By Milliam Murigi
Kenya has approved field trials for a gene-edited banana designed to resist Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), a devastating bacterial disease that has severely affected banana production across East Africa.
The approval by the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) clears the way for researchers from International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) to begin confined field trials aimed at assessing the banana’s resistance and performance under local farming conditions.
“This is the first home-grown gene-edited crop to be approved in Kenya as a conventional product, not classified as a genetically modified organism (GMO), marking a significant milestone in the country’s agricultural biotechnology landscape, ” said Dr Leena Tripathi, Eastern Africa Hub Director and Principal Investigator leading the research.
BXW is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. The disease attacks banana and plantain crops by blocking water movement within the plant, causing leaves to wilt and dry up. Infected fruits ripen prematurely, become discoloured, and are unfit for consumption or sale. Eventually, the entire plant dies.
The disease spreads rapidly through infected planting materials, contaminated farm tools, insects visiting banana flowers, and movement of infected plant parts. Once established in a farm, BXW can wipe out entire plantations if strict control measures are not followed.
Farmers currently manage the disease through labour -intensive practices such as uprooting infected plants, disinfecting farm tools, removing male buds, and using clean planting materials. Researchers say these measures are costly and difficult for many smallholder farmers to sustain consistently.
” The new gene-edited banana could offer a long-term and more affordable solution to the disease challenge,” she added.
According to researchers at IITA, the banana was developed using genome-editing technology that modifies the plant’s existing genes to improve resistance without introducing foreign DNA. Because the crop does not contain genes from another organism, Kenya’s biosafety regulator determined that it does not fall under the category of a genetically modified organism.
“This approval marks a major milestone in efforts to strengthen food security and protect banana farmers from devastating crop diseases. The field trials will generate data on the banana’s resistance, yield performance, and adaptability before any future release to farmers is considered,” added Dr.Tripathi.
Kenya has increasingly emerged as a regional leader in agricultural biotechnology and genome-editing research. The country has previously approved biotechnology-related research involving crops such as maize, cotton, and cassava as part of broader efforts to address pests, diseases, and climate-related challenges affecting food production.
