Kampala, Uganda
April 22, 2009
Source:
AllAfrica via
SEAMEO SEARCA
by Ronald Kalyango
Genetially modified cotton will be
planted at different sites in May and June this year, an
official has revealed.
"We are on the right track. The technology providers are
positive. They have visited all the sites and at last the trails
which had delayed for the last seven years are going to be
conducted," said Dr.Tilahun Zeweldu, who has been at the
forefront of Bt. Cotton research.
Confined field trials are studies that are made by scientists to
collect data on any new varieties developed at research stations
within the country or outside.
The importation of the seeds followed the granting of an
importation permit by the crop protection department of the
agriculture ministry in February.
Speaking recently at a stakeholders meeting at Mosa Court in
Kampala, the Monsanto South Africa's business development
manager, Danie Olivier, said the trials would be conducted for
three consecutive seasons.
"The confined field trial will help Ugandan scientists gather
information to use when the crop is commercialised," said
Olivier.
The Monsanto Company is an American multinational agricultural
biotechnology corporation and the leading producer of
genetically engineered seed, holding 70%-100% market share for
various crops.
It is charged with the responsibility of providing the
technology which will be tested at the National Semi-Arid
Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) in Serere, Soroti and at
the prisons farm in Mobuku, Kasese. Uganda has been targeting
the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) with a bacterium gene for
tolerance to Bollworm pests and the Roundup Ready (RR) cotton
with resistance to the Roundup herbicide for the control of
weeds. |
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