Biotech lab at LUANAR
Malawi, being an agro-based economy, invests billions of Kwacha into the agricultural sector to boost productivity.
But in recent years, climate change has made the weather more unpredictable — with floods and droughts threatening harvests and food security.
Globally, Biotechnology in the agriculture sector has been the answer to improving crop yields. Countries such as Mozambique and South Africa have already adopted it, while developed countries like the United States of America are already advanced in their usage. In Malawi, biotechnology has only been used more widely in the cotton industry.
For farmers like Edson Kapulula, a small-scale cotton grower from Kasinje in Ntcheu District, the benefits are clear for all to see. Since adopting BT Cotton, a genetically modified seed variety developed by the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), he has seen a notable increase in his yields.
LUANAR began producing BT Cotton in 2021, which is contributing to improved cotton production in the country. BT, short for Bacillus thuringiensis, protects cotton crops from bollworm—a major pest.
Kapulula recalls that when he began farming with his parents in 2000, they used the Makoka cotton seed variety, which was highly vulnerable to pests and often produced poor yields. Things changed in 2021 when agricultural extension workers in the district introduced him and 50 other farmers to BT Cotton seed.
“When I used Makoka cotton variety, it gave me about 4 bells of cotton per acre but now the BT cotton of hybrid GMO produces 8 Bells of cotton lint,” he said. “It is a high yielding variety and resilient to pest attacks.”
The high yields have changed his livelihood. From his income, Kapulala has managed to build an iron-roofed house, invest in livestock, and feed his family on a daily basis. He also says he can now afford to send his children to school.
Abel Sefasi, Senior lecturer of Biotechnology at LUANAR, says they meet with other universities such as the University of Malawi, Malawi University of Science and Technology and Mzuzu University to enhance biotechnology in agriculture in the country.
“The only challenge is that we do not have up to date laboratories and infrastructure to effectively carry out trials as other countries are doing,” said Sefasi.
According to the academician, significant progress has been made through rigorous testing at LUANAR. He says over the years, trials on cotton have been successfully conducted, to the point of full commercialisation and farmers in various districts are now cultivating high-performing cotton varieties born from these efforts.
Echoing Kapulula’s experience is fellow farmer Julius Kambalame, a father of six from Kamwetsa Village, Traditional Authority Ganya in Ntcheu.
“I started farming with my parents in the 1990s, and when I married in 2003, I continued growing cotton as my main source of income,” he explained. “But the local varieties only produced about 20 to 30 bolls per tree. With the hybrid cotton, I now get more than a thousand bolls from a single plant.”
Expanding to maize
Having succeeded with BT Cotton, LUANAR is now testing genetically modified maize varieties to resist pests such as the fall army worm. Currently, the university is in its second season of trials on GM maize.
Director of Research, Science and Technology Development at the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), Lyson Kampira, explained that NCST works with universities to establish biotechnology and biosafety frameworks for genetically modified crops in Malawi.
“Biotechnology remains a relatively new discipline in the country, and public understanding is still limited, with some skepticism in communities,” he said. “However, through a strong regulatory framework, NCST ensures that every LUANAR trial is safe, compliant, and scientifically sound.”
Some of the by-products of biotechnology in use in Malawi are dairy products such as Chambiko and Yoghurt.
Even though biotechnology is still in the nascent stages in the country, it aligns with aspirations of the Malawi through MIP-1 and MW 2063, which recognises the role of science, technology and innovation, in attainment of three key pillars: Agriculture Productivity and Commercialisation, Industrialisation and Urbanisation for creation of an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.
By Sothine Ndazi
