Ghana’s food security will receive a good boost if the country’s first genetically modified crop gets environmental release approval from government, the scientist leading the project has said.

The National Biosafety Authority of the Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry announced in February that it has received a request from the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for environmental release approval of a GM cowpea or beans variety.

The authority says it is reviewing the application together with relevant regulatory agencies and independent experts. A decision is expected in or around August 2022.

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Dr Jerry Nboyine, who is the principal investigator in charge of the GM cowpea project, said the variety will help farmers cut down on the amount of spray they use on cowpea farms every season from more than eight times to about two times.

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“From planting to harvest, even in storage, even in storage, this particular crop is loved by pests…,” he explained.

“What scientists were able to do with the help of biotechnology tools is to identify a particular gene responsible for resistance and it was introduced into crops.

“Cowpea is one of them… It has helped make the cowpea resistant to the maruca pests,” he added.

The application for environmental release follows almost 10 years of research.

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