Region: East Africa > Tanzania
Categorized: Host plant resistance
Tagged: #Btproteins #fallarmywom #GETechnology #GMmaize #HostPlantResistance #Tanzania FAW IRM
Your thoughts? Some reasons given against #GM crops to control #fallarmyworm: 1). Dominance by a few agricultural companies hence creating seed dependence as farmers have to buy from them. 2) Conserve genetic resources of the country and local seed varieties.
What will it take to change the mindset of regulators / policy makers in African countries to adopt GE technology to manage pests like the #fallarmyworm?
Well, most of African farmers are reluctant to adopt GM crops especially GM maize because they have some how associated them with vices that implicate human health. So it is upto us to sensitize them, as well as the policy makers that in this day and age, due to climate change, outbreaks of invasive and migratory pests, we could benefit highly from GE crops, so as to breed crops that are highly resistant fall armyworm and other stubborn pests.