Nakuru: Agriculture experts in partnership with Egerton University have introduced a new peanut seed variety named ‘Mwangaza’, which is set to improve crop production and boost incomes for farmers across Kenya. The new medium red variety takes four to five months to mature and is versatile in its applications, including food production, oil manufacturing, biofuels, and animal feeds.
According to Kenya News Agency, Principal Researcher Professor Paul Kimurto highlighted that peanut production in regions like Western Kenya, Nyanza, parts of the Rift Valley, and select zones in Eastern and Coastal regions had declined due to climate change and increased tropical diseases and pests. The ‘Mwangaza’ seed variety, however, presents a solution by offering resistance to these challenges and producing lower aflatoxin levels after harvest.
Developed by Egerton University’s Agro-Science Park in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and supported by the European Union under the Food Safety for Africa (FS4Africa) project, the variety incorporates technology that includes defensins to prevent aflatoxin propagation in groundnuts. This research effort has led to an 80 to 90 percent reduction in aflatoxin accumulation, according to laboratory tests.
The seed variety’s aflatoxin levels fall below 10 parts per billion (ppb), meeting the safety standards of the Kenya Bureau of Standards and European export markets. This advancement is significant not only for ensuring safer groundnut production but also for enhancing crop quality, yield, and market reliability.
Aflatoxin, a major public health concern affecting five billion people globally, impacts the food, feed, and market values of groundnuts, leading to economic losses through market restrictions, low values, and rejections. Professor Kimurto emphasized the importance of preventing aflatoxin infection at the seed level to improve food safety and security in Kenya and the broader East African region.
Egerton University, alongside partners like the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), is focusing on developing high-yielding and resilient seed varieties. This collaboration under FS4Africa includes farmer training, extension, and evidence-based policies to address food safety risks in agricultural value chains.
Groundnuts are crucial for Kenyan smallholder farmers, yet national production has fallen short of its potential, with a reported decline from 16,600 tonnes in 2023 to 13,300 tonnes in 2024, as per the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The decline is attributed to factors such as low productivity, recycled seeds, poor agronomic practices, and limited mechanization.
The FS4Africa programme has supported farmer training in groundnut production and aflatoxin management across several Kenyan counties. Participatory approaches have been employed, allowing farmers to engage in crop variety evaluation and learn best practices in harvesting, drying, and storage to reduce contamination.
The research team, including Dr. Milcah Wambua, Ms. Tracy Jayo, and Professor George Owuor, is also examining the nutritional quality of groundnuts, focusing on breeding varieties with high vitamin E content combined with improved agronomic practices.
By placing food safety within a broader development agenda, the research aligns agricultural productivity with public health, nutrition, and market access. Resistant seed varieties and evidence-based production technologies are seen as crucial to transitioning towards safer and more productive agricultural practices in Kenya.
