Ethiopia has given the green light to carry out field trials with genetically modified potatoes that are said to be resistant to blight, a move seen as a further sign of the country’s growing embrace of genetic modification technology, according to a report by Ethiopia Observer.
The approval by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority weeks ago gives the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) permission to plant the potatoes in a confined trial farming area.
The GM potatoes project has been pushed in Africa by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Potato Center (CIP).
The potato has become the third consumable GMO product to be authorized in Ethiopia for commercial production.
Source: Ethiopia Observer
Photo: Credit Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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