Africa’s top cotton producer and the only West African nation that has ventured into biotech farming, Burkina Faso has decided to ban GM cotton produced by Monsanto on quality grounds. Earlier Burkina Faso, the world’s 10th largest cotton producer, announced it was giving up Monsanto’s GM Bt cotton as it had proved uneconomical. Burkina Faso embraced GM cotton in the 2000s in the hope of bumping up returns on what became its top export in 2009 after surpassing gold. With four of its 19 people dependent on the so-called ‘white gold,’ the importance of cotton to the West African nation cannot be understated.

The nation’s association of cotton producers now say GM cotton, though producing higher yields, has resulted in a significant drop in the quality of crops. According to producers, between 2011 and 2016, the industry incurred losses worth $82.4 million and is now demanding compensation. Wilfried Yameogo, Director, Sofitex, Burkina Faso’s main cotton company said earlier this month that Burkina Faso's Inter-professional Cotton Association (AICB), which consists of the country’s main producers and the national cotton farmers’ union, is now targeting 100 per cent conventional production.