Nairobi, Kenya
June 10, 2009Source:
Partnerships - Quarterly newsletter of the African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF)
http://www.aatf-africa.org/UserFiles/File/PartnershipsNewsletter_2_April-June09.pdf
Leading cowpea and agri-biotech
scientists met at the
Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre in St Louis, Missouri,
on 2-6 March 2009 to address the regulatory issues critical to
the deployment of Maruca-resistant cowpea.
The African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF) and the
Program for Biosafety
Systems (PBS) convened the panel of experts to help design
strategies for the project that is carrying out research to
develop cowpea varieties resistant to the legume pod borer
Maruca vitrata.
The high level panel comprised scientists from Africa, US and
Europe, who have extensive experience in cowpea research and GMO
risk assessment and management. Some of the experts have served
as independent advisors for international bodies such as the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Maruca causes massive destruction to cowpea, an indigenous crop
of Africa, and a staple food crop for millions across west
Africa. The Maruca-Resistant Cowpea Project aims to incorporate
the Bt gene into farmer-preferred cowpea varieties to give them
inbuilt protection against the pest.
The panel’s discussions and recommendations will be published in
three papers focusing on issues of gene flow from Bt-expressing
cowpea into wild relatives of the plant, pest resistance to the
Bt protein, and impact on insects other than the pod borer. |
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