Genetics to guide coffee breeding

The vagaries of climate change have made it hard for farmers to carry on with their work, especially here in the tropics. The world is heating up and we face big challenges to sustain our agricultural production.
As a coffee producing country we cannot ignore a January 31, 2017 news release from Genetic Literacy Project (www.geneticliteracy.org) titled: “Coffee renaissance Genetics guiding breeders to make a better cup….

” We could lose out to other coffee producing countries since according to the news release, “Global warming isn’t just about a generally warmer earth, but regions enduring dramatically different climates. Coffee will start doing better in some places and worse in others, as erratic temperatures and weather make life difficult for farmers.”

Genetic modification (GM) is the future of coffee and the scientists have made their findings public. “With this information in hand, producers can begin to more accurately breed coffee varieties, as opposed to traditional selective breeding where you see a trait you like and breed for it.”

Scientists will be able to identify certain genes which indicate a coffee plant’s resistance to a certain pest, drought, or determine that particular plant’s yield, cherry colour, growth pattern, and flavour profile.

This has come about at the time when Hon Jackson Mbaju, MP for Busongora South in Kasese District, Western Uganda, has just appealed to plant breeders to ensure that his people are the first beneficiaries of genetically modified (GM) maize that can withstand drought and resist the maize borer pest.

According to the February 1 2017 Crop Biotech Update, Mbaju made the appeal during a tour of the confined field trial for stem borer resistant GM maize at Mobuku in Kasese District. He also reportedly pledged to support the passing of the Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill to fast-track farmers’ access to GM improved crops with their various benefits.

Uganda’s agriculture is currently hampered by drought and incurable crop diseases that have devastated such crops as cassava, bananas, coffee, sweet potatoes, maize, millet and rice among others. For the country to benefit from GM technology, parliament has to pass the Bill.

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