The stem borer, a nightmare pest for many maize farmers, could become a thing of the past with the adoption of genetically modified maize by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari).

After more than three years of research, Kari has come up with a maize variety it says is more resistant to crop pests like the borer, which is responsible for up to 40 per cent yield loss and blamed for Kenya’s dependence on maize imports; hitting the incomes of growers and impacting negatively on food security.

Stem borers

“Kari is pleased to announce the planting of the trial maize after years of laboratory research, as part of an approach to help Kenyan farmers fight stem borers,” said Dr Joel Mutisya, a biotechnology scientist at Kari, adding that what remains now is to test the Bt maize for its resilience.

“The maize will also be crossed with Kenyan varieties to boost its hardiness and adaptation to Kenyan growing conditions,” Dr Mutisya adds.

He says the produce from the maize experiment will be safe to eat but will not be released before the Kenya Bureau of Standards certifies them.

“The maize is safe for consumption, but until tests are done and certification done by the government, it will not be released to the general public,” he says.

This is the first time the insect-resistant maize is being planted directly into the soil in an open field in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

Before this, seeds were planted in a series of confined field stations in 2005 at Kari’s Kiboko station. The ‘open quarantine’ field trials were undertaken by the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa project.

Though there has been plenty of controversy surrounding the whole issue of adopting genetically modified crops in Kenya, local scientists say that better combinations of resistance and tolerance traits are the key to boosting maize yields among small-scale farmers, given that they are unlikely to invest heavily in intensifying production in the near future.

Each year, the struggle for survival by many subsistence farmers has been affected by the increasing impact of pests and diseases, which voraciously consume 400,000 tonnes of maize thus inflicting on average, 15 per cent annual yield losses.

This is close to the total amount of maize imported by Kenya annually. This loss directly affects the livelihoods of thousands of families ,which rely on maize as a staple food and as a source of income.

Such large losses are estimated at $72 million (Sh5.5 billion) per year in Kenya alone, although stem borers are a problem in most of East and Southern Africa.

Kari’s taking up of the Bt maize comes two months after President Kibaki signed into law the Biosafety Bill 2008, making Kenya the first East African nation to adopt genetically modified crops.

The research project is being conducted jointly by Kari and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) supported by the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Kenya was the first country to sign up the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety when it was opened for signatures in 2000.

Ratification followed in 2003, and the Biosafety Bill was drafted in 2005 to bring Kenya’s law and practice in line with the protocol.

Late last year, the Bill was passed through by Parliament and signed into law on February12, 2009 by the President.

The Biosafety Act, which regulates activities involving GMOs, also establishes the National Biosafety Authority with the mandate to exercise general supervision and control over the transfer, handling and use of GMOs with a view to ensuring safety of human and animal health.

Eight other regulatory agencies will oversee compliance with the law.