Ethiopian Growers Receive 80 GM Crop Varieties

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|16 December 2008

Ethiopia’s Amhara State Agriculture Research Institute said it has distributed about 80 disease resistant and high-yielding crop, vegetable, and fruit varieties — including cereals, pulses, and oilseeds — to growers, according to Walta Information Center (WIC).

Institute Crop Protection Research Director Wondimu Bayu told WIC that efforts are being made to widely popularize the newly released crop species that are considerably benefiting farmers. The Institute was established 20 years ago to develop and distribute various improved varieties to farmers in collaboration with the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise.