Biotechnology for Kenya

Having ‘missed out’ on the Green Revolution, can biotechnology succeed in Africa where previous efforts have fallen short?

Maize is grown on 90% ofKenyan farms and is an important source of food, income and employment. Foodshortages in Kenya usually correlate with poor maize yields. About 15% ofharvest losses are caused by stem borers. The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa(IRMA) project is developing Bt maize, resistant tothe stem borer beetle.

Sweetpotato is a staple food crop, grown in many regions of Kenya.Several different plant viruses have contributed to declining sweet potatoproduction, with less than half the global average yield per hectare. The KenyaAgricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Monsanto, a US-based biotechnologycompany, have organised a project to develop virus-resistant sweet potatoes, withfunding from the US Agency for International Development.

Tissueculture is being used to produce disease-free plantlets for banana production.In a project run by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-BiotechApplications, KARI is working with the Institute of Tropical and SubtropicalCrops and other organisations in South Africa to deliver clean banana plantletsto resource-poor farmers in Kenya. This has been effective in overcoming diseasetransfer problems in planting, at least for the first generation of new plants.The project shows the value of linking participatory methods to research, witheffective extension and distribution networks to increase use by farmers.

These cases illustratethe importance of integrating GM solutions with other options, includingnon-transgenic biotechnologies. For example, Bt maizecan only address one problem and does not prevent others, such as plantdiseases and the striga weed. Virus-resistant sweetpotato could boost yields by up to 18% but only if there is an efficient systemof extension and distribution to provide clean planting material to farmers.

Biotechnologies that areappropriate for small farmers in Africa must:

• beaffordable and not restrict their freedom to save and exchange seeds
• bemanageable and appropriate for small plots in marginal areas
• beaccessible and responsive to local livelihoods, including availability oflabour
• besuitable for use with varied cropping systems
• prioritisetraits such as drought tolerance and disease resistance, rather thantraits such as herbicide tolerance, which require expensive inputs
• besuitable and acceptably safe for introduction into the local ecosystem
• be supported by measures such asaccess to credit, markets and extension services.