PAMACC News - A research team led by UvA plant biologists Harro Bouwmeester and Lemeng Dong has identified a – North-American - maize line that is resistant to Striga, according to a new study published in the leading journal Science. Over the next two years, Bouwmeester will test whether this new knowledge can be used to breed African maize varieties to make them resistant to witchweed. According to the scientists, food security is a growing challenge, especially in light of climate change and increasing food needs around the world. However, a small plant with beautiful purple flowers presents yet another grave challenge to food security: Striga or witchweed. Although beautiful, this plant is called witchweed for a reason. Striga seeds lie dormant in the soil until their germination is triggered by strigolactones, specific plant hormones secreted into the soil by the roots of plants, including maize. After germination, Striga penetrates the root of the maize and drains nutrients and water, like a vampire, sometimes causing entire harvests to fail. Discovery of resistance in maize The research team found a new possible basis for resistance to Striga. Intriguingly, a North American corn line seems to provide the solution to the plague in Africa. In the lab, PhD student Changsheng Li analyzed the strigolactones of a whole set of different maize lines. The one North American line was found to secrete a different mixture of strigolactones into the soil than most of the other lines and was therefore less susceptible to Striga. 'Research into the mechanism behind this subsequently showed that one of the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of strigolactones in this maize line is less active,' explains Bouwmeester. ‘We now want to use that mechanism to introduce this Striga resistance into the maize that grows in Africa.’ Making African maize Striga-resistant Over the next two years, Bouwmeester will use an ERC Proof of Concept grant to collaborate with researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). In the lab and greenhouse at the Amsterdam Science Park and in Mexico, where CIMMYT is based, the researchers will use modern biotechnology to change the strigolactone composition in African maize lines. They will then test these lines together with farmers in Kenya to assess their sensitivity to Striga.

KAKAMEGA, Kenya (PAMACC News) - In the heart of Kakamega town, Eliakim Andaye arrives at Friends Hotel along Mumias Road with a bag full of assorted African leafy vegetables. He is fulfilling his contractual agreement to supply the vegetables on a daily basis, after which he will collect his cheque by the end of the month. “I have been a maize farmer since I was a child, but I never knew that from African leafy vegetables I could earn so much money to buy all the maize and other food items my family needs, but above all, I have been able to pay university fees for my two children, and the last one has just finished his secondary education, preparing to join college any time soon,” said the farmer. Andaye learned about indigenous vegetables from the AGRA led Sustainable Land and Forest Ecosystem Management (SLFM) project that was implemented in collaboration with the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) among others. The project, which was initiated by AGRA in collaboration with UNEP, GEF, KALRO and the County Governments, was aimed at enhancing productivity of smallholder farmers who live around Kakamega and Nandi Forests in order to reduce their encroachment on the forests as a way of conserving the forest biodiversity. On his farm in Shamiloli Microcatchment area, in the outskirts of Kakamega town, Andaye has dedicated one full acre of land to growing of different types of indigenous vegetables not limited to Ethiopian kales (Kanzila), African nightshade (lisutsa/managu), spider plant (tsisaka/saga), Amaranthus (libokoi/terere), Pumpkin leaves (lisebebe), Cowpea (likhubi/kunde) among others. The African leafy vegetables are arguably climate resilient because most of them are indigenous to places where they are being grown. But following the introduction of exotic commercial vegetables such as cabbage and kales, many farmers tended to abandon the indigenous vegetables. However, patrons both in rural and urban areas who care about healthy diets are once again embracing the indigenous vegetables due to their nutritional and medicinal values, hence, high market demand. “At the farm gate, I earn at least Sh1500 per week, but from the supply to hotels, I make at least Sh20,000 per month or more depending on activities at the hotels,” he said noting that whenever there are seminars in the hotels, he supplies more than normal daily quantities. According to John Macharia, the Country Manager at AGRA, Kenyans must go back to their sustainable way of living. “We have to be environment friendly by diversifying our diets to include indigenous foods that relate well with the prevailing environmental conditions, and use methods that are friendly to nature,” he said. Indeed, all farmers who are growing the African leafy vegetables in Western Kenya use compost and farm yard manure, which is different from farming of cabbage and kales that require synthetic fertilisers and frequent chemical spraying for pests and diseases. In Chepketemon Village in Nandi County, Gideon Rono is another farmer who only knew cabbage as the only vegetables that could be produced from his…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Farming of genetically modified crops remain a controversial and emotive issue in many countries across the world. But how important is this technology to smallholder farmers particularly in developing societies? Generally, genetic engineering is done in agriculture to increase crop yields, reduce costs for food or drug production, reduce need for pesticides, enhance nutrient composition and food quality, enhance resistance to pests and disease, increase food security, and for medical benefits to the world's growing population. To produce a GM plant, new DNA (hereditary material) with desired traits is transferred into plant cells. The cells are then grown into plants in a laboratory setup using tissue culture technology. The seeds produced by these plants will then inherit the newly altered DNA, which gives it a completely new genetic makeup that is different from the original material. Though Kenya is targeting different types of GMOs and for different crops with different traits, the most important crop at the moment is the GM maize. On this front, Kenya has been researching on genetically modified maize varieties whose seeds contain an organic pesticide known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). According to scientists, Bt bacteria, which naturally dwells in the soil, makes proteins that are toxic to some insects when eaten. So far, the pesticide has not been proven to be harmful to humans. Bt toxin have therefore been introduced into the maize seeds to make the resulting crop self protective to pests and insects, particularly the stem borer. Elsewhere, in America for example, where farmers grow maize on thousands of acres, scientists have used a different DNA (not the Bt) to develop genetically modifies maize varieties that are tolerant to a herbicide known as roundup. Instead of weeding, the field is sprayed with the herbicide from above, and as a result, the herbicide will kill all other crops/weeds on the field apart from the GM maize. Major concerns However in Kenya, those opposed to the GM technology have expressed concerns about the Bt type used on the existing varieties. “I agree that Bt is a naturally occurring bio-pesticide, but it is important to note that the Bt being used in Kenya is synthetic, and not natural,” pointed out Ann Maina, the National Coordinator for the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA Kenya). Elsewhere, according to a 2012 study published by the United States National Library of Medicine, technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century. However, reads part of the article, “Like all new technologies, they also pose some risks, both known and unknown.” In many countries, controversies and public concern surrounding GM foods and crops commonly focus on human and environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation. The American study points out that that there is need for novel methods and concepts to probe into the compositional, nutritional, toxicological and metabolic differences between GM and conventional…

(This article was produced with support from Rain Forest Journalism Fund in partnership with Pulitzer Centre) LIMBE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) – Renewable energy powered ovens introduced in some fishing communities along the coastal regions of Limbe and Douala in Cameroon, are helping the country redress the challenges of dwindling mangrove forests , mitigate the effects of climate change and fight poverty. Local councils, NGOs and other stakeholders are backing government’s efforts to protect mangroves with the use of alternative energy other than fuel wood for cooking and drying fish by the local communities. In the coastal towns of Batoke, Idenau fish traders are doing brisk business thanks to the installation of solar-powered ovens to dry fish, preventing what used to be massive destruction swathes of mangrove forest for firewood and spoilage from a lack of other preservation methods. Fish smokers in these communities say the renewable energy project has improved on their awareness and knowledge about mangrove protection. “We have come to learn about this new method that permits us dry our fish without much stress with the use of solar ovens and protect our forest,” says Joan Dione, a fish smoker in Idenau whose business is driven by customers from big cities in Cameroon and neighbouring Nigeria and Gabon. The renewable energy powered ovens provided for fish drying to replace wood along the coastal villages of Batoke, Idenau, Down Beach in Limbe is a mangrove restoration programme supported by the Cameroon government, the Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society, CWCS, Cameroon Mangrove and Wetlands Conservation Network and the World Wide Fund for Nature,WWF geared at giving life to not only the populace of the local community, but also assure the environmental future of generations not yet born, conservation experts say. “The alternative energy has gone a long way to not only protect existing mangrove forest and restoring the rich biodiversity of the coastal areas but also improve the livelihood of the community through quality and quantity fish catch” says Timothy Kagonbe, sub-director in charge of local partnership in the ministry of environment and Cameroon focal point in the Inter Governmental Group of Experts on Climate Change. In 2018, Some 25 fishing groups in Idenau and nearby Batoke in the coastal region of Limbe were also offered solar energy fish drying ovens in by the African Resource Group Cameroon, ARG-CAM working in collaboration with the Limbe city council as part of a wider drive to expand renewable energy like solar across the country. The women attest the alternative fish drying methods have really improved on their income. Joan Dione’s daughter Sharon Dione, 23, says in the past, drying a significant quantity of fish of 25 baskets in a day using wood was impossible. “The process of using wood energy was so difficult, emitting smoke that was dangerous to our health and limited our production ,” says Sharon Dione. “The arrival of solar energy and solar drying ovens here has changed everything,” she adds. The Limbe City Mayor, Paul Efome Lisombe Mbole says…