Kisian

KARI and CGIAR scientists are employing biotechnology with success in battling East Coast fever, which is spread by ticks that feed on cattle and carry the disease-causing parasite. Scientists harvest parasites from infected ticks to produce a 'live' vaccine against East Coast fever. An estimated 319,652 cattle have so far been immunized against this cattle killer in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. KARI has also used biotechnology to improve banana production. They are employing 'tissue culture", which involves the production of fresh materials under sterile conditions, to break a cycle of disease that has reduced banana yields in East Africa in recent years. Use of tissue culture banana allows subsistence farmers to earn good incomes from their crops. Commercial production of tissue culture banana, with a capacity of up to 1 million seedlings per year, has started and KARI has distributed more than 10,000 plantlets to self-help and women's groups.