Daily Nation, 19 May 2010

The ammonia-like smell and slimy texture of soybeans fermented with bacteria is a combination that is craved by many Japanese, as this dish, known as natto, is said to nourish the brain, prevent high blood pressure and to keep the skin young.

It is said hungry Japanese warriors once resorted to eating rotten soybeans when, exhausted from war, they found that the cooked soybeans they had wrapped in straws and brought as battle rations had gone bad. With time, natto became a staple in the breakfast diet of millions of Japanese people.

While many in Africa may find the dish unpalatable, years of biotechnology research now indicate that the natto bacterium may be key to one of Africa’s biggest problem – food insecurity.

Research has shown that the natto bacterium known as Bacillus subtilis has a gene that helps plants to cope with the stress of drought. The beneficial gene was discovered by a leading biotechnology firm Monsanto, and in a partnership of private and public players, the company has licensed it to national institutions in five countries to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties.

The partners are supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in a project known as Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) that is being carried out in South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Researchers from the five countries met in Johannesburg last week where they announced that the first varieties of the maize, developed from conventional breeding technology, are likely to be released in two years’ time.

The project is coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a non-profit institution mandated to look for and deliver privately-owned technologies to smallholders African farmers without royalties. South Africa has already had open trials for the genetically-modified variety, but regulatory formalities in the other countries have still to be completed for field trials.

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