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Richard Sithole


Major Crops: Corn

Farm Size: 37.5 acres (15 hectares)

Years Farming: 10+

First Planted Biotech Crops: 2000

Favorite Benefits: More food. Better education. Saving money.

Family: Married, seven children, seven grandchildren

My family is well fed now, and we live at a higher standard because of Bt maize.
My family is well fed now, and we live at a higher standard because of Bt maize.
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Video Transcript


I have a wife, seven children and seven grandchildren living on this farm.  I farm 15 hectares.  Previously, I failed to make this farm produce as much as it could, but now, because I’m well equipped, I’m farming all of my hectares. …

The new kind of maize is important to me because I can grow enough to feed my family and also have some surplus leftover to sell.

When I was using conventional maize, I was losing too much money because I had to buy chemicals to control insects like the corn borer.  And, sometimes, when I went to the shop to buy the pesticide, they didn’t have it.  Now, using the Bt maize, I’m getting more yield and spending less money compared to conventional maize. …

The conventional plants had only one cob on the stalk, but now, with the Bt maize, there are often three cobs on one stalk. … With the old maize, I got 100 bags of maize from 15 hectares.  With Bt maize, I get 1,000 bags of maize. …

… My family is well fed now, and we live at a higher standard because of Bt maize. … My children are now getting a good education. …

… Even my livestock is living at a higher standard because I use this maize to feed them. …

If someone came here today and said I had to stop using this Bt maize, I wouldn’t stop because I know what I’m doing.  I would rather give up farming altogether, rather than go back to conventional maize.