Rodolfo Quevenco
Through IAEA partnerships, scientists and farmers pioneer hardier,
healthier wheat
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 susceptability 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.
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