Two Maize Varieties Compete to Combat Climate Change Impacts in Africa

Two new varieties of maize are grown in sub-Saharan Africa which provide hope for 300 million mouths to be fed in the whole continent. Both varieties are drought-tolerant but one is conventionally-bred, while the other better-yielding variety is genetically-engineered. The transgene of this variety came from a common bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, which is found in dirt. B. subtilis and maize have common genes for CspB protein, which aid the organisms to adapt to stress. The transgenic variety is currently undergoing biosafety regulations before it goes out of the market seven years from now.

Sylvester Oikeh, the project manager of Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), is alarmed of the negative impacts of climate change in Africa. Rising temperature, drought, and increased salinity of water are just some of the dreaded effects of climate change in agriculture. The transgenic maize, which was developed by Monsanto, is expected to increase the yield by 30 percent amidst all the stress brought by climate change.

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