Ethiopia to venture into Bio-tech cotton production

Africa's top cotton producer, Burkina Faso is dropping genetically-modified cotton on quality grounds and will venture into Bio-tech.

The country took up GM cotton in the 2000s in the hopes of bumping up returns on what was then its top export product, surpassed in 2009 by gold.

But the country's association of cotton producers now say GM cotton, though producing higher yields, has caused a drop in crop quality.

Fibre length is key in textiles with longer ones tending to produce stronger yarns thereby enabling higher spinning speeds.