Breakthrough: First-ever Pod Borer resistant cowpea unveilled in Ghana

By Ama KUDOM-AGYEMANG Ghana has made history, with the commercial release of its first-ever biotech crop, ‘the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea’ (PBR Cowpea) developed to specifically resist the Pod Borer pest, scientifically known as ‘Maruca vitrata’, which destroys yields by boring the pods. The release of PBR Cowpea, which is a new variety of the black-eyed beans, follows 12 years of extensive regulatory, laboratory and field-testing processes by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) under the PBR Cowpea Project – a public-private partnership coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to promote technological interventions that will optimise cowpea productivity and utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa. Referred to as ‘Songotra T’, the PBR Cowpea’s commercial release yesterday became possible following its recent approval for release and registration in Ghana for commercial cultivation by the ...