Kanyangala Nkhoma, a 60-year-old peasant farmer from Kuliyani Village in Lilongwe, Malawi, is facing yet another year of life-threatening hunger. Despite planting maize, the staple grain of Malawi, Nkhoma’s crops were devastated by prolonged dry spells that hit the region between January and February 2024. This has left him feeling hopeless and helpless as he struggles to provide for his family.
The impact of the drought is not limited to Nkhoma alone. In districts like Nsanje and Chikwawa, thousands of maize fields have withered, and even drought-resistant varieties have fallen victim to pests, leaving smallholder farmers in despair. In Malawi, like many African countries, farmers heavily rely on rainfall for their crops, making them vulnerable to even short-term droughts, especially during critical stages of crop development.
The drought has also created a perfect environment for pests like grasshoppers, caterpillars, and fall armyworms to thrive, further exacerbating the challenges faced by farmers. Dr. Kingdom Kwapata, a biotechnology research scientist at LUANAR, explained that increased drought conditions make it easier for pests to breed and spread, leading to further crop damage.
To address these challenges, LUANAR has begun trials on biotech (BT) maize at its Bunda Campus with support from the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) and Open Forum for Agriculture Biotechnology (OFAB). Professor Moses Maliro, an expert in plant breeding and genetics, believes that genetically modified crops like BT maize offer a solution to food security problems in Malawi. He emphasized the importance of adopting biotechnology to combat issues like drought and pests.
The trials at Bunda have shown promising results, with BT maize demonstrating resistance to fall armyworms and other pests. This could potentially increase yields for farmers and improve food security in the country. While it may take a few years before BT maize seeds are available on the market, the potential benefits for farmers like Nkhoma are significant.
Despite some concerns about GM technologies, experts like Vitumbiko Chinoko from OFAB assure that GM crops are safe for human consumption and have been successfully used in other countries to address food insecurity. Chinoko believes that embracing modern technologies like GMOs is crucial for improving food security and nutrition in Africa.
For farmers like Nkhoma, GM maize could be the solution they have been waiting for to combat hunger and adapt to changing climate conditions. With the promise of increased yields and improved resilience to pests and drought, GM technologies offer hope for a brighter future for smallholder farmers in Malawi.