Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumMonsanto GMO Banned by Africa's Largest Cotton Producer
Monsanto GMO Banned by Africa's Largest Cotton Producer
By Staff Writers, teleSUR
Monday, Apr 25, 2016
One geneticist from Burkina Faso has accused Monsanto of "criminal" acts
Photo: Reuters
Burkina Faso, Africas top cotton producer and the only West African nation that has ventured into biotech farming, has decided to ban genetically-modified (GM) cotton produced by Monsanto on quality grounds.
Earlier this month Burkina Faso, the worlds 10th largest cotton producer, announced it was giving up Monsantos GM Bt cotton as it had proved uneconomical. Burkina Faso embraced GM cotton in the 2000s in the hope of bumping up returns on what became its top export in 2009 after surpassing gold.
With four of its 19 people dependent on the so-called "white gold," the importance of cotton to the West African nation cannot be understated. But the nations association of cotton producers now say GM cotton, though producing higher yields, has resulted in a significant drop in the quality of crops.
Between 2011 and 2016, producers say the industry incurred losses of some US$82.4 million and are demanding compensation.
More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Monsanto-GMO-Banned-by-Africas-Largest-Cotton-Producer-20160424-0008.html
progressoid
(49,996 posts)At least for last year's drop.
The Inter-professional Cotton Association of Burkina (AICB), which groups together the country's three cotton companies and the national cotton farmers union (UNPCB), said the drop in output was due to poor weather conditions.
Seasonal rains arrived late. There were long dry spells at critical times but also flooding during other periods when the rains were too abundant, the AICB's secretary general Georges Yameogo told a news conference.
http://www.reuters.com/article/cotton-burkina-idUSL5N17P61N
NNadir
(33,541 posts)...trying to make poor people in the third world suffer more.
The anti-GMO nonsense is getting worse and worse and worse, and it will cause more and more destruction and suffering because rich people posses of a certain indifferent herd mentality don't open science books.
womanofthehills
(8,758 posts)because they won't be exposed to glyphosate. The WHO says its a probable carcinogen.
Nihil
(13,508 posts)I suggest you get an atlas to supplement your pure science library.