Press Releases Archives
Workshop on Biotechnology and BT Cotton Will Kick Off in Burkina Faso
November 8, 2006
A workshop on biotechnology and Bt cotton will be launched in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso on November 13, 2006. The 5-day workshop for farmers, extension workers, research staff, policy makers and journalists, is sponsored by the USAID West Africa Mission and INERA, the Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research of Burkina Faso.
The overall goal of the workshop is to provide science-based information and promote meaningful discussion about the benefits and risks of transgenic crops -especially Bt cotton – to stakeholders from nine countries in the region, including the four major cotton producing countries. More importantly, experiences from other Bt cotton growing countries such as South Africa and India will also be featured in this event.
The workshop will include two field visits to Bt cotton trial sites which will allow participants to see for themselves what this technology is all about and to hear from the experts how this technology, if adopted, can benefit not only Burkina Faso but other cotton growing countries in West Africa. In addition to the field trips, there will be discussions led by international and regional experts on socio-economic and ecological impacts of GM crops, biosafety regulations and how to manage risks, Intellectual Property Rights issues, and so on.
This workshop aims to clarify many questions and concerns that farmers and other stakeholders have about transgenic crops and Bt cotton.
The U.S. Embassy welcomes the very positive response from the region in support of this workshop.