Kenya Launches Research Maize Screening Site

The centre, located at the Kiboko Sub centre in Kibwezi and home to the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project was launched just a day after reports pointed out that thousands of people from Eastern province may be under an imminent starvation.

Funded jointly by the Bill & Melinda Gates and the Howard G. Buffet Foundations, the project through which KARI and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) are collaborating, has witnessed the development of 10 maize varieties.

Scientists from the KARI and CIMMYT and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), using conventional breeding technologies have developed eight open pollinated varieties (OPVs) and two hybrids namely; KVD1, KVD2, KVD3, KVD4, KVD5, KVD6, Kakamega Synthetic and Kakamega 2. The hybrids are; KDH3 and KDH4.

The project also houses the Open Quarantine site for Genetically Modified Crops on an isolated extra 40 acres of land.

It will allow breeders to test more than 3,000 new maize varieties for drought tolerance every year.

“The work here promises to make locally-adapted, drought tolerant maize varieties a reality for many more farmers in Kenya and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa,” CIMMYT Regional Maize Breeder, Alpha Diallo told Africa Science News Service during the commissioning of the Site which is served by a 10,000 cubic metres capacity water reservoir.

The site will also be used as a training center for maize breeders, technicians, and students from African countries.

“Our goal is to have this Sub centre grow to host a facility that will be used by scientists, locally and internationally. We aim to host students who would like to undertake strategic research towards solving the problems of a farmer,” KARI Director, Dr Ephraim Mukisira says.

It recently served as the venue for part of a course for maize breeders from 15 African nations organized by CIMMYT, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and KARI.

Several researchers from Asia have already indicated their interest to learn from the research that is being conducted at this site. KARI and CIMMYT are convinced that the station is indeed the opening of one of the premier drought research sites around the world.

The DTMA project has a ten-year strategic vision of success within which it aims to: generate maize varieties with strongly increased yields under drought-affected conditions; increase average maize productivity under smallholder farmer conditions by 20-30 per cent on adopting farms and reach 30-40 million farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

“This new varieties are high yielding; they are developed specifically to help farmers harvest early to escape a late drought. In fact they are 25-40 per cent high yield than what farmers used to grow here,” said Diallo.

Indeed, farmers and communities from all over the continent provide systematic input to ensure that the endeavor will become successful.

Kiboko represents an investment in science, in collaboration, in development, and a future where African maize farmers can stop thinking about high food prices as a "crisis," and begin to see them as an opportunity to grow and sell more maize, helping their families to a better life. To do so, they deserve—and should demand—our best efforts!

It will allow breeders to test more than 3,000 new maize varieties for drought tolerance every year.

By George Kebasso

First Published by Africa Science News Service