June 8, 2012

Source: Crop Biotech Update

An interview by Le Pays and published by the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) has dispelled claims broadcasted on Radio France Internationale (RFI) on 10th May 2012, that Burkina Faso was about to abandon cultivation of Bt cotton.

During the interview, Dr. Dehou Dakuo, the Director of Cotton production and development at SOFITEX, a leading cotton company in Burkina Faso, contradicted the RFI broadcast as untrue even as efforts to establish the source of RFI's information could not be established. According to Dr. Dakuo, SOFITEX was equally surprised by the information, especially because at the period of the broadcast, SOFITEXwas holding his annual pre-seedling forums for Bt cotton with cotton producers. He stressed that RFI should have verified the truth before airing the news. "No stakeholder, whether in or outside the cotton industry seem to understand the source of that information," he said.

Dr. Dakuo added that a report on the general evaluation of the cotton industry was released to the public, by the Association Interprofessionnelle du Coton du Burkina (AICB). The report states that Burkina Faso is still committed to Bt cotton. SOFITEX and stakeholders continue to encourage stakeholders in neighboring countries such as Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Togo as well as other neighboring states to replicate the Burkina experience."If our experience is negative, it cannot be used as reference," said Dr. Dakuo.

To read the full interview, go to http://www.nepadbiosafety.net/bt-cotton-in-burkina-faso.