GM Trial

Crop specialists in Kenya and Uganda have laid the groundwork for confined field trials to commence later this year for new varieties of maize genetically modified to survive recurrent droughts that threaten over 300 million Africans for whom maize is life.

Daniel Mataruka, executive director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), who noted this at the World Food Prize Symposium recently, said there is preliminary evidence that the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) varieties, which were developed through a public-private partnership, could provide yields between 24 and 35 percent higher than what farmers were now growing.

According to him, scientists working with AATF believe it was important to explore the potential of biotechnology to maintain and increase food production in Africa, given the large number of families dependent on maize, and warnings that maize yields could drop dramatically as climate change increased drought frequency and severity across the continent. 

The process for testing the WEMA varieties has been informed by a series of “mock trials” conducted in 2009 in Kenya and Tanzania. These trials carefully simulated field conditions, procedures, and regulatory oversight that will occur in the actual trials.

“The mock trials have provided an opportunity for researchers working on the WEMA project to fine-tune the procedures of carrying out the actual transgenic trial in 2010,” Mataruka said. “There have already been positive gains made in drought tolerance using traditional breeding methods by our partners,” said Mataruka.

“WEMA is working to further increase those gains in drought tolerance in hybrids adapted to eastern and southern Africa through both advanced breeding techniques and biotechnology.”

“Everything we have seen in the simulated trials shows that we can safely test transgenic maize varieties in carefully controlled and confined field trials in Africa and evaluate their potential to produce high yields in drought conditions,” said Dr. James Gethi, the WEMA-Kenya country coordinator.

Drought is the most important constraint to African agricultural production, and its effects are particularly severe on maize, which is the most widely-grown staple on the continent. For millions of small-scale farmers who rely on rainfall to water their crops, risk of crop failure from drought is a major barrier to the adoption of improved farming practices.

A more reliable harvest could give farmers the confidence to invest in improved techniques that could further boost their yields and incomes. The push to develop drought-tolerant varieties has been given added urgency by threats likely to come from climate change.

A study by scientists at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) warns that by 2050, climate change could make droughts more frequent and intense, potentially causing maize yields to drop by 20 percent or more in parts of East Africa, including northern Uganda and southern Sudan, and semi-arid areas of Kenya and Tanzania.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has acknowledged biotechnology as a powerful tool in the effort to develop drought-tolerant crops. The drought-tolerant WEMA varieties are being developed under a partnership involving AATF, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Monsanto, and the national agriculture research systems in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda.

CIMMYT has provided high-yield maize varieties adapted to African conditions, while Monsanto has provided proprietary genetic resources (germplasm), advanced breeding tools and expertise, and drought-tolerant transgenes developed in collaboration with BASF.

According to AATF, experience has shown that the gains possible through advanced breeding and biotechnology are greater and faster than those that can be achieved through breeding alone. If the transgenic corn is found to be safe and successful, the new varieties will be made available to smallholder farmers royalty-free.



source:http://business.peacefmonline.com/news/201010/94362.php (Last Visited on October 19th, 2010)