with our Bt gene.”
With the invasion of the Fall Armyworm, Adazebra said there was a possibility that his team would collaborate with local and international research institutions to introduce more Bt crops to farmers.
Dr. Ibrahim Dzido Kwasi Atokple, a retired CSIR-SARI scientist who spoke about the myths and misconceptions of the Bt cowpea, said that like any genetically modified crop, it was intensively analyzed for human, animal and environmental safety.
“Transgenic crops are tested for their potential to cause adverse health effects and their potential to harm the environment. GMO food and feed have a safety record of more than two decades ”.
Dr Atokple said that Ghana was among the signatory countries to the Cartagena Protocol that ensures compliance with biosafety laws and a biosafety agency for crop release, including; Transgenic crops.
Source: GNA
