Biotech key to improved Agro productivity—govt
Malawi is lagging behind in the adoption of agricultural biotechnology which is key to boosting productivity, a situation experts say is denying the country socio-economic and sustainable development.
National Commission for Science and Technology acting director of research Lyson Kampira said yesterday in Blantyre during an engagement with journalists on biotechnology activities in Malawi.
He said that todate, Malawi has only confirmed use of ball worm resistant cotton, also known as GM Cotton, but is still at trial with most crops, which could materialise after three years.
Said Kampila: “We have been able to commercialise BT Cotton and from this, we have seen increased yields from producing 500 kilogrammes [kg] per hectare to 1 400 kg per hectare, translating to increased incomes.
“However, in Africa, we are still lagging behind, but we are still at par with Mozambique and Kenya on trial level. If we were to fully adopt agriculture biotechnology, our export market could also increase.”
Data presented at the workshop shows that trials for BT Cowpeas and virus-resistant banana and plantains have been on hold while trials for fall army worms are ongoing.
Fall army worms, which were first detected in West and Central Africa in 2016, forced Malawi to declare a State of Disaster in 20 out of 28 districts in 2017 due to destruction of crops.
The worms, which feed on more than 80 cereals, including maize and rice and can fly 100 kilometres in a day, cause significant maize damage and has high potential to affect food security.
According to Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) professor of plant breeding James Bokosi, fall army worms causes $253 million (about K443 billion) worth of damage per annum to maize and is exacerbated by drought conditions.
In his presentation on the status of biotechnology in Malawi, he said Luanar submitted an application to conduct maize trials against leaf eating insects and herbicide tolerance and the permit has just been granted.
He, however, said although Malawi has a conducive policy and regulatory environment for biotechnology to thrive, financial challenges and weak linkages still remain.
He said: “Malawi is facing low productivity which is contrary to aspiration of Malawi 2063 [MW2063] of improving agriculture productivity and commercialisation. This has led to food insecurity.
“Currently, smallholder farmers produce two tonnes per hectare instead of 10 tonnes. This is happening at a time 40 percent of our soil is in poor health, causing the economy to lose 2.3 million metric tonnes of maize as a result.”
Bokosi said this is the reason the country has to heavily invest in biotechnology.
The Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development plan, and National Commission for Science and Technology policies support biotechnology while on the regulatory front, Malawi has the Biosafety Act (2002) and Biosafety Regulation (2007).
