OUAGADOUGOU, June 20: The US government on Monday will sponsor a three-day conference here to sell the benefits of genetically modified seeds - a subject that has already found fertile ground in Burkina Faso.

This west African nation was the first country to have accepted GM testing - it allowed planting of transgenic cotton in certain areas last year - although like most other countries in the region it is still worried about possible impact on human health and the environment.

"It would be a monumental error not to participate in the evolution of biotechnology," said Agriculture Minister Salif Diallo. "It's in our interest to jump aboard the moving train even if we don't travel first class."

All 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) have been invited, and between 300 and 400 delegates including four heads of state were expected to attend.

An official here said Burkina Faso was organizing the conference at US behest to "fill a gap in information and combat prejudice about biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering."

Burkina Faso accepted proposals from the multinational Monsanto corporation to test genetically modified cotton on its land, but to be on the safe side the government is encouraging increased production of unmodified cotton, which accounts for 60 per cent of state earnings and provides work for four million people.

The tests, which are expected to last several years before any decision on whether to go ahead with large-scale planting, are designed to find out how the modified seeds stand up in Burkina Faso's arid climate. The modified crop is promoted as being immune to the helicoverpa bollworm, which destroys up to half of the country's cotton crop every year.

Diallo said that had Burkina Faso planed genetically modified seeds last year, it would have been able to produce two million tons of cotton rather than 500,000 tons.

"More than half the world cotton market comes from GMO cotton," Diallo said. "Africa should not wait to be last." The head of the production and marketing company Societe des fibres et textiles, Celestin Tienrebeogo, said the country "should not stay on the sidelines of the biotechnology progress" because to do so would risk marginalization on the international market.

These economic arguments have proved unable to sway those who oppose adoption of GM crops. "For a Burkinabe peasant, cultivating GM crops would make him more dependent on outsiders for an uncertain benefit," said Father Maurice Oudet, a prominent campaigner against transgenic agriculture. -AFP