Burkina Faso is phasing out genetically modified cotton. It says it produces a poor quality crop which fetches low prices. This hasn't stop other African states from using genetic technology, or trying it out.

Burkina Faso's "white gold" was famous. For years, the cotton grown in the West African country was regarded as the best on the continent until the harvests were destroyed by pests and drought in the 1990s, ruining the livelihoods of thousands of cotton farmers. The US agricultural seed manufacturer Monsanto promised Burkina Faso a remedy: genetically modified cotton seeds that would be resistant to a changing climate, simplify pest protection and produce bumper yields. Burkina Faso's government signed a deal with Monsanto in 2003 and six years later genetically modified seeds were distributed to cotton farmers. Soon 70 percent of cotton fields were sown with genetically modified seed.