LILONGWE: The seed giant Monsanto has downplayed fears that introduction of genetically modified cotton is likely to push up the price of cotton seed in the country.

Monsanto Malawi Chief executive Paul Chimimba was reacting to concerns from critics following a trial of GM cotton currently underway at Bunda College in Lilongwe.

Local and international critics argue that genetically modified seed is not affordable for poor farmers because it is produced through an expensive technology.

But Mr Chimimba said once GM  cotton seed is commercialized in Malawi strategies will be put in place to ensure that farmers access it at affordable prices through partnerships with suppliers.

“We are quite aware of the concerns about high costs of seed, but you have to understand that when this technology comes into we play, we’re going to look into issues of partnerships.

“For example, Monsanto is the technology provider for the bt cotton under trial at Bunda, but there will be other players who will also be involved. In cotton, for example there is Quiton who are responsible for supply of cotton seed in Malawi. So there will be partnerships with these people.

“Further, we also going to look at the status of our customer, the Malawian small holder farmer, so people should really fear about this because in the process of partnership we are going consider the profit margins companies are going to come with and try to balance up with what sort of prices we can give our farmers in order to access this technology”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Malawi Bureau of Standards(MBS) has disclosed that it is developing standard which will regulate biotech products when Malawi starts commercialization of GM products either for export or local consumption.

MBS chief executive Mr Chokazinga said the bureau currently works with Chancellor College which has equipment for testing biotechnology products but it is now in the process of acquiring facilities to start conducting its own tests.

“Within the next two years or so the Malawi Bureau of Standards will be able to have such facilities. The bureau is currently implementing the Infrastructure for Quality Assurance and Standardisation in Blantyre.

“That infrastructure incorporates a number of equipment including those we can use in biotechnology. This project is anticipated to finish in the next two or three years if all goes well”.

The trial at Bunda is aimed at asserting how a genetically modified variety of cotton developed by Monsanto known as bt cotton can perform in the country.

Bt cotton has the capacity to enable farmers yield up to 1000 kilogrammes of cotton per hectare because of its resistance to bollworms.

Currently farmers in the country harvest an average of 200 kilogrammes per hectare and spend a lot of money to spray their fields about ten times with chemicals to kill the bollworm which is the most devastating cotton pest.—Zodiak Online

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