Ministry report reveals illegal GMO variety increasingly common on fields
Almost ten years after Ethiopian legislation permitted the use of GMO farming for non-consumable commodities, a domestic firm has successfully completed screening processes in its bid to supply genetically modified cotton seeds to farmers.
Black Stone Ethiopia Private Limited has announced it has finalized preparations to supply GMO cotton seeds starting in the upcoming rainy season. It will likely be followed by other suppliers, as farmers have been unable to sustain the cost of importing GMO cotton seeds.
Samson Assefa, lead executive for cotton development at the Ministry of Agriculture, disclosed that two companies have applied for permits to multiply GMO cotton seeds domestically. Black Stone Ethiopia is the first to see its license application approved.
“The supply of GMO cotton seeds will increase the quality and productivity of cotton in Ethiopia, bypassing the constraints of the primary seed variety which is becoming increasingly vulnerable to pests and diseases,” said Samson.
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He foresees increased supply will bolster output at cotton mills, which are currently struggling to make use of half of their overall capacity. The country’s 22 cotton mills can process close to 106,000 tons annually. No less than 29 ginneries can process 363,000 tons of cotton seeds per year, but they are also working at minimal capacity.
“Ethiopia imports 3,000 metric tonnes of cotton from abroad since the country is not able to produce quality cotton,” said Samson.
BT cotton seed supply scarcity, a lack of extension services for cotton farmers, inadequate and under-funded R&D in cotton, outdated machinery in mills and ginneries, and poor supply chain linkage are behind Ethiopia’s cotton problems, according to the Ministry.
An anonymous staffer at Black Stone Ethiopia told The Reporter that the company has finalized preparations to supply four variants of GMO cotton seeds, which have been tested for their chemical, health and environment impacts. Two of the varieties have already been approved, according to the staffer.
Black Stone hopes to see the seeds increase productivity by up to 80 percent when the company begins supplying them to farmers next year.
“Black Stone Ethiopia Private Limited is planning to supply 500 quintals of cotton seeds annually and the price will be determined by global cotton seed market price trends,” said the staffer.
The latest reports indicate that Ethiopia accounts for just five percent of Africa’s total cotton production despite being home to over three million hectares of land suitable for cultivating the cash crop.
A report presented by Samson this week reveals that only three percent of this arable land is being utilized.
He disclosed the figure during a two-day meeting, which saw representatives from the ministries of Agriculture and Industry, cotton value chain, textile factories, and international actors convene in Addis Ababa to mull Ethiopia’s widening cotton supply deficit.
Textile and apparel industries in the country have been struggling to bridge the deficit through pricey imports.
Experts note that, in addition to the low utilization of farmland, the country also contends with the depleted productivity of existing cotton seed varieties.
Although there are 43 cotton seed varieties available at research centers in Ethiopia, DP-90 has been the most dominant seed for the past 20 years, according to Samson.
DP-90 is a BT cotton variety imported from the US two decades ago after varieties in Ethiopia at the time were affected by plant diseases.
“Since recently, illegal BT-cotton seed varieties have begun to dominate in Ethiopia,” states a Ministry of Agriculture document published this week.
The illegal GMO seed cotton variety reportedly made its way into the country via smuggling through the porous border with Sudan. Farmers have increasingly turned to it in light of increasingly unaffordable imported GMO BT cotton seeds.
Black Stone’s venture is not the first time a business has attempted to fill demand for cotton in Ethiopia.
A few years ago, an Indian firm announced plans to establish a subsidiary company in Ethiopia and multiply BT cotton seeds, but the plans never materialized.
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