Jaajef Tony,
I have similar opinion like you with regards to the posting I forwarded to the
list on biotechnology some days ago especially concerns such as health issues
and a new dependency on certain seeds. However with the technology of today,
there is no way of going back. I think if today gene manipulation of crops help
our poor farmers in producing crops that are more resistance to insects and
weeds and safe for our health, then it is worth trying.
Below is another article about another project in Kenya.
I have a question for the members of the list who are working with NARI and
NARB: Do we have similar projects in The Gambia?
regards,
Momodou Camara
*** 03-Mar-0* ***
Title: ECONOMY-KENYA: New Maize Variety To Boost Harvests
By Judith Achieng'
NAIROBI, Mar 03 (IPS) - Kenyan scientists are in the process of
developing a new insect resistant maize variety expected to save
farmers millions of dollars in chemical pesticides costs.
The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project, being
researched under the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI),
with the help of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Centre (CIMMYT). It is also expected to prevent up to 40 percent
of crop losses resulting from damage caused by pests.
The maize variety is expected to hit the local market in the
next seven years.
"We should spare no technology in our efforts to develop and
deliver insect resistant maize varieties to Kenyan farmers," says
Cyrus Ndiritu, who heads KARI.
"There is enough food in the world for every human being, but
we cannot sit and wait for others to put it on our table. But it
is better for us to produce our own," he says.
Ndiritu says the new IRMA project aims at uplifting the living
standards of poor small-scale farmers and promote food self
sufficiency in the East African country.
Maize is Kenya's staple food crop with a per capita consumption
of 125 kilogrammes, but the East African country has yet to
achieve self-sufficiency in the grain.
This is mainly due to a rapidly growing population, shortage of
arable land and unfavourable weather patterns forcing it to
import maize to meet its local demand.
"The contribution of maize in Kenyan agriculture and economy
cannot be overstated. But, though elusive, by no means have we
given up on trying to attain the maize sufficiency goal," says
Kenya's agriculture director, Wilfred Mwangi.
Over 50 percent of Kenya's population of 29 million people are
reported to be living below the poverty datum line.
"Kenya has the capacity to produce sufficient food for her
people and even for export, however, new innovative methods are
required to be put in place if this is to be attained," Kenya's
agriculture minister, Chris Obure, told a gathering of
stakeholders in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi this week.
"Kenya's population growth rate is estimated at 3,5 percent per
annum, yet its maize production has stagnated at about 30 million
bags.
"This trend is increasing poverty in Kenya, a fact that is of
much concern to the government, he said.
But the number one problem faced by farmers in Kenya is crop
losses of between 15 to 40 percent due to infestations by stalk
borers, one of the most serious maize pests, translating to 6,3
billion shillings in terms of lost income to farmers.
For individual farmers, infestations of these pests can
decimate whole fields of maize, depriving rural families of vital
income and a year's supply of their main food source.
"The problem to overcome-damage to maize harvest inflicted by
insects is acknowledged and innovative solutions are available,
but not yet accessible in sub-Saharan Africa," said the Kenyan
minister.
(one US Dollar is equal to 70 shillings)
"Without insecticides, the borers typically cut crop yields by
about 15 percent and severe infestations can devastate entire
fields.
"By developing borer resistant varieties, we put more maize
into the harvest basket of those farmers and their families who
are too poor to purchase those chemicals," says Timothy Reeves who
heads the Mexico based CIMMYT.
With a limited agricultural land and 75 percent of its total
land surface classified under arid or semi-arid zone, scientists
like Ndiritu say Kenya's only chance to enhance its food
production is through intensified agricultural production per unit
area and intensification of pest pressure.
Developing resistant varieties, according to Ndiritu, would
ensure the technology is encapsulated in the seed and sold to the
farmers at no extra cost, and reduce dependency on pesticides
which small scale farmers are poorly equipped to handle.
"If our farmers cannot buy fertilisers how can we expect them
to spray their crops?" asks Ndiritu.
The new genetically engineered pest resistant maize variety,
according to Ndiritu, will contain genetic qualities of Bacillus
thurengiensis (Bt), a bacteria naturally occurring in the soil but
harmful to specific crop pests.
The project involves incorporation of specific genes of Bt into
local maize varieties to 'vaccinate' them against pest attacks.
"This is exciting because, farmers who could not afford to buy
pesticides, now will have an alternative without extra costs," he
told IPS.
CIMMYT says the new maize which is resistant to borer pest
could benefit farmers and is key to addressing the food security
problems in the African continent.
"Based on the experiences and results generated in Kenya,
appropriate technologies and varieties will be extended to other
African nations," says Reeves.
On the critical question of ethics and environmental issues,
Reeves says "cooler heads simply must prevail".
"The lives of millions of people hang in the balance, and
should we fail, the price in terms of human suffering will be
enormous. Given this weighty responsibility, common sense dictates
that we must responsibly explore the most promising options for
increasing food production as well as the nutritional quality of
food," he says.
Scientists say the use of Bt to protect crops is not a new
technology, and as far back as 1980, farmers were using it as
direct crop spray in the hope that it would infect and kill pests.
Countries like the United States, Argentina and China are now
producing large-scale food products genetically engineered with
Bt.
Swiss-based Norvatis Foundation, which has put into the project
some six dollars, says agriculture development programmes face the
biggest challenges of coping with the high rates of population
growth in Africa.
"We are facing the challenge of producing enough food for
steadily growing populations while also conserving natural
resources," says Norvatis' Klaus Leisinger.
In the continent, only South Africa, has put in place
legislation and mechanisms for large-scale production and use of
genetically modified foods.
On the average, most African governments devote only about 7,5
percent of their budgets on agricultural research, which has seen
a decline in rural development by almost 50 percent between 1986
and 1996 as a result of reform conditions demanded on the donors.
(END/IPS/ja/sm/00)
Origin: Harare/ECONOMY-KENYA/
----
[c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
All rights reserved
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