enda diapol Bt Cotton Risks and Opportunities for transgenic cotton growing in Africa: Capitalizing on experience gained by South Africa, Burkina Faso and India 1 Bt Cotton 2 Bt Cotton 1 Bt Cotton 2 enda diapol Bt Cotton Risks and Opportunities for transgenic cotton growing in Africa: Capitalizing on experience gained by South Africa, Burkina Faso and India 3 Bt Cotton All correspondence concerning this publication should be sent to : Contacts : enda diapol, Sicap Sacré Coeur Transition 4, villa n° 8773 - PoBox : 7329 - Dakar - Senegal - Tel. : (221) 33 825 36 20 - Fax : (221) 33 825 36 32 - E-mail : [email protected] Web: http://www.endadiapol.org Coordinators of the publication : Moussa MBAYE, Mamadou Alimou BARRY Editorial Board : Abdoulaye KONE - Herman LANTING Review committee : Moussa MBAYE - Mamadou Alimou BARRY - Wêdémi Karine Raïssa OUEDRAOGO - Marina Isabelle Gueswendinda BAMBARA - Moussa TALL Cover and inside : credit photos, enda diapol / AProCA Layout : Noma CAMARA, Designer The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations concerned. © enda diapol / AProCA, dakar, 2011 PS : The reproduction of extracts is permitted without formality for non- commercial uses (education and training), provided that enda diapol and AProCA be quoted accurately. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS .............................................................................................. 9 LIst OF tables, FIGURES, GRAPHS AND notes ...................................... 11 ACKNOWLEDGements .............................................................................. 13 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 15 1. Background .................................................................................... 15 2. Objectives ........................................................................................ 17 a. General Purpose ......................................................................... 17 b. Specific objectives ...................................................................... 18 3. Outcome .......................................................................................... 18 4. Methodology ................................................................................... 19 a. Literature review and Desk study ............................................. 19 b. Field visits ................................................................................... 19 c. Report drafting ........................................................................... 19 Chapter 1: CURRENT SITUATION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROP GROWING ........................................................................................... 21 I. At the International level .................................................................... 22 A. In America ...................................................................................... 23 1. North America ............................................................................ 23 2. Latin America ............................................................................. 24 B. Asia ............................................................................................ 24 C. Oceania ............................................................................................ 24 D. Africa ............................................................................................ 24 E. Europe ............................................................................................ 26 II. At the level of the Three (3) target countries by the Study (South Africa, Burkina Faso, India) ..................................................... 28 A. South Africa ..................................................................................... 29 5 Bt Cotton B. Burkina Faso .................................................................................... 30 C. India ............................................................................................ 31 III. Role and place of key stakeholders in the development of Biotechnology in South Africa, Burkina Faso and India ............ 34 A. State Actors ..................................................................................... 34 1. In South Africa ............................................................................ 34 2. In Burkina Faso ........................................................................... 35 3. In India ........................................................................................ 36 B. Institutes and Research centres ..................................................... 37 1. In South Africa ............................................................................ 37 2. In Burkina Faso ........................................................................... 38 3. In India ........................................................................................ 39 C. Civil society organisations .............................................................. 40 1. In South Africa ............................................................................ 40 2. In Burkina Faso ........................................................................... 41 3. In India ........................................................................................ 42 D. Multinationals and international institutions ................................ 43 Chapter 2: TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF TRANSGENIC COTTON ...................... 45 I. Genetic modification of cotton............................................................ 45 A. Expression of Cry toxins in cotton plants ....................................... 48 B. Influence of Chemical Inputs (nitrogen, sulphur, potassium) on Bt cotton Performance ............................................................. 49 II. Climate impact on the transgenic cotton ........................................... 50 A. Drought Stress on the transgenic cotton ....................................... 50 B. Late planting, yield of GM cotton and concentrations of Cry toxins .................................................................................... 51 III. Resistance to transgenic cotton .......................................................... 52 A. Zoom on major cotton pests .......................................................... 52 B. Resistance development against Cry Proteins ............................... 53 6 Table of Contents Chapter 3: IMPACTS OF TRANSGENIC COTTON FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA AND IN BURKINA FASO ................ 57 I. Environmental impacts of genetically modified cotton .................. 58 II. Impact of Bt on non-target insects .................................................... 59 III. Out-crossing of Bt gene into related species through pollen flow ... 59 A- What is pollen/gene flow? ............................................................. 59 B. Horizontal gene flow ...................................................................... 60 C. How likely is gene flow between cotton to happen in practice? . 61 D. Impact of gene-flows .................................................................... 62 E. (In) Direct effects of gene-flow on agro-ecosystem ..................... 63 IV. GMO Regulations ................................................................................. 64 A- Legal framework of biotechnology ............................................... 64 E. Intellectual property rights ............................................................. 65 Chapter 4: LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 67 I. Lessons learned ................................................................................... 67 A. Preventing the development of resistance ................................... 67 B. Environmental impact .................................................................... 68 C. Legal framework ............................................................................. 69 D. Intellectual Property Rights ............................................................ 70 II. Recommendations ............................................................................... 70 A. Is it advisable to resort to transgenic cotton? ............................... 72 1. Conditions in which Bt cotton could have more positive impacts ...................................................................................... 73 2. Conditions in which Bt cotton would have the least positive impacts ....................................................................................... 73 B. Is transgenic cotton good for small scale farmers? ....................... 75 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 79 APPENDIX: 10 questions and answers on transgenic cotton .............. 83 7 Bt Cotton 8 ACRONYMS ABNE: African Biosafety Network of Expertise AC: Advisory Committee ANB: National Agency for Biosafety in Burkina AProCA: Association of African Cotton Producers BBA: Burkina Biotech Association Bt: Bacillus thuringiensis CICR: Central Institute on Cotton Research CORAF: West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development Cry: Protein crystals CSOs: Civil Society Organizations DCs: Developing Countries DIAPOL: Enda Prospectives Dialogues