The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are set to repeat the confined field trial for Bt maize contrary to media reports that the government has terminated it.

The trial to test the effectiveness of Bt maize that was genetically modified to resist Kenyan stem borers started in May 2005 at an open quarantine site at Kiboko, near Nairobi. It is to be repeated following an inadvertent application of Furadan, a systemic insecticide, by the technician in-charge to control white grubs.

CIMMYT and KARI project managers said the erroneous use of the insecticide effectively invalidating the trial results, prompting them to notify the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) on 18 July 2005 who recommended that the current crop be immediately harvested and destroyed under the supervision of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), which also supervised its planting.

The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project, a joint undertaking of KARI and CIMMYT, will apply for the NBC’s permission to repeat the trial at the same site once the Furadan has disintegrated—eight weeks from the date it was applied.

For more information, contact Daniel Otunge of the Kenya Biotechnology Information Center at dotunge@absfafrica.org.