Bt cowpea resistant to the pod borer (first African-developed GM food crop)
Caupí Bt resistente al barrenador (primer cultivo transgénico alimentario africano)
- Date
- 2019 · confidence high
- Place
- Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna, Nigeria
- Credited to
- Institute for Agricultural Research in Zaria, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation and partners (CSIRO, Monsanto)
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
Cowpea (black-eyed pea) variety with the Cry1Ab gene of Bacillus thuringiensis against the pod borer (Maruca vitrata), which destroys up to 80% of the crop. Nigeria approved it in January 2019, the world's largest cowpea consumer.
The gene comes from Monsanto, which donated it royalty-free; the SAMPEA 20-T variety was approved for release by the NBMA in January 2019. It is “the first” GM food crop developed in Africa according to the AATF, although other African GM crops were in use earlier (such as South African Bt maize, 1998).
What it led to
- small-scale planting in Nigeria and approval in Ghana (2022)
- fewer sprayings by smallholders
- Nigerian biotechnology regulatory framework (NBMA)