Govt must act to stop fake Bt cowpea seeds -Prof. Alhassan

A former Di­rector-General of the Council for Scientific and Industri­al Research (CSIR), Professor Walter Sand­ow Alhassan, has urged the gov­ernment to intensify monitoring and quality control measures to prevent fake Bt Cowpea seeds from entering the Ghanaian market.

He warned that failure to act could undermine the success of the country’s first-ever biotech crop which holds potential for boosting Ghana’s cowpea value chain.

Speaking to The Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview on the Bt Cowpea’s first year of commercial release, Prof. Alhas­san expressed concern over the likelihood of unscrupulous seed dealers selling non-Bt varieties disguised as the improved seed, given the crop’s growing pop­ularity among farmers for its high yield and reduced pesticide needs.

“The government must en­sure that seeds sold to farmers are of the right quality. They must be labelled and tracked so that we can trace them to the source. If the farmer doesn’t get the right seed, he won’t give it the proper agronomic attention, yields will fail and the whole project could collapse,” he cautioned.

In July 2024, Ghana became the second African country after Nigeria, to commercially release the “pod borer resistant” (PBR) also known as the “Bacil­lus thuringiensis” (BT) cowpea, after years of rigorous regulato­ry, laboratory and field trials.

The variety was specifically developed to resist the pod bearer pest known scientifically as “Maruca vitrata”, capable of destroying up to 80 per cent of yields at any stage of crop development.

The pest pressure has histori­cally discouraged many farmers from cultivating cowpea, de­spite its strong presence in the West Africa sub-region.

Cowpea remains an import­ant source of protein in Gha­na, with popular dishes such “koose”, “waakye” and “Gobe/ Gob3 / Yo Ke Gari”, relying heavily on it.

While Ghana produces around 57,000 tonnes of cow­pea annually, national demand stands at 169,000 tonnes, with the deficit often met by imports from neighbouring West Afri­can countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.

Promise for farmers –

and a warning

Bt cowpea promises to close the supply gap by improving grain quality, reducing crop losses, and cutting pesticide costs for smallholder farmers who make up over 70 per cent of West Africa’s agricultural workforce.

However, Prof. Alhassan warned that rising demand for seeds could create opportuni­ties for counterfeit products, especially if legitimate supply falls short.

Nigeria, he noted, faced sim­ilar challenges after introducing Bt cowpea in 2019, as seed mul­tiplication lagged behind farmer demand, opening the door to fake seeds.

Currently, Ghana’s Bt cow­pea seeds are in the hands of licensed seed companies tasked with multiplying and distribut­ing them.

The CSIR has provided foundation seeds, but Prof. Al­hassan stressed that insufficient supply could push farmers into replanting saved seeds which could gradually reduce quality.

“If CSIR cannot supply enough foundation seeds to seed companies, there will be shortages. Farmers might be forced to save and replant seeds themselves, and over time, qual­ity will deteriorate.

We need constant monitoring to make sure farmers are actu­ally getting the right certified seeds,” he said.

Call for coordinated

action

Prof. Alhassan called for a coordinated effort involving CSIR, registered seed growers, and regulatory bodies to ensure that only certified Bt cowpea seeds reach the market.

He also urged the govern­ment to support research institutions to meet seed pro­duction targets and mechanise large-scale cultivation to meet both local demand and export opportunities.

“With proper regulation, Bt cowpea can boost production, cut pesticide costs, and make Ghana more food secure. But without strict quality control, we risk losing the gains we have made,” he stressed.

The Principal Research Scientist and Lead Investigator on the Bt cowpea project, Dr Jerry Nboyine, responding to the concern, reaffirmed CSIR’s commitment to sustaining the variety and making it “a house­hold crop in Ghana’s agricultur­al value chain.”

“Our goal at CSIR is to ensure the country becomes self-sufficient in food produc­tion. No one should go to bed hungry, and no child should suffer nutritional deficiencies simply because they lack access to the quality nutrients they need,” he said.

Dr Nboyine disclosed that monitoring systems had been put in place to prevent the influx of fake seeds, including maintaining detailed records of seed companies and tracking the performance of the seeds they distribute.

“There is strict documen­tation of who collected what quantity, and where it will be planted, so we can easily trace and detect any counterfeit seeds that find their way into the mar­ket,” he explained.

The road ahead

Ghanaian researchers are already exploring improvements to the Bt cowpea, including traits that protect seeds in storage against insect damage, a major cause of post-harvest losses.

Globally, biotechnology is advancing toward drought-tol­erant crops and genome editing to improve yields and resilience without introducing genes from other species.

For Ghana, the success of Bt cowpea could pave the way for greater acceptance of such technologies, but as Prof. Alhas­san emphasized; “That future hinges on what we do now.”

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH