Biotechnology can ensure food security

Maize, the most important staple foods, is failing. Productivity in Kenya of 1.6 tonnes per hectare is already well under the global average of 5.0 tonnes per hectare.

Even more worrying is that production appears to be on a downward trend.

Unless these trends are reversed, and Kenya’s production can begin to increase again, the country’s food security is at risk.

In January last year, the government announced plans to import three million 90-kilogramme bags of maize to cater for shortfalls before the next harvest. If there is a shortfall and renewed drought, millions of Kenyans could again become dependent on food aid.

Currently, agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, contributing approximately 25 per cent of GDP, and employing 75 per cent of the national labour force. If it remains chronically inefficient, agriculture cannot modernise.

A lasting solution can only lie in the development and adoption of technologies that improve agricultural productivity.

Science and technology can help tackle challenges such as increasingly erratic weather conditions, including prolonged drought, which are exacerbated by climate change.

Modern technology can also help farmers improve yields and combat pests.

PEST DAMAGE

In Kenya, the damage the stem borer pest inflicts on maize crops is greater than nine billion shillings per year.

Stem borers reduce maize production by an average of 13 per cent or 400,000 tonnes of maize per year, though this can double during drought years or when proper measures are not taken to manage the pests.

The 400,000 tonnes of maize lost annually to stem borer damage is equivalent to Kenya’s normal imports.

In other words, if stem borer damage could be controlled, Kenya could become self-sufficient in maize.

For the past five years, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), together with national and international research organisations through the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project, has been conducting trials on a GM maize that is resistant to stem borers.

This ‘Bt maize’ has the ability to protect itself from insect pests because it contains a gene derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a bacteria that is naturally present in soil.

The Bt gene protects the plant from stem borers because it produces a protein that cannot be digested by the insects, but is harmless.

In addition, the maize reduces the need for frequent drenching with expensive chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment.

YIELD INCREASE

Results from tests carried out in Kenya show that the WEMA Bt maize effectively controls stem borers without the need for insecticides. The even better news is that the varieties also recorded a yield increase of 3.7 tonnes per hectare above the best commercial hybrid used in the trials.

Following these impressive results, KALRO and the Africa Agricultural Technology Foundation made an application to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) to approve cultivation of the WEMA Bt maize. The NBA has consequently invited the public to submit their comments on the application.

Bt maize will enhance food security for millions of farmers in Kenya by helping them protect their crop against stem borers without the use of insecticides.

This project is in accord with the second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017), which places a high priority on farmers using GM technologies. With the approval and introduction of Bt maize Kenya, we will be closer to achieving this goal.

Dr Kireger is the Director-General of KALRO