By Natasha Gilbert

Cotton that uses genes from Bacillus thuringiensis to fight pests is likely to be the first crop approved under Kenya's new rules for genetically modified organisms.

Kenya is expected to become the fourth African country to allow the commercial production of transgenic crops.

The country's National Biosafety Authority is due to publish long-awaited regulations governing the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in open fields for research and commercial purposes. Kenya follows Burkina Faso, Egypt and South Africa in giving commercial production of GM organisms the go-ahead.

Kenya's agricultural researchers say the move could not come soon enough, as the absence of regulations was stalling research.

"Without the regulations, projects can't move forward into unconfined trials where crops are released into the environment and their performance is tested under different climatic and soil conditions," says Simon Gichuki, crop scientist and head of the biotechnology centre at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Nairobi.

Pest-resistant cotton
The first transgenic crop likely to be put forward for approval for open trials and commercial release is Bt cotton — which has added genes from the Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium, making the plant produce toxins that confer resistance to some insect pests.

A Bt cotton variety is being developed for Kenyan farmers at KARI. According to the regulations it will take a minimum of three months to get the green light for environmental release after permission is sought from the authorities.

Next in line will be Bt maize (corn), also being developed by scientists at KARI, says Gichuki. Other crops undergoing confined field trials include virus-resistant sweet potatoes and drought-resistant maize, he says.

Kenya passed a biosaftey law in 2009 which allowed the commercial production of transgenic crops in principle. These regulations set out the details of how the law will be implemented, including rules governing experimental lab work and confined field trials, and the import, export and in-country transport of GM products.

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