AGRIDYNE Technologies, a US
biotechnology company, recently announced a major project
involving the genetic-engineering of pyrethrins, an insecticidal
compound derived from the
pyrethrum flower ( Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium). The US
$3 million, three-year project is
expected to produce unlimited" supplies of pyrethrin, an
environmentally friendly insecticide, in the laboratory.
According to the Ottawabased NGO, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), this project, if
successful, could spell disaster
for nearly two lakh pyrethrum
growers in Kenya, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Ecuador and
Australia, especially in view of
USA being the world's largest
importer of the flower.
Kenya, which supplies over
two-thirds of the world's US
$100 million annual trade in
natural pyrethrum, has about
one lakh small-scale farmers
growing the flower on approximately 16,000 ha of land. Kenya
also has a pyrethrum Board that
manages the processing and
marketing of the flower along
with running an active research
programme. The board has
developed cloned, higher-yielding pyrethrum varieties which
are more disease resistant and
have greater uniform flowering.
Kenya's use of cultured
pyrethrum plants has often been
cited as an example of the
benefits biotechnology can
bring to Third Wor1d
agriculture.
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