Burkina Faso Ditches Monsanto’s GMO Cotton & Demands Compensation

By  Wesley Spartan

After the West African country of Burkina Faso tried out Monsanto’s GM cotton and experienced only “disappointing yields and poor quality cotton fiber,” the country decided to ditch it for good. 

As reported in Jeune Afrique, Interprofessional Cotton in Burkina Faso has decided to phase out the use of Monsanto’s GMO cotton seeds over the next three years. This is a group of cotton farmers, banks, research institutions, private stakeholders and the government. 

But be aware, it isn’t just the cotton farmers are complaining about. 

Members of Interprofessional Cotton include the Société burkinabè des fibres textiles (Sofitex), Faso Coton, and the Société cotonnière du Gourma (Socoma, subsidiary of the French group Geocoton).

All have complained that Monsanto’s GM cotton did not produce quality cotton fiber, and farmers have experienced lower yields than with non-GM cotton. In effect, the groups seek compensation from Monsanto for lower yields they experienced since the 2008 growing season.

Denouncing its contract, this group is done with Monsanto due to the lower quality performance of the GM cotton and lower yields.

Advocates of GM cotton, however, state that they have increased agricultural production by more than $98 billion (US) and saved an estimated 473 million kilograms of pesticides from being sprayed in the United States. Critics question the legitimacy of such claims, however, as well as the environmental, social, and economic impacts caused by growing GM crops. 

Among some of the complains are that GM cotton has caused super-weeds, and contributed to such low yields in India that over 291,000 farmers have committed suicide. Read about that travesty here. 

But the controversy rages on concerning genetically modified crops: Are they safe to eat? Do they really produce higher yields? Is there an agenda of corporations to push GM crops onto the public for the sake of profit? 

What is clear is that Interprofessional Cotton in West Africa has experienced Monsanto’s GM cotton for near 7 years - and members are not impressed. 

In addition to the recent finding that GM corn is less nutritious than organic, it seems it will only be time before the rest of the world catches on and boycotts genetically modified crops as well.