South Africa and Sudan are the only other African nations apart from Burkina Faso to introduce GM cotton so far. “Burkina cotton was one of the most preferred cottons,” said Ashwin Subramanian, head of Singapore-based commodities trader Olam International’s West African cotton business. Monsanto’s American Bt cotton produced short fibres, the kind typically used to make fabric for everyday use such as jeans and t-shirts. By 2014, GM cotton had surged to almost three-quarters of all the cotton acreage planted in Burkina Faso. How Monsanto’s GM cotton falteredZangre and INERA’S Koulibaly said Monsanto carried out just two backcrosses before introducing the new variety.

Source: The Express Tribune December 08, 2017 11:26 UTC