Bt Cowpea in high demand among northern smallholder farmers

By Samuel SAM

The Songotra T, a genetically modified variety of cowpea, is gaining popularity among smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana due to its ability to resist the destructive insect, Maruca pod borer, which can cause over 80 percent yield losses.

This cowpea variety was officially outdoored to farmers in July 2024 after the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) received approval for the commercialisation of this Bt cowpea.

As a pilot project, over 1,000 farmers in the five regions of northern Ghana were given  free 500g seed packs to grow.

Despite the poor rainfall pattern in parts of northern Ghana for 2024 season, the beneficiary farmers recorded appreciable yields from this variety – unlike the complete crop failures suffered by their conventional cowpea fields.

CSIR-SARI was also able to cultivate over 10 hectares of early generation seeds of this variety as part of its efforts to make seeds readily available to all farmers. These seeds will be available to seed companies, who can in turn multiply them as certified seeds for farmers to plant in 2025 and beyond.

The Songotra T Cowpea’s built-in resistance to pests reduces the need for at least eight rounds of insecticide sprays to only two, making farming safer and more environmentally friendly.

In 2022, scientists at the CSIR-SARI submitted an application to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) for approval to release Ghana’s first genetically modified crop – Bt cowpea or beans which has in-built resistance to Maruca pod-borer attacks.

It was announced that Ghana’s annual demand for cowpea is estimated at 169,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, the country produces only 57,000 tonnes annually. But with Bt Cowpea farmers can attain the potential yields of most commercially released cowpea varieties, which is about two tonnes per hectare – a four-fold yield increment over existing yields.

An entomologist and lead scientist of the Bt Cowpea Project at CSIR-SARI, Dr. Jerry Nboyine, in response to B&FT said cowpea production has declined considerably over years due to the devastating effects of pest infestation.

According to him, this discouraged many cowpea farmers from expanding their area of cowpea cultivation… hence contributing to the rising cost of cowpea in the country.

“Introducing the developed Bt Cowpea (Songotra T) will help to boost cowpea productions among the farmers because it requires less spraying and generally has at least four-fold yield increments compared to varieties currently being cultivated, because of its ability to resist damage from the Maruca pod-borer – a devasting pest of the crop,” he said.

“As a research institution, we have some limited quantities of seeds for multiplication because approval for commercial cultivation was only granted in July 2024.

“This notwithstanding, we are certain that more farmers will have access to seeds of this cowpea for cultivation in their fields this year,” he added.

He stressed that releasing the variety is to complement government initiatives in growing agricultural production, thereby boosting food and nutritional security in the country.

Challenges

In spite of the drought or poor weather pattern last year, the Bt cowpea’searly maturing attribute made farmers who cultivated it harvest appreciable quantities of the grain.

This was in spite of terminal drought experienced by some smallholder farmers in the area, he explained.

In contrast, farmers who planted other varieties completely lost their fields with only a few harvesting small quantities of grains. This was because of the rains’ late start and terminal drought experienced, he said.

Way forward 

Farmers have realised that the way out for the coming season is for them to seek this particular variety to plant, because it’s the only way they can maximised yields.

According to him, seed companies can get the foundation seed of this variety at CSIR-SARI and multiply them into certified seeds for farmers.

He also appealed for farmers to endeavour adapting to best agronomic practices to boost crop productions for economic growth and livelihood empowerment.

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