Nairobi, Kenya
April 30, 2008Source:
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA)
Hot and barren, Kenya´s dry lands
have long been unfit for agriculture, at best merely a grazing
area for wild animals and livestock.
Today, the landscape is more picturesque and productive, lined
with golden stalks of wheat yielding precious grain for Kenya´s
farms and families. The wheat is a new variety, one that is high
yielding and resistant to drought. As a result, small farming
families are realizing harvests on farmlands once considered too
poor to cultivate, to the country´s social and economic benefit.
The progress is life-saving at a time when wheat crops in Kenya
and other African countries are plagued by a virulent new strain
of fungus called "wheat rust" that threatens the region´s
farmlands.
"The progress is crucial. This wheat is literally Kenya´s bread
of life," says Martin Dyre, whose family owns one of Kenya´s
largest wheat plantations. "The diet of this country is changing
more and more towards wheat-based products, so the demand for
wheat is growing."
Scientists and crop researchers at Kenya´s Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI) developed the new wheat seeds over the past
decade. Through a process called "mutation plant breeding", they
applied radiation-based techniques to modify crop
characteristics and traits. Kenya worked closely with the IAEA,
through its technical cooperation arm and a regional programme
called AFRA (African Co-operative Agreement for Research,
Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and
Technology). In August 2008, through its Joint Division with the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the IAEA will host an
International Conference on Plant Breeding that takes stock of
the latest developments in Kenya and other countries.
KARI is the country´s premier institution for agricultural
research and technology transfer. Its plant breeders
successfully released their first mutant wheat variety in 2001.
Called Njoro-BW1, it was bred to be tolerant to drought and use
limited rainfall efficiently. Key side benefits include a
moderate resistance to wheat rust; high yields, with grains
valued for flour production of good baking quality.
Njoro-BW1 today is cultivated on more than 10,000 hectares in
Narok, Nalvasha, Katumani and Mogotio. Its popularity among
Kenyan wheat farmers is increasing steadily, so much so that
KARI´s seed unit can barely keep up with farmer´s demand.
Professor Miriam Kinyua, now an Associate Professor at Moi
University and KARI´s former Chief Plant Breeder and Center
Director, is largely credited for developing Kenya´s mutant
wheat varieties.
"Njoro-BW1 came out as a hit variety", she recalls. "The farmers
liked it from the start. In dry areas, they can expect to
harvest up to 20 bags an acre. It is now our most popular wheat
variety for the drylands".
Peter Njau, KARI´s chief plant breeder, says Njoro-BW1´s value
goes beyond drylands.
"Although we developed the Njoro-BW1 variety for dry lowlands,
it is being widely adapted in other areas", he says. Farmers
have reported successfully growing the wheat in the highlands
and even in the acidic soils of the northern rift, where it is
outperforming other wheat varieties developed for those
conditions.
Kenya´s plant breeders soon will release a second mutant wheat
variety, code-named DH4, which shares most of the same good
qualities of Njoro-BW1.
"DH4 is high-yielding, and has a high grain quality. It is also
hard and red, qualities that farmers ask for because of its high
market value," Professor Kinyua explains. Hard red grains
distinguish as some of the world´s best wheat, high in protein
and valued for making flour used for baking high-quality breads.
All Bread Does Not Bake Equal
One of KARI´s objectives is to develop good quality wheat bread
for the country´s consumers, says Mr. Njau. The institute has
conducted a comparison study of the different wheat varieties
available in Kenya for their quality of bread, including
Njoro-BW1 and the new DH4 variety.
Among varieties tested, Njoro-BW1 came out on top in flour
extraction. DH4 also scored high in bread quality overall.
"You can tell the quality of bread just by pressing it", Mr.
Njau illustrates. "If you press good bread, it just swells back.
If it´s bad, it just sinks."
The tests showed that mutant wheat varieties produce better
bread, outperforming even the parent strain in quality and
yield.
Multiplying the Seed
With every new crop variety comes the challenge of stocking up
on seed to meet expected demand. For KARI, the biggest issue
most often is availability of land. KARI has its own fields but
they are not large enough to meet farming needs, especially for
a high-demand variety like Njoro-BW1.
Fortunately, for Kenya´s plant breeders, the country´s Cereal
Growers Association (CGA), has provided needed land and support
particularly in the area of seed multiplication. In the
highlands of Timau, by the northern slopes of Mount Kenya,
several hectares of prime wheat land are being dedicated for
field trials for future plantings of DH4.
In November 2007, DH4 was being grown on a small scale in trials
on some 40 hectares of farmland.
"These are the straw qualities wheat farmers are looking for",
says Martin Dyre as he cuts a length of leaf from one of the
plants. His family owns the vast Kisima Farm in Timau, Kenya;
and he occupies a seat on the CGA Board. Kisima Farms has
provided land and logistical support to Professor Kinyua and her
team at KARI, particularly in times when resources were scarce
to help ensure continuity of research and trials.
"We are happy to continue to support plant breeding activities
of this kind," he says. "Good wheat is, in the end, good for all
of us."
Lower down at the Wangu Embori Farm, Crop Supervisor Steven
Irungu points to 70 hectares being planted with the Njoro-BW1
seeds. He is impressed about the variety´s high yield and plans
to increase the acreage. The Wangu Embori Farm is another farm
contracted by KARI for seed multiplication.
Wheat for Food Security
Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Kenya, after
maize. But the country produces just a third and has to import
two-thirds of its annual wheat demand, now at vastly higher
prices. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) reported that as of January 2008, the global prices of
wheat were 83% higher than they were a year ago.
Alongside market forces stands the wheat rust plague that
threatens Kenya and other countries. New crop varieties, such as
wheat that is more resistant to drought conditions or to the
rust fungus, are vital for Kenya´s food security.
Professor Miriam Kinyua believes mutation techniques are among
the best options for Kenya to develop better wheat varieties and
other vegetatively propagated crops.
"The fact that we can link up with the IAEA is a plus both for
Kenya and for African scientific research," she says.
Worldwide, issues of food supply and availability are
intensifying in their urgency, says IAEA Director General
Mohamed ElBaradei.
"Food security is among the most challenging problems facing
poor countries," he says. "Boosting agricultural production
requires enhanced crop varieties, effective pest control
measures, increased soil fertility and better soil and water
management."
Under national and regional projects, the IAEA helps local
scientists and farmers with nuclear techniques that support each
of these goals, working through channels of technical
cooperation as well as scientific research of the Vienna-based
Joint FAO/IAEA Division. In the past five years, in Africa
alone, six new varieties of crops have been officially released
- plants with higher yield, improved nutrition, and more hardy
characteristics for harsh environments. This includes new
varieties of sesame in Egypt, cassava in Ghana, wheat in Kenya,
banana in Sudan and finger millet and cotton in Zambia.
The idea is not only to boost food production, Dr. ElBaradei
says, but also to sustain it through greener, more productive
fields.
Rodolfo Quevenco, IAEA Division of Public Information |
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