In 2023, some farmers in nearby villages missed the planting window because Bt seed arrived weeks late. A delayed seed delivery can ruin a season before it begins. Trust is built not only in the field, but in the systems that support farmers.
I farm two hectares on the outskirts of my village in Kano State. One hectare is cowpea. The other rotates between maize and groundnut, depending on the rains.
I start work at first light, before the sun makes the soil hard and the heat becomes too much.
My name might be Musa, Sadiq, or Adamu. It does not really matter, because my story is like that of many Nigerian farmers whose lives depend on the seasons. I farm because my father did, and the land is all I inherited. Each harvest decides if my children eat well, go to school, or stay home to help me fight hunger.
Cowpea, My Story Of Hope And Loss
Between 2017 and 2021, cowpea nearly broke me. Cowpea is not just a crop here. It is food on our plates, money for school fees, seed for the next season, and dignity in the market.
Nigeria is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of cowpeas, and in many northern communities, it is the difference between having protein on the table and experiencing hunger.
But cowpea is delicate. Every season, insects attacked my fields, and I could never stop them all.
Maruca pod borers destroyed flowers and pods right in front of me. To protect my crop, I sprayed chemicals often, sometimes twice a week. In one bad season, I sprayed eight times before the flowers finished blooming.
This aligns with reports that farmers typically spray cowpea six to eight times per season to control the Maruca pod borer. The extension officer in our area said that this level of spraying is common among local cowpea farmers fighting the Maruca pod borer.
By harvest time, what remained felt like mockery.
In tough years, my harvest dropped to almost half of what I hoped for. Instead of 10 bags per hectare, I got only 5 or 6. Studies show Maruca infestations can cause yield losses of up to 80 per cent in fields that are not managed.
The money I spent on pesticides took away most of my profit. I also worried about my health. After spraying, my chest hurt, my eyes watered, and my wife complained about the smell on my clothes. But I had no choice. If I did not spray, I would get almost nothing.
Hearing About Bt Cowpea
I first learned about Bt cowpea in 2021 at a farmer meeting organised by the state agricultural development program (ADP), after Nigeria approved pod borer-resistant Bt cowpea for commercial farming in 2019.
That was life before Bt cowpea.
When I first heard about it, I was suspicious. People talked about “improved seed” and “biotechnology” in voices that sounded bigger than my farm.
Extension officers came to our community meetings. Scientists explained that Bt cowpea was developed to resist the Maruca pod borer, the single most destructive pest of cowpea in West Africa.
They explained that in trials conducted in Nigeria, farmers were able to dramatically reduce insecticide spraying—from the usual six to eight applications per season to just one or two.
Some farmers laughed it off. Others warned that such seeds would make us dependent, that we would lose control over what we plant. I listened. I asked questions. And then I tried.
A Quieter Growing Season (First Bt Season: 2022)
The first thing I noticed was silence.
It was not the silence of an empty farm, but the calm that comes without worry. I did not have to rush out with my sprayer every few days.
I watched my plants flower without being afraid the pods would be ruined overnight.
That season, I sprayed only once, mostly out of habit. The extension officer said that even one spray was not needed to control the pod borer.
This matched what researchers had been saying: Bt cowpea can cut insecticide use by more than half, sometimes by as much as 70 per cent, depending on pest pressure.
Harvest Tells The Truth
At harvest in October 2022, the figures spoke clearly. The difference was not small.
On the same one-hectare plot that had yielded only 5 or 6 bags, I was now able to harvest a full 10 bags of cowpea.
Field reports and farmer testimonies indicate Bt cowpea can increase yields by at least 20 per cent under typical Nigerian growing conditions.
Pods were fuller. Losses were fewer. When I sat down to count my costs, the difference was clear.
Yes, the seed costs more, about ₦12,000 for certified Bt cowpea seed, compared to saving grain from my harvest. But I spent far less on pesticides.
Previously, I spent roughly ₦25,000 to ₦30,000 per season on chemicals and spraying. With Bt cowpea, that cost dropped to under ₦7,000.
In the end, the numbers balanced, and then tipped in my favour.
For the first time in years, farming felt predictable.
Lessons From Cotton Farmers Nearby (Bt Cotton)
In our neighbouring community in Kaduna State, cotton farmers shared similar experiences during cooperative meetings.
In neighbouring communities, cotton farmers told similar stories. Before Bt cotton, some sprayed their fields up to 10 or 12 times in a single season to control bollworms, a pattern widely reported in discussions of Bt cotton adoption across Nigeria.
With Bt cotton, most reported spraying just three times or fewer. With Bt cotton, the number of sprays dropped sharply, along with the cost of chemicals and the health risks they posed.
Better quality lint, fewer rejected bolls, and more stable yields changed how those farmers planned their seasons and their finances.
The Questions Farmers Still Ask
Even with these gains, farmers still raise practical concerns.
But biotech crops are not magic, and they are not free of questions.
Seed access matters most. Seeds must arrive on time, in the right quantity, and at prices farmers can manage.
In 2023, some farmers in nearby villages missed the planting window because Bt seed arrived weeks late. A delayed seed delivery can ruin a season before it begins. Trust is built not only in the field, but in the systems that support farmers.
There is also the issue of seed saving, which many farmers struggle with emotionally and financially.
For generations, saving seed was an act of survival. From one harvest to the next, it meant independence. With Bt crops, farmers are advised not to replant saved seeds because performance can decline in subsequent seasons, according to guidance from biotechnology developers and agricultural authorities.
This means farmers must budget for new seed each year—a major shift from tradition. This is a difficult shift, one that requires clear communication, farmer education, and policies that protect smallholders while ensuring the technology works as intended.
Standing On The Ground
Bt Cowpea did not end poverty or make farming easy. But it did help me fight one of my biggest problems. It gave me some control again. It let me plan, do the math, and hope for better.
Standing on my farm today, I know this: technology by itself does not change lives. What matters is how that technology fits into real life.
When people debate biotech crops in offices far away from my village, I wish they would stand here during harvest. I wish they would carry the knapsack sprayer for a week. I wish they would count the surviving pods.
Because on the ground, the question is not whether biotechnology is perfect. The question is whether it helps a farmer harvest more food with less harm to his body, his land, and his future.
For me, this season, the answer was yes.
And tomorrow, before the sun rises, I will return to my farm. I am no longer just a farmer fighting insects alone, but a farmer with better chances.
