Visit to the Experimental Bt Cotton Field in Egypt

Biotechnology Information Center of Egypt (EBIC), in collaboration with Cotton Research Institute, Faculty of Agriculture at Cairo University, Plant Protection Institute, and Monsanto Egypt, organized a visit to Bt cotton field trials in Sakha Experimental Station at Kafr El-Shikh, Delta. The participants included representatives of the private sector, journalists, and students of the biotechnology program in Cairo University.

The insect resistant cotton under field trials is developed by experts from Cotton Research Institute in cooperation with Monsanto. Mr. Ahmed El Khishin, the representative of Monsanto in Egypt explained that the "project started in 2000 by cross breeding the Egyptian elite long staple cotton varieties with Bollgard II. Professor Adel El-Deep from the Cotton Research Institute added that cross breeding selection has produced Egyptian cotton varieties that harbor Bt genes. To ensure the stability of the introduced genes, evaluation of the transgenic plants has been conducted over the last 10 years focusing on morphology, and the ability of the plants to resist cotton leaf worm and bollworms.

While addressing the various environmental and human health safety concerns raised by the participants, Professor Hassan Dahey from the Plant Protection Institute emphasized that the field trials were carried out under the guidelines of the Egyptian National Biosafety Committee. He assured the participants that no harmful effects of Bt cotton have been observed on beneficial insects or on human health during the testing period. On the contrary, the Bt cotton varieties had demonstrated 95-100% resistance to leaf worm infestations and almost 100% to the bollworms.

While highlighting the importance of the cotton industry in Egypt, Professor Adel El-Deep said that "Neither the area harvested with cotton in Egypt nor the cotton net production reflects the actual economic importance of the Egyptian cotton". Thus the need of employing all proven scientific innovations for crop improvement is of paramount importance.