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Ouya, D.

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Ouya
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Ouya, D.

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    Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA II) "Delivering products to Farmers": (2004-2008): fifth stakeholders meeting
    (KARI, 2005) Mugo, S.N.; Gichuki, S.T.; Poland, D.; Ouya, D.; De Groote, H.; Mulaa, M.
    The IRMA project is aimed at producing stem borer resistant and locally adapted maize for various Kenyan agro-ecological zones using conventional and biotechnology mediated methods, especially Bt technology. Transgenic maize containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a focal point of the project, prompting project organizers to emphasize public involvement and awareness through events such as the Stakeholders Meeting. The IRMA project was publicly launched on March 3, 2000 with the convening of the first Stakeholders Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. A stakeholder meeting is held every year leading to this fifth meeting held on 9 December 2004. The stakeholders have included: farmers' associations, women's groups, religious organizations, seed producers, regulatory agencies, NGOs, the media, consumer associations, food processors, project scientists from KARl, CIMMYT and participating and potentials donors. The specific objectives of the Stakeholders' Meeting have variously been to: 1. Introduce the IRMA project to stakeholders, 2. Create awareness on the economic importance of stem borers in Kenyan agriculture, 3. Create awareness on the control options for stem borers, 4. Solicit responses from stakeholders on the need and processes of developing insect resistant maize for Kenya 5. Inform the stakeholders on the progress as well as to review the progress, 6. Solicit feedback for the project scientists to direct their way forward 7. Visit the biosafety facilities that IRMA has developed at the KARl Biotechnology Center at NARL including the biosafety greenhouse complex and the biosafety levei II laboratory. In all these meetings, the stakeholders have expressed the need to use sound management strategies and to follow the national regulations strictly during introduction and testing of Bt genes in the country. The view shared by nearly all was that we could only evaluate Bt genes if they are in the country. Bt maize was viewed as having high chances of closing the wide and increasing food deficit in Kenya. During the more recent stakeholders meetings, participants expressed satisfaction with the progress of the project and suggested greater emphasis on training. The fifth stakeholders' meeting attracted 93 participants from 34 institutions that were categorized into eight groups. This was almost double the participation in 2003 by institutions as well as total number of participants.
    Publication
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    Sixth Stakeholders Meeting: Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA II) Project
    (KARI, 2006) Mugo, S.N.; Poland, D.; Mulaa, M.; Ouya, D.; Gichuki, S.T.
    The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project is a joint venture between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), with financial support from the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) and the Rockefeller Foundation (RF). The project is a response to the need to feed Africa’s rapidly increasing population by reducing the damage caused by the continent’s major insect pest of maize, the stem borer. IRMA is being implemented initially in Kenya, but the results and experiences gained through the project will be made available to other African countries. The overarching goals of the project are to develop insect resistant maize varieties for the major Kenyan maize-growing environments, and to establish procedures to provide insect resistant maize to resource-poor farmers in Kenya. During the implementation of the IRMA project, relevant technologies will be transferred to KARI and continuously evaluated. For effectiveness and efficiency in its functions, the IRMA Project phase II has ten themes as listed below: 1. Bt maize event analysis, Bt source line development, and human health safety assessment. 2. Development of conventional and Bt products, and compositional analysis. 3. Environmental impact assessment. 4. Insect resistance management and contingency plans. 5. Regulatory Issues. 6. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and technology licensing. 7. Seed Production. 8. Market assessment and analysis. 9. Economic impact assessment. 10. Communication / promotion, training & Administration Research activities in the IRMA project started in August 1999, and the project was publicly launched at the first Stakeholders Meeting, held in March 2000. Review and Planning meetings and Steering Committee meetings have been held annually, and six stakeholder meetings have been held once every year during the course of the project. These meetings enable all involved to be informed of progress and to contribute to the direction the project should take. All of these meetings as well as progress are well documented in publications and a quarterly newsletter, which allows the lessons and experiences gained in Kenya to be shared with other African countries.
    Publication
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    Experiences in effective communication on transgenic technology in Africa - the case of the insect resistant maize for Africa (IRMA) project
    (Academic Journals, 2011) Wangalachi, A.; Poland, D.; Mugo, S.N.; Gichuki, S.T.; Ouya, D.; Kimani, G.; Rabar, J.
    The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) Project, aimed to improve food security through developing and deploying locally adapted stem borer resistant maize varieties using both conventional and biotechnology mediated methods, especially Bt technology. This technology uses a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to create transgenic maize varieties. Transgenic technologies have been a controversial and emotive topic in recent years, and the IRMA project was launched against this backdrop. To ensure widespread acceptance of the IRMA project and its Bt technology, the project carefully planned and implemented its communication and public awareness strategy. Following its public launch in March 2000, the project promoted an open communication environment and continuously engaged with stakeholders to update them on progress. The project achieved this through targeted and diverse communications products such as media articles and broadcast news pieces, newsletters, websites, videos and reports. To complement these, the project conducted annual stakeholders' meetings, and specialized training for frontline project staff and collaborators, especially extension agents. This paper reviews the IRMA Project's public awareness and communication strategy and analyzes its effectiveness.
    Publication