NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Africa’s crop research body is set to start commercializing climate smart maize variety in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) to help save farmers from experiencing complete crop loss when drought and insects affect their farms. The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) will commence the commercialization process after securing 27 million U.S. dollars grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). “We intend to offer dependable solutions to farmers and reach the countries within the next five years,” Denis Kyetere, Executive Director of AATF, told journalists on Wednesday. Kyetere said that the initiative will help promote the role of biotechnology in coping with climate change in the countries to be covered. He said that the amount will go towards deregulation and commercialization of transgenic insect-pest protected maize hybrids (trademarked as TELA maize) in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia, over the next five years. “The grant from BMGF will help us scale impact of transgenic products to help farmers across target countries grow varieties that are not affected by drought and pests,” he added. Africa is a drought-prone continent, making farming risky for millions of smallholder farmers who rely on rainfall to water their crops. “Maize is the most widely grown staple crop in the region where more than 300 million farmers depend on it as their main food source yet it is severely affected by frequent drought,” Kyetere noted.