Tanzania: Biotechnology Will "Improve" Cotton Production

By Rosemary Mirondo

Dar es Salaam – Small cotton producers no longer produce in abundance because of the use of pesticides for up to eight rounds per season

This, according to experts, requires government intervention through rapid decisions, which will be in line with biotechnology research on culture.

Nicolaus Nyange, who is also a retired senior researcher, told The Citizen that Tanzania needs to embark. research to understand the benefits that cotton producers will derive from biotechnology. OFAB is supported by the Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) to propose innovations that will benefit the whole community. Mr Nyange said this, in view of a report on the global status of marketed biotech crops / GM 2017 which was launched at the end of the week. The report shows that the increase in income benefits for farmers who grow biotech cotton over the 21-year period (1996-2016) rose to Sh $ 136.5 trillion.

The report shows that India was the largest cotton producing country in the world. Million hectares of biotech cotton. Until now, Sudan and South Africa have adopted the technology and the yields of the former have almost tripled. Nyange said the technology is important for small producers as they will not spray pesticides in six rounds in a season. "This is not only expensive, but it also destroys the environment because the spray also kills insects, which are important to the ecosystem," he said. Mr Nyange, however, said that the country has not yet started field trails to establish whether it is vital for cotton production in the country. He pointed out that they can inspire many benefits that fellow farmers in Africa, Sudan and South Africa, as well as other continents, are getting by growing. Bt cotton.

The director of ISAAA Afri Center, Margaret Karembu, said:

as part of the Water Efficient Maize Project for Africa

"She is currently showing a growing interest in incorporating more characters into various cultures in Africa, "she said. she noted that an unpredictable political and policy environment to support dynamic biotechnological research on priority crops in Africa was still a challenge.