Cassava
By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
Ibadan, May 10, 2018 (NAN) The Confined Field Trial (CFT) currently being carried out on transgenic cassava at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, is completely safe, says Dr Anna Carluccio, a scientist.
Carluccio, who is a member of the research team conducting the CFT, gave the assurance in a statement given to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday.
The scientist said that the field trial of transgenic cassava at IITA also had no risk of contaminating the local cassava varieties.
Carluccio said that IITA’s application to carry out the CFT on genetically modified cassava, in collaboration with Plant Biotechnology Lab in Zurich, Switzerland, was approved in 2017 by the National Biosafety Management Agency.
She said that the research was a response to one of Africa’s biggest agricultural challenges.
She said that the challenge was the high level of post-harvest loss of cassava caused by rapid deterioration of its starch-rich roots, occurring naturally and starting immediately after harvest.
“This causes a 40-per-cent reduction in the post-harvest value of cassava and, therefore, has a huge negative impact on the income of farmers.
“Tackling this challenge will have a tangible effect of increasing cassava yields which will, in turn, positively impact on food security and transform the socio-economic status of cassava farmers.
“The main purpose of this research is to support cassava productivity by breeding robustly high-yielding plants, as this strategy is the most economically viable option for smallholder farmers.
“Compared to other crop plants, however, little is known about cassava source-to-sink relations, which are major determinants of final crop yield,” she said.
The scientist said that the purpose of the research, therefore, was to raise the level of understanding of cassava physiology to a level, which was comparable to that of other major crop plants.
“At an earlier stage of this research, genetically modified cassava plants were generated to evaluate the activity of the enzyme which hinders the process of rapid deterioration of cassava roots shortly after harvest.
“Such cassava lines will be able to store their starch in stable forms even long after the tubers have been harvested.
“The gene construct used was developed at Zurich in the laboratory of Prof. Samuel Zeeman and extensive testing was carried out in greenhouses in Switzerland over a three-year period,’’ she said.
Carluccio reiterated the readiness of IITA to carry out the field trial amid the highest bio-safety standards, which included the protection of test plants with anti-aphid mesh to prevent insect entry and guard against cross-pollination.
She also said that flower buds from the cassava plants were removed weekly besides the removal of any male or female flowers, adding that the activity would be sustained throughout the duration of the experiment to prevent pollen dispersal.
According to her, the CFT site permits access to only authorised personnel and a minimum isolation distance of 100 metres is maintained between the site and any plants capable of hybridising with cassava.
“On the timeline for expected adoption of this transgenic cassava variety, there is no plan to adopt the variety as the experiment is purely a scientific experiment to know what happens in the plants after harvesting.
“We hope to understand which protein is involved in starch degradation and this result could help us to select plants with these characteristics.
“Although this experimental cassava variety is not planned for commercial release, it is destined to transform lives.
“If we can reduce the rate of starch degradation, even if by only two days, farmers’ income will increase,” she added. (NAN)
CC/MOL/OOK
===========
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi and Dayo Komolafe