By Zablon Oyugi
FARMERS in East Africa, like those across the globe, face rising temperatures and more extreme weather conditions associated with climate change. As a result, there is emergence of new pests and diseases affecting crops and this is expected to have major negative impacts on the livelihoods and food security of such farmers.
A majority of the growers rely on informal sources for planting materials due to inadequate clean seeds from qualified and certified sources, exposing them crops to the pests and diseases. This underscores the urgent need for governments and development partners and professionals to confront the challenge of helping the farmers to adapt by putting up infrastructures and mechanisms to not only produce quality seeds for various crops but also those that can withstand extreme weather conditions.
Mr. Ephraim Wachira, Deputy Director at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Plant Quarantine and Bio-security station-Muguga, shares insights on the Roots, Tubers and Bananas – East Africa Germplasm Exchange Laboratory (RTB-EAGEL) project, a collaborative effort with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Potato Center (CIP) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), which is seeking to respond to the challenges.
What is RTB-EAGEL?
The Roots, Tubers and Bananas – East Africa Germplasm Exchange Laboratory (RTB-EAGEL) is a laboratory designed for testing plant diseases, clean diseased plant materials using thermotherapy and meristem excision technologies, multiplying plant germplasm vegetatively using tissue culture technology, and distributing them as required.
How did the idea of the lab come about, and what is the need for it?
The idea originated from the inefficiencies observed in our old Tissue Culture lab, which is currently serving a similar purpose. The existing facility was not initially built as a lab, making it difficult to maintain the required high hygiene levels and lighting conditions. Additionally, the facility is constrained in space, limiting the quantity of clean materials it can produce.
What challenges did the industry face before?
There have been an array of challenges confronting the agricultural industry both external and internal. Externally, there has been limited access to clean starter breeder materials and a dearth of modern, well-equipped labs for virus cleaning and testing posed significant obstacles.
Internally, constraints such as limited lab space, outdated equipment, and non-conducive environmental conditions within the lab exacerbated the situation, resulting in contamination and plant loss. The outdated infrastructure, coupled with poor water quality and frequent power outages, further hindered operations, causing frequent machine breakdowns.
How was the industry coping?
In response to these challenges, the industry resorted to various strategies. These included adopting unreliable methods of multiplication like cuttings and suckers, importation of some RTB crops in form of tissue culture from other countries, recycling seeds, and outsourcing work to other private, uncertified labs. Moreover, there was an uptick in the importation of germplasm to meet demand. However, these temporary measures underscored the pressing need for a more sustainable approach to addressing the industry’s systemic challenges.
How much funding did the RTBEAGEL project receive, and where did it come from?
The project received US$2 million (Ksh260 million) in funding granted by GIZ after KEPHIS, in collaboration with the International Potato Centre (CIP) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), participated in a call for funding.
What stage is the RTB-EAGEL project currently?
The project is progressing well since its launch on April 2024. The contractor moved to the site and the laboratory equipment purchases are also progressing through CIP. A borehole hole as an ancillary service the lab was completed and launched.
When will the project be completed?
The project is expected to be completed by March 2025. By then, we anticipate having a fully equipped tissue culture lab with a diagnostics section, a reverse osmosis water purification unit, and a solar power supply. What will be the lab’s capacity once completed? The lab’s capacity will be determined progressively as operations pick up and awareness of the facility spreads among breeding systems, institutions, and scientists. The annual capacity is projected to be 1.5 million in vitro plantlets per year.
What services will the lab offer?
The lab will offer a range of essential services, including virus and bacteria elimination, disease diagnostics, and the conservation of germplasm. Additionally, the lab will focus on capacity building and training for farmers and tissue culture propagators, ensuring that they are well-equipped with the latest techniques and knowledge for maintaining healthy crops.
Are there similar labs elsewhere on the continent?
Yes, there is a similar lab at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria. This lab also plays a pivotal role in supporting agricultural research and development in Africa.
What diseases have been problematic to roots, tubers, and banana planting materials?
Various diseases have significantly impacted the productivity of roots, tubers, and banana crops though some of them are not yet in Kenya.
For sweet potatoes, viruses such as Begomoviruses, SPCV, SPFMV, and SPVD, as well as fungal infections like Fusarium wilt and bacterial issues like Erwinia chrysanthemi, pose significant threats. Cassava crops are plagued by viruses such as cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak virus disease (CBSV), alongside bacterial diseases caused by Xanthomonas spp. and fungal diseases like cassava anthracnose disease. Bananas suffer from viral infections like banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), banana bract virus, and banana streak virus, bacterial diseases such as Banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW), and fungal threats like Fusarium Oxysporum TR4 and Cigar end rot. Yams are susceptible to viruses such as YMV (yam mosaic virus), bacterial soft rot, and fungal infections like Fusarium wilt.
Potatoes face a range of viral diseases, including leaf roll virus, mosaic virus, potato virus S (PVS), PVY, PVM, and PLRV. They are also affected by bacterial diseases like soft rot caused by Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp., as well as bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacea.
Currently, how long does it take to test and release a new planting variety and to what time will the lab cut the waiting period?
It currently takes between 2 to 3 years to test and release new varieties depending on the crop and variety. The new germplasm lab is expected to cut this time for root, tubers and banana crops by providing breeders with a wide range of varieties that may already have been released in other East African or Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) countries. To release such varieties only one year of testing is required. Further it assists the breeders by providing clean planting materials, so no time is wasted repeating trials due to diseases.
What does this cutting-edge lab mean for farmers and the sector?
To the farmer, the lab means availability of clean planting materials of vegetatively propagated root, tubers and banana crops. It also means availability of more varieties of drought-tolerant varieties that are climate resilient. How much do you think it will cost a farmer to buy planting materials whose tests have been done in the lab as compared to ordinary nurseries.
Will it be affordable and convenient for growers?
The lab will make our processes more efficient therefore propagators can access more disease-free planting materials. This is likely to make the materials more readily available and probably at a lower cost. Currently we sell disease-free sweet potato cuttings, for example, at KShs10 per piece and cassava cuttings at KShs27 a piece.
Your final words?
Currently, the existing Plant Quarantine and Bio-security station at KEPHIS Muguga is the plant health reference laboratory for COMESA. This widens the impact area for the new lab as well as the expected source of new planting materials and varieties.