CIP ndi Crop Trust Yayambitsa Gawo Latsopano la BOLD ku Kenya, Lolunjika pa Mitundu ya Mbatata Yolimbana ndi Nyengo

Bungwe la International Potato Center (CIP) ndi Crop Trust ayambitsa gawo latsopano la pulojekiti ya BOLD ku Kenya, cholinga chake ndi kubzala mitundu ya mbatata yokhala ndi makhalidwe akuthengo a ku Andean komanso kulimbitsa machitidwe a mbewu ku East Africa konse.

Gawo la mbatata ku Kenya — lomwe ndi mbewu yachiwiri yofunika kwambiri mdziko muno pambuyo pa chimanga, lomwe limathandiza anthu 3.3 miliyoni pantchito komanso kupereka ndalama zokwana US$324 miliyoni pachaka ku chuma — likupeza chitetezo chothandizidwa ndi kafukufuku ku mavuto a nyengo. International Potato Center (CIP) ndi Crop Trust ayambitsa gawo latsopano la pulojekiti ya Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (BOLD) ku Kenya, cholinga chake ndi kupanga mitundu ya mbatata pogwiritsa ntchito majini ochokera kwa achibale akuthengo ochokera ku Andes pomwe akulimbitsa machitidwe a mbewu ku East Africa konse.

Chiwopsezocho chimawerengedwa. Kukwera kwa kutentha, mvula yosayembekezereka, tizilombo ndi matenda zikuopseza kulima m'madera okwera a Kenya. Kuwonongeka kwa nyengo yochedwa kokha kumayambitsa pafupifupi gawo limodzi mwa magawo atatu a kutayika kwa zokolola za mbatata padziko lonse lapansi, pomwe tizilombo toyambitsa matenda a mbatata tingachepetse zokolola ndi 80% - malo ophera tizilombo omwe amawononga ndalama zoposa US$127 miliyoni pachaka ku Kenya, malinga ndi ziwerengero zomwe zatchulidwa mu chilengezo cha polojekitiyi.

Zipangizo 54 zili munjira. Pogwiritsa ntchito kafukufuku wakale, pulojekitiyi ipititsa patsogolo zinthu 54 zoberekera mbatata zomwe zili ndi makhalidwe ochokera kwa achibale akuthengo. Ofufuza adzagwiritsa ntchito zida za genomic, kuyesa malo osiyanasiyana komanso kutenga nawo mbali kwa alimi kuti azindikire mitundu yosiyanasiyana yolimbana ndi bowa lakumapeto ndi ma potato cyst nematodes omwe amapirira kutentha komanso makhalidwe omwe angagulitsidwe. Alimi pakati pa 500 ndi 1,000 - oposa theka la iwo ndi akazi - atenga nawo mbali mwachindunji mu mayeso ndi ziwonetsero, ndipo alimi ena afikiridwa kudzera mu ntchito zowonjezera. Cholinga cha polojekitiyi ndi kutulutsa mtundu umodzi wokwera wa mbatata ku Kenya, ndipo kudzera mu East African Potato Breeding Network, zinthu zoberekera zidzakhalaponso kuti ziyesedwe ku Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania ndi mayiko ena aku Africa.

Mbeu zimamera pamodzi. Kubereketsa mbewu ndi theka lokha la kapangidwe kake. Bungwe la Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) lithandizira chitukuko cha mitundu yosiyanasiyana ya mbewu, pomwe Seed Potato Complex ya Agricultural Development Corporation ku Molo, Nakuru County, idzakhala malo oyambira mbewu zoyambira, kulumikizana ndi ochulukitsa mbewu ndi mabizinesi otsogozedwa ndi achinyamata kuti akonze kupezeka kwa mbewu komanso mwayi wopeza msika. Obereketsa, oyang'anira, mabungwe ofufuza, alimi ndi makampani achinsinsi ayenera kugwirizana kuti atseke kusiyana pakati pa chitukuko cha mitundu yosiyanasiyana ndi ulimi wamalonda.

Makolo otsimikizika. Ntchitoyi ikuchokera pa kafukufuku wakale wa Crop Trust ndi CIP ku Peru womwe unathandizira kupanga mitundu iwiri ya zomera zomwe sizimadwala matenda a mphesa, CIP-Matilde ndi CIP-Asiryq, zomwe tsopano zimalimidwa ndi alimi am'deralo. "Kupeza makhalidwe abwino ndi chiyambi chabe," akutero Dr Thiago Mendes, wofufuza wamkulu wa BOLD ku CIP. Kuyesa kwa ku Kenya kudzakhala ngati kukana kwa genebank komwe kumachokera ku genebank kumapulumuka kukhudzana ndi machitidwe a mbewu aku East Africa - komwe mphamvu yochulukitsa, osati majini, nthawi zambiri imakhala vuto.

Chifukwa chiyani East Africa ikuyang'ana. Kenya ndi msika wa mbatata zoyambira m'chigawochi, ndipo kapangidwe ka pulojekitiyi — kutulutsidwa kamodzi mdziko lonse kuphatikiza kuyesa kwa netiweki yonse m'maiko asanu — kwapangidwa kuti kugwiritsidwe ntchito pofalitsa. Ngati zipangizo 54zi zikupereka ngakhale zochepa zomwe zingagwiritsidwe ntchito paulimi, zomwe sizingagwere m'mitsempha, East African Potato Breeding Network imapatsa dziko lililonse lomwe lili membala njira yachidule yopitira zaka khumi za ntchito yobereketsa payekha. Kwa makampani opanga mbewu ndi ochulukitsa, Molo hub ndiye chinthu chofunikira kuyang'aniridwa: mphamvu ya mbewu ya mibadwo yoyambirira ndiyo yomwe imasintha mtundu wa mbewu zomwe zatulutsidwa kukhala matumba omwe alimi angagule.

Sources: FreshPlaza; NKHANI.