In Embu and Kirinyaga counties, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) cotton is the most prized arrival since sliced bread.

Daniel Magondu is one of the farmers who decided to try it, and his face lights up when the cameras roll.

“We used to spray 12 times in a year. It is now three times, at most four times. One crop produced ten balls. You see this one?” He pushes a hand beneath leaves to expose bulging buds. “It could give you 200.”

We have to ascertain he is not being overenthusiastic. The other farmers in the field, on this study tour with early career professionals, have even better numbers.

Joseph Nyaga, whose three-acre sprawl of the crop has the finesse of a model farm, pays glowing tribute to the Bt cotton.

“One acre of the old one gave 300 kilos of cotton. Now for every acre, I get one and a half tonnes.” That is five times the yield, and the farmers just won’t give it up.

Scientists say the successful adoption of agricultural biotechnology will be a key factor in unlocking Kenya’s full agricultural potential, necessary in the face of climate change, rapidly increasing population, and shrinking arable lands.

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