Giving African farmers room to grow

New project will enhance and expand the delivery of drought tolerant maize to the most vulnerable in Africa, giving farmers options, even with the changing global climate.

A vital research program that has already had significant impact on the lives of African farmers will accelerate its work for their benefit, thanks to new funding from one of the world’s most important philanthropic organizations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The research also marks the forging of a strong, new partnership between the developing world’s premier research organizations dedicated to improving the livelihoods of farm families who rely on maize: the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The two centers will team with research partners in eleven of Africa’s most maize-dependent and drought-affected countries.

When sub-Saharan Africa’s recurrent droughts ruin harvests, lives and livelihoods are threatened, even destroyed. The development, deployment and cultivation of drought tolerant maize varieties is a highly relevant intervention to reduce vulnerability, food insecurity and the damage to local markets caused by food aid. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the only region in the world where both the number and the proportion of malnourished children is expected to increase over the next decade. Over 60% of all people in the region depend on agriculture for food and income. Most are members of very poor families with smallholder, mixed farming systems in drought-prone areas. They have little access to inputs, service providers and produce markets, education and infrastructure, and an average annual per capita income of only USD 165.

In more than half the countries of sub-Saharan Africa over 50% of land devoted to cereals is planted with maize. Maize production is strategically important for food security and the socio-economic stability of countries and sub-regions. Over 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa consume on average 43 kg of maize per year, a 35% increase since 1960. It is also a crop accessible to the poor in both rural and urban areas, who cannot afford more expensive foods such as bread, milk or meat. Unfortunately, droughts and uncertain rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa have made the maize harvest more vulnerable and less reliable. For more than two decades, CIMMYT, IITA, and a large group of partners from national agricultural research programs, extension services, small-scale seed companies, and non-governmental organizations have worked to breed drought tolerant maize and to get the seed into the hands of farmers who need it most.

The new project aims to generate maize varieties which are much hardier when drought hits. Doubling the yield of adapted maize varieties under drought within 10 years is possible because of the rich genetic diversity in maize and new scientific methods that allow better use of this variability. New varieties of drought tolerant maize will play a significant part in mitigating the potentially disastrous consequences for the crop that could result from global warming.

At the first meeting of the partnership, held near Naivasha, Kenya in January, the group identified maize research stations suited for controlled drought experiments in participating countries and key target physiological traits for plant growth, leaf transpiration, and metabolism relating to drought tolerance. Other traits important to farmers (grain and protein quality; resistance to important crop diseases, storage pests, and the parasitic weed, Striga) were identified and will be addressed in breeding efforts within both international and national breeding programs. The project partners will explore the use of advanced science tools (such as molecular markers and doubled haploids) and their application to accelerate the development of drought tolerant maize varieties.

Recognizing the lack of access to seed of improved varieties as a major constraint for smallholder maize farmers in Africa, project specialists agreed to identify and address bottlenecks in individual countries’ varietal testing and certification systems, through training, policy advocacy, testing for varietal purity, and other forms of support. The project will also work closely with and support diverse seed producers and local stockists, and improve farmers’ access to relevant information about improved varieties.

Speaking at a news conference in Nairobi to announce the project, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture for Kenya, the Hon. Hon. Patrick Muiruri, M.P. said, “Kenya is pleased to be part of this very important research and we will provide the necessary support through the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.”

CIMMYT and IITA will continue to use both participatory breeding strategies and drought-stress screening, combined with the new techniques of marker-assisted selection, to improve the efficiency of breeding. The scientists will also analyze bottlenecks in seed systems and identify high-priority areas for future investments in poverty reduction. Finally, the work will greatly expand partnerships with national agricultural research systems, non-governmental organizations, seed companies, and other development initiatives in the region to ensure positive impacts for resource-poor farmers.

For more information, Wilfred Mwangi, Project Leader (w.mwangi@cgiar.org)

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