The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has inaugurated a new Ksh 1.3 billion ($1m) research facility which is expected to boost wheat production in the country.
The rust research green house facility in Njoro, Nakuru County which has been established in partnership with the the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will enhance screening of wheat varieties to help establish the latest diseases according to CIMMYT Director General Dr. Bram Hovartz.
“What we are doing is to accelerate and improve the capacity of CIMMYT and KALRO collaboration around wheat. We have screening facilities where we can test our wheat varieties for the latest diseases, so that farmers can receive wheat seed that is resistant to diseases,” said Hovartz.
The facility also boasts of a cold room to store seeds and facilitate the multiplication process.
“There is multiple challenges because of climate change, accelerated diseases, but also because of soil degradation. But today what I actually wanted to highlight is there’s a lot of hope. You are one of the spots in the world where we test the wheat varieties for new diseases,” he stated.
KALRO Deputy Director (Crops) Dr. Felister Makini lauded the KALRO- CIMMYT partnership, saying it gears towards escalating wheat production in the country.
“The capacity that they are building, both in terms of now the infrastructure, and even the scientists, is very impressive, and this is going to go a long way in increasing the production of wheat in our country,” she stated.
She said although Kenya produces wheat, 80pc of the product is imported to enable the industry meet the required quantity.
“As you are aware, we are importing almost 80pc of our wheat into the country, so we are looking at how we can increase productivity, especially in this day and age where climate change is a serious problem. Therefore these facilities are going to really help us increase our capacity”, she explained.
Dr. Makini said the facility is vital.” As we refine and accelerate the variety, development and identification of these diseases, having a foresight on pests and diseases, is going to help impact positively in terms of identifying lines or varieties that actually can be resistant”, she added.
The Deputy Director said KALRO has developed new varieties which have been released and urged wheat farmers to embrace the new varieties in order to improve production to meet local demand.
“If you keep on using and recycling the same seed, the disease pressure will increase. It is likely the farmer will have even more diseased crop, which will reduce the yields. Our advice to farmers has been, at most, to use the seeds for two or three seasons. But after that, go for the certified seeds. And that is why here in Njoro, we are making great efforts to produce more seeds, especially of these new varieties”, she emphasized.
Dr. Makini said KALRO has set up a Mkulima shop to enable farmers to buy the seed that is certified.
She further allayed fears of genetically modified seeds, clarifying that the wheat disease outbreaks were as a result of traditional breeding.
“There is no GMO here yet. So, even if you see that the crops are dying, or you see that the crops have diseases, it is not because of GMO. It is because of the traditional breeding,” she reiterated.
CIMMYT Principal Scientist, Wheat Improvement Lead, East Africa Dr. Sridhar Bhavani said through research, CIMMYT has developed at least 250 varieties in the past 15 years.
“A lot of the varieties that have been released in the last 15 years. We have already released over 250 odd varieties. And we are staying ahead of the game by releasing varieties even before the pathogen moves to cause devastating diseases”, Dr. Bhavani noted.
He said through screening operations, CIMMYT has over the last decade, tested over 700,000 wheat accessions from all over the world.
The Principal Scientist said the rust research facility will also serve as a breeding hub to enrich resistance and build future resilience for pests and diseases for newer varieties that is to be deployed not only in Kenya, but the rest of Africa as well.
Dr. Bhavani said the the breeding products they develop at the Njoro facility will be exchanged through a partnership called as Wheat Improvement Network for Africa, wherein over 16 countries will receive the high-yielding varieties combining disease resistance and also climate resilience to be tested, advanced and deployed in other target environments.
He stated the partnership was further targeting to assist smallholder farmers increase their yields by educating them not only on how to apply fungicides, but also make it profitable for them through conventional breeding.
“So, current varieties can have a yield potential anywhere between 6 to 8 tonnes per hectare, which is almost 50 percent increase or doubling of what it used to be there with the older varieties,” Dr. Bhavani stated.
