Four African countries — Burkina Faso, Egypt, Sudan and South Africa — had to date commercialized Bt cotton, according to information on COMESA secretariat website.
The Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA) and the Ethiopian ministry of environment, forest and climate change granted the approvals in May and June respectively.
Ethiopia has also granted a five-year special permit for confined field trials of drought-tolerant and insect-resistant maize varieties.
COMESA, through its specialized agency, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) supported both Eswatini and Ethiopia in biotechnology and biosafety policy formulations.
Research trials on transgenic maize, banana, cassava, cowpea, enset and potato are under way in other COMESA member states like Malawi, Kenya, Egypt and Uganda. (DS)
ALCHEMPro News Desk – India
Receive daily prices and market insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to AlchemPro Weekly!
marketing@alchempro.com
