Toothpick Project

n farms across sub-Saharan Africa, reducing staple crop yield by 20-100%. It is considered the worst pest threat to African food security. Our novel bioherbicide technology kills Striga, thereby increasing crop yield by 42-56%. With our social enterprise’s newly approved product registration, in 2021 we are launching distribution of KichawiKillTM through a village-level secondary inoculum production system, deriving revenue for Village Inoculum Producers (VIPs) and providing farmers with increased yield. As one of the �first commercialized bioherbicides globally, our enterprise serves as the pilot project for the world. Our revolutionary bioherbicide employs an endemic Kenyan fungus, selected for virulent amino acid production, to kill Striga while protecting crops. KichawiKillTM is embedded on toothpicks for distribution, allowing VIPs (micro-enterprises) to grow a fresh inoculum with local distribution to farmers. Striga thrives in poor soil conditions and survives climate conditions better than crops, resulting in devastated farms. Focusing on local inoculum production (manufacturing)
2. Rural access with only one step straight to consumer
3. Prioritizing women VIPs and partnerships with women-led farmer groups (85% of maize farmers are women)
4. Increasing farmer crop yield and income

For �five years, we have conducted rigorous regulatory trials with the Kenya Pest Control Products Board, with the provisional registration granted in February 2021. Included in this regulation were tox/ecotox studies by University of Nairobi. Our product was tested in Proof-of-Concept trials on 500 farms in 2014-2015 (funded by Gates Foundation, all 500 farmers returned for the second season). It has been tested on over 1000 other farms as demonstration plots since then. Yield increases are consistently between 35-85%, depending on Striga infestation. Boston Consulting Group conducted a 2017 willingness-to-pay survey and determined farmers would purchase our product. Some Striga-management technologies exist but they haven’t been widely adopted by farmers due to mismatches between technologies, socio-economic conditions, e�ectiveness, and availability. Because Striga attacks the roots of the crop within 48 hours of planting, weeding by hand or by chemical herbicides is too late to reverse damage. Boston Consulting Group conducted a survey of our market competition and found the leading product (Imazapyr-coated hybrid maize seeds) held less than 3% of the market. Striga-tolerant crop cultivars, push-pull methodology, and boosted soil fertility can improve crop yield but none restore full yield or address the soil’s Striga seed bank. We are addressing a concern of global scope. Chemical management systems are the leading solution for pest control today. However, the $34 billion-a-year industry is struggling: pests are increasingly resistant to the chemicals (there are super-weeds, like antibiotic-resistant super-bugs). Farmers and consumers are concerned about potential toxins on their food and in the environment. We envision a shift in pest management, mobilizing safer, more effective bioherbicide technology. Our priority is proving success in Kenya. However, we also want to be in a position to expedite replication in other countries. Worldwide, a dozen scientists have started training in the new virulence-enhancement process. Our success is reliant on a broadening the scientific knowledge base of bioherbicides, first among scientists in Africa, where chemical herbicides aren’t suitable due to environmental, economic and health reasons. We carefully selected a team of established, mid-career scientists from eleven other countries and trained them in the virulence-enhancement process. They are currently in the process of isolating their own local fungal strains and selecting for amino acid excretion. The team was selected strategically – bringing together scientists with unique qualities that will help us advance with broader considerations. Expertise includes crops other than maize, mycology, agronomy, field trials, fungal manufacturing, etc. This science team is from: Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Cameroon, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali. Curiously, promising innovations in Africa tend to be adaptations of technologies developed elsewhere. In the case of our innovation, while the virulence enhancement was developed in the US, the entire application was developed in Africa.