With the ever-changing climate conditions, including the unpredictable El Niño, and dynamic changes in government policies, understanding farmersâ preferences and market segmentation has become crucial for implementing impactful breeding programs. Market segmentation is a strategic process which divides a market into distinct group of consumers with similar needs, preferences, and behaviors. This allows organizations to tailor their products and services to specific customer segments, thus ensuring maximum value and impact.
In todayâs fast-paced and evolving agricultural landscape, market segmentation plays a vital role in helping organizations navigate the complexities of a dynamic market. CIMMYTâs maize breeding program has a successful track record in developing and delivering improved varieties that are climate-resilient, high-yielding and suited to the rainfed tropical conditions in Africa. To further strengthen the impact, it is important to have a clear understanding of the evolving needs of farmers in different agroecological regions and the emerging market scenario so that breeding processes can be tailored based on market needs and client requirements.
Questions arise on how to refine the breeding programs relative to country-specific market segments, what efforts are underway to target these markets, and how do these markets transition. Recognizing the importance of market segmentation in refining breeding programs at the country and regional levels, CIMMYT hosted two workshops on maize market intelligence in Kenya and Zimbabwe, under the CGIAR Market Intelligence Initiative for eastern and southern Africa.
âMarket intelligence in breeding programs is critical to understand the evolving needs of key stakeholders, including farmers, consumers, and the seed industry. It helps continuously improve the breeding pipelines to develop and deliver impactful products in targeted market segments. The workshops brought together relevant experts from the national programs and seed companies for focused discussions to develop a harmonized breeding strategy. This would help to address the needs of smallholder maize farmers in eastern and southern Africa,â said Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize program and One CGIAR Global Maize Breeding Lead, B.M. Prasanna.
B.M. Prasanna delivers a presentation. (Photo: CIMMYT)
The workshops constituted a strategic continuation of the Product Design Team (PDT) meetings under CGIAR Market Intelligence, with a focus on the refinement of gender-intentional target product profile design. Guided by the expertise of CIMMYT’s Global Maize program, Market Intelligence, and ABI-Maize Transform teams, the sessions saw active participation from key stakeholders including lead breeders, seed systems experts, and market specialists from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), alongside collaborative engagement with seed company partners. The workshops underscored the commitment to incorporate diverse perspectives, aligning with the evolving maize market landscape in eastern and southern Africa.
“The workshop provided critical insights on opportunities to improve market penetration of improved maize varieties. There is a need to strike a balance between the needs of the farmers, seed industry, and consumers in variety development; actively involve farmers and consumers in variety selection and understanding their preferences; and focus on emerging needs of the market such as yellow maize for feed and food,â said James Karanja, maize breeding lead at the Kenya Agriculture & Livestock Research Organization, Kenya.
Insights from both workshops underscored the importance of providing breeders with pertinent information and comprehensive training. The discussions illustrated the necessity for breeders to define their objectives with a 360-degree outlook, aligning breeding programs with market segments and interfacing with CIMMYT’s regional vision.
Workshop participants. (Photo: CIMMYT)
âThe market intelligence workshop is an excellent initiative for the breeding programs. It shows how traits can be identified and prioritized, based on farmersâ requirements. The maize value chain is broad, and the synergy between the developer of the product (breeder), the producer (farmer), and the consumer needs to be effective. Hence, streamlining of the market segments and eventually the target product profiles is key in ensuring that the breeders develop improved products/varieties with relevant traits that address the needs of farmers, consumers, and the seed industry,â said Lubasi Sinyinda, breeder from the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, Zambia.
Another participant, Lucia Ndlala, a maize breeder at the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa, echoed similar enthusiasm. “The workshop was exceptionally informative, providing valuable insights into target product profiles and market segments. This knowledge will undoubtedly prove instrumental in shaping future breeding strategies,” she said.
When applied through a breeding lens, market segmentation is a vital tool in refining breeding programs at both country and regional levels, enabling breeders to better understand and address the diverse needs of the farmers, and ensuring that the improved varieties are tailored to market segments.
The food security and livelihoods of smallholder farming families in sub-Saharan Africa depend on maize production. The region accounts for up to two-thirds of global maize production, but is facing challenges related to extreme weather events, climate-induced stresses, pests and diseases, and deteriorating soil quality. These require swift interventions and innovations to safeguard maize yields and quality.
In this Q&A, we reflect on the results and impact of the long-term collaborative work on drought-tolerant maize innovations spearheaded by two CGIAR Research Centers: the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This innovative work has changed guises over the years, from the early work of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) projects through later iterations such as Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) and the newest project, Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG).
In this Q&A, three leaders of this collaborative research reflect on the challenges their work has faced, the innovations and impact it has generated for smallholder farmers, and possible directions for future research. They are: B.M Prasanna, director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and of the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE); Abebe Menkir, a maize breeder and maize improvement lead at IITA; and Cosmos Magorokosho, project lead for AGG-Maize at CIMMYT.
Briefly describe the challenges confronting small-scale farmers prior to the introduction of drought-tolerant maize and how CIMMYT and IITA responded to these challenges?
B.M.P.: Maize is grown on over 38 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 40% of cereal production in the region and providing at least 30% of the populationâs total calorie intake. The crop is predominantly grown under rainfed conditions by resource-constrained smallholder farmers who often face erratic rainfall, poor soil fertility, increasing incidence of climatic extremes â especially drought and heat â and the threat of devastating diseases and insect pests.
Around 40% of maize-growing areas in sub-Saharan Africa face occasional drought stress with a yield loss of 10â25%. An additional 25% of the maize crop suffers frequent drought, with yield losses of up to 50%. Climate change is further exacerbating the situation, with devastating effects on the food security and livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers and their families who depend on maize in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the improved maize varieties with drought tolerance, disease resistance and other farmer-preferred traits developed and deployed by CIMMYT and IITA over the last ten years in partnership with an array of national partners and seed companies across sub-Saharan Africa are critical in effectively tackling this major challenge.
A.M.: Consumption of maize as food varies considerably across sub-Saharan Africa, exceeding 100 kg per capita per year in many countries in southern Africa. In years when rainfall is adequate, virtually all maize consumed for food is grown in sub-Saharan Africa, with a minimal dependence on imported grain. Maize production, however, is highly variable from year to year due to the occurrence of drought and the dependence of national maize yields on seasonal rainfall. One consequence has been widespread famine occurring every five to ten years in sub-Saharan Africa, accompanied by large volumes of imported maize grain as food aid or direct imports.
This places a significant strain on resources of the World Food Programme and on national foreign exchange. It also disincentivizes local food production and may not prevent or address cyclical famine. It also leaves countries ill-equipped to address famine conditions in the period between the onset of the crisis and the arrival of food aid. Investment in local production, which would strengthen the resilience and self-sufficiency in food production of smallholder farming families, is a far better option to mitigate food shortages than relying on food aid and grain imports.
C.M.: Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa face innumerable natural and socioeconomic constraints. CIMMYT, in partnership with IITA and national agricultural research system partners, responded by developing and catalyzing the commercialization of new maize varieties that produce reasonable maize yields under unpredictable rainfall-dependent growing season.
Over the life of the partnership, more than 300 new climate-adaptive maize varieties were developed and released in more than 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa where maize is a major staple food crop. Certified seed of over 100 stress-tolerant improved maize varieties have been produced by seed company partners, reaching more than 110,000 tons in 2019. The seeds of these drought-tolerant maize varieties have benefited more than 8 million households and were estimated to be grown on more than 5 million hectares in eastern, southern and west Africa in 2020.
A farmer in Mozambique stands for a photograph next to her drought-tolerant maize harvest. (Photo: CIMMYT)
In what ways did the drought-tolerant maize innovation transform small-scale farmersâ ability to respond to climate-induced risks? Are there any additional impacts on small scale farmers in addition to climate adaptation?
B.M.P.: The elite drought-tolerant maize varieties can not only provide increased yield in drought-stressed crop seasons, they also offer much needed yield stability. This means better performance than non-drought-tolerant varieties in both good years and bad years to a smallholder farmer.
Drought-tolerant maize varieties developed by CIMMYT and IITA demonstrate at least 25-30% grain yield advantage over non-drought-tolerant maize varieties in sub-Saharan Africa under drought stress at flowering. This translates into at least a 1 ton per hectare enhanced grain yield on average, as well as reduced downside risk in terms of lost income, food insecurity and other risks associated with crop yield variability. In addition to climate adaptation, smallholder farmers benefit from these varieties due to improved resistance to major diseases like maize lethal necrosis and parasitic weeds like Striga. We have also developed drought-tolerant maize varieties with enhanced protein quality â such as Quality Protein Maize or QPM â and provitamin A, which improve nutritional outcomes.
We must also note that drought risk in sub-Saharan Africa has multiple and far-reaching consequences. It reduces incentives for smallholder farmers to intensify maize-based systems and for commercial seed companies to invest and evolve due to a limited seed market.
Drought-tolerant maize is, therefore, a game changer as it reduces the downside risk for both farmers and seed companies and increases demand for improved maize seed, thus strengthening the commercial seed market in sub-Saharan Africa. Extensive public-private partnerships around drought-tolerant maize varieties supported the nascent seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa and has enabled maize-based seed companies to significantly grow over the last decade. Seed companies in turn are investing in marketing drought-tolerant maize varieties and taking the products to scale.
A.M.: The DTMA and STMA projects were jointly implemented by CIMMYT and IITA in partnership with diverse national and private sector partners in major maize producing countries in eastern, southern and western Africa to develop and deploy multiple stress-tolerant and productive maize varieties to help farmers adapt to recurrent droughts and other stresses including climate change.
These projects catalyzed the release and commercialization of numerous stress-resilient new maize varieties in target countries across Africa. Increasing the resilience of farming systems means that smallholder farmers need guaranteed access to good quality stress resilient maize seeds. To this end, the two projects worked with public and private sector partners to produce large quantities of certified seeds with a continual supply of breeder seeds from CIMMYT and IITA. The availability of considerable amount of certified seeds of resilient maize varieties has enabled partners to reach farmers producing maize under stressful conditions, thus contributing to the mitigation of food shortages that affect poor people the most in both rural and urban areas.
C.M.: The drought-tolerant maize innovation stabilized maize production under drought stress conditions in sub-Saharan Africa countries. Recent study results showed that households that grew drought-tolerant maize varieties had at least half a ton more maize harvest than the households that did not grow the drought-tolerant maize varieties, thus curbing food insecurity while simultaneously increasing farmersâ economic benefits. Besides the benefit from drought-tolerant innovation, the new maize varieties developed through the partnership also stabilized farmersâ yields under major diseases, Striga infestation, and poor soil fertility prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.
How is the project addressing emerging challenges in breeding for drought-tolerant maize and what opportunities are available to address these challenges in the future?Â
Margaret holds an improved ear of drought-tolerant maize. Margaretâs grandmother participated in an on-farm trial in Murewa district, 75 kilometers northeast of Zimbabweâs capital Harare. (Photo: Jill Cairns/CIMMYT)
B.M.P.: A strong pipeline of elite, multiple-stress-tolerant maize varieties â combining other relevant adaptive and farmer-preferred traits â has been built in sub-Saharan Africa through a strong germplasm base, partnerships with national research partners and small- and medium-sized seed companies, an extensive phenotyping and multi-location testing network, and engagement with farming communities through regional on-farm trials for the identification of relevant farmer-preferred products.
CGIAR maize breeding in sub-Saharan Africa continues to evolve in order to more effectively and efficiently create value for the farmers we serve. We are now intensively working on several areas: (a) increasing genetic gains (both on-station and on-farm) through maize breeding in the stress-prone environments of sub-Saharan Africa by optimizing our breeding pipelines and effectively integrating novel tools, technologies and strategies (e.g., doubled haploids, genomics-assisted breeding, high-throughput and precise phenotyping, improved breeding data management system, etc.); (b) targeted replacement of old or obsolete maize varieties in sub-Saharan Africa with climate-adaptive and new varieties; (c) developing next-generation climate-adaptive maize varieties with traits such as native genetic resistance to fall armyworm, and introgressed nutritional quality traits (e.g., provitamin A, high Zinc) to make a positive impact on the nutritional well-being of consumers; and (d) further strengthening the breeding capacity of national partners and small and medium-sized seed companies in sub-Saharan Africa for a sustainable way forward.
A.M.:Â The DTMA and STMA projects established effective product pipelines integrating cutting-edge phenotyping and molecular tools to develop stress-resilient maize varieties that are also resistant or tolerant to MLN disease and fall armyworm. These new varieties are awaiting release and commercialization. Increased investment in strengthening public and private sector partnerships is needed to speed up the uptake and commercialization of new multiple stress-resilient maize varieties that can replace the old ones in farmersâ fields and help achieve higher yield gains.
Farmersâ access to new multiple-stress-tolerant maize varieties will have a significant impact on productivity at the farm level. This will largely be due to new varietiesâ improved response to fertilizer and favorable growing environments as well as their resilience to stressful production conditions. Studies show that the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties increased maize productivity, reduced exposure to farming risk among adopters and led to a decline in poverty among adopters. The availability of enough grain from highly productive and stress-resilient maize varieties can be the cheapest source of food and release land to expand the cultivation of other crops to facilitate increased access to diversified and healthy diets.
C.M.: Â The project is tackling emerging challenges posed by new diseases and pests by building upon the successful genetic base of drought-tolerant maize. This is being done by breeding new varieties that add tolerance to the emerging disease and pest challenges onto the existing drought-tolerant maize backgrounds. Successes have already been registered in breeding new varieties that have high levels of resistance to MLN disease and the fall armyworm pest.
Opportunities are also available to address new challenges including: pre-emptively breeding for threats to maize production challenges that exist in other regions of the world before these threats reach sub-Saharan Africa; enhancing the capacity of national partners to build strong breeding programs that can address new threats once they emerge in sub-Saharan Africa; and sharing knowledge and novel high-value breeding materials across different geographies to immediately address new threats once they emerge.
Cover photo: Alice Nasiyimu stands in front of a drought-tolerant maize plot at her family farm in Bungoma County, in western Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
The active involvement of partners in the co-design of project and capacity building activities is key to the success of the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG) project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). To that end, the AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks launched with virtual meetings on September 14 and 15 for southern African partners, and October 28 and November 2 for eastern African partners.
These training events and regional meetings provided opportunities for well over 100 breeders from CIMMYT, national agricultural research systems (NARS) and seed companies to refresh their capacities to improve genetic gains, and to collectively review and discuss upcoming project activities, current issues of interest, and broader project objectives within their current regional context.
Several themes of importance to partners emerged during the network virtual meetings, for attention in future AGG activities and capacity development work.
Gender inclusion and the impact of COVID-19
Ugandan partners, including Godfrey Asea, director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute at Ugandaâs National Agricultural Research Organization, and Josephine Okot, founder and managing director of Victoria Seeds, applauded the projectâs emphasis on inclusion of womenâs knowledge and preferences in breeding programs.
âWe notice that this time there is a lot of focus on gender-inclusiveness,â remarked Asea. âI can tell you there is need for enhanced capacity building for both the private sector and research in proper gender inclusion.â
They also noted the importance of building local capacity, not just for food security but also for other value chain items like raw materials. âCOVID-19 has demonstrated to all policy-makers that we cannot depend on the global supply chains,â said Okot. âHow can we leverage this project if, for instance, some private sector actors want to [know] the appropriate protein-content maize for, say, animal feed?â
Godfrey Asea (R), director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) at Ugandaâs National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), and Daniel Bomet (L), a maize breeder at NARO, admire maize cobs on a farm in Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Demand for knowledge
NARS members in Tanzania requested increased support on how to measure or assess genetic gains, especially at the national level, to allow them to establish a baseline upon which genetic gains would be pegged for the project lifecycle.
With statistics an essential element to plant breeding â from analyzing yield trials to ranking varieties â the webinar series in Statistical Analysis for Plant Breeders was a first step towards meeting these capacity development needs.
âThe idea of this webinar series was to share insights on how we can improve the breeding plans using statistical methods in an effective way,â said Juan Burgueño, the head of CIMMYTâs Biometrics and Statistics Unit. âThe training offered both theory and hands-on experience using open-access software.â
Reaching farmers
Looking beyond breeding, meeting participants also discussed how to improve access and adoption of improved varieties among farmers.
âFor a large country such as Tanzania, it is at times very hard to reach the farmers,â said Zabron Mbwaga, managing director of the Tanzania-based Beula Seed Company and Consultancy Limited. âWe may have a lot of seed in the store, but how to get the farmers to adopt the newer varieties is quite difficult. This is more so when farmers tend to stick to varieties which they know well and are always reluctant to adopt the new varieties,â he explained.
âWe need to put in a lot of effort to set up demonstration farms and enhance other awareness-raising activities such as radio programs so that farmers can know about the new varieties.â
This interest in working with smallholder farmers along the entire value chain was echoed by partners in southern Africa.
âThrough this project, we would like to explore ways of collaborating along the whole value chain â as the Agriculture Research Council, other partners and small to medium enterprises â to make it an effective chain,â said Kingstone Mashingaidze, senior research manager at the South Africa Agricultural Research Council. âBy planning together, we can identify best-fits for all activities in the value chain and ultimately benefit the smallholder farmers.â
About the AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks
The AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks aim to improve breeding efficiencies among partners by enabling the use of modern tools and approaches and enriching the existing network of research organizations, public and private seed companies, farmersâ organizations, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. It is expected that these networks will lead to increased efficiency and communications across the partnership network and within countries, improved sharing of best practices and protocols, and increased collective ownership of products for accelerated variety development and turnover.
The virtual meetings for the Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Network for southern Africa convened participants from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, while meetings for eastern Africa had participants from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
AGG communications staff Joshua Masinde and Shiela Chikulo contributed to this story.
Scientists part of the Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) and the Maize Lethal Necrosis Gene Editing projects are leveraging innovative technologies to transform seed production systems and speed up the delivery of disease resistance in elite new hybrids. This research is helping smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to access high-quality seed of new hybrids that were bred to perform under stressful low-input, drought-prone conditions, including farming regions impacted by maize lethal necrosis (MLN).
Fast delivery of MLN-tolerant varieties
The fight against maize lethal necrosis (MLN) has persisted for almost ten years now.
Collaborative efforts in diagnostics, management and systematic surveillance have limited its spread and confined the disease to the eastern Africa region. However, ongoing work is required to efficiently develop MLN-tolerant varieties for smallholders in endemic areas and prepare for the potential further movement of the disease.
âMaize lethal necrosis still exists. It has not been eradicated. Even though it has reduced in its prevalence and impact, it is still present and is a latent threat in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with potential to spread further,â said B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize.
âThat is why the work of the gene editing project is critical to rapidly change the genetic component of those susceptible parent lines of popular hybrids into MLN-tolerant versions,â said Prasanna. Scientists will edit the four parent lines of two popular hybrids, currently grown by farmers in Kenya and Uganda, which are susceptible to MLN. The edited MLN-tolerant lines will be used to make MLN-tolerant versions of these drought-tolerant hybrids.
Through gene editing technology, the time it takes to develop hybrids using traditional breeding methods will be cut in half. By 2025, the edited MLN-tolerant hybrids will be available for planting on approximately 40,000 hectares by about 20,000 Kenyan farmers.
A non-pollen-producing maize plant (on the left) on farm trial in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Jill Cairns/CIMMYT)
Business as unusual
The unique seed production technology developed by Corteva Agriscience seeks to transform the seed production process in sub-Saharan Africa. This technology utilizes a dominant non-pollen producing maize gene to create female plants that are unable to produce pollen.
Seed companies that use seed production technology eliminate the need to detassel the female parent: a manual process through which tassels are removed from plants to prevent self-pollination and ensure that the intended male parent is the only source of pollen in the hybrid seed production field. Targeted small and medium-size seed companies could make significant savings to the cost of production if they were to eliminate manual detasseling. The method also helps to ensure the purity of the hybrid seed by removing the risk of unintentional self-pollination.
Hybrids produced using the seed production technology, characterized as 50 percent non-pollen producing (FNP), are unique since only half of the plants will produce pollen in the field. FNP hybrids re-allocate energy from the tassel and pollen production to grain formation, thus delivering an additional 200 kilograms per hectare yield advantage to the farmer. This represents a 10 percent productivity boost for farmers who will harvest approximately 2 tons per hectare, the average maize yield across sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers engaged in participatory research have demonstrated preference for FNP hybrids and associate the trait with higher yield and larger ear size.
As the first phase of Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) wraps up, the collaborators are preparing for the next phase that will focus on commercializing, scaling up and increasing smallholders’ access to FNP. âThis is among the unique partnerships funded by the foundation and I am hopeful that this incredible work will continue through the next phase,â said Gary Atlin, program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Resistant hybrid (on the right) grows beside a susceptible commercial check at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services’ (KEPHIS) National Performance Trial. (Photo: CIMMYT)
A win-win collaboration
Research and development work under the SPTA and the MLN Gene Editing projects has immensely benefited from the support of public and private partners. Seed companies and national institutions have contributed to improving access to and knowledge of these technologies as well as creating a crucial link with farmers. Ongoing engagement with regulatory agencies through the different stages of the projects ensures transparency and fosters understanding.
In order to assess the progress of these two initiatives, representatives from regulatory agencies, seed trade associations, seed companies, national agricultural institutions and funders came together for a virtual meeting that was hosted on July 29, 2020.
âKALRO embraces partnerships such as those that are delivering these two projects. That synergy helps us to resolve challenges faced by farmers and other actors in various agricultural value chains,â observed Felister Makini, deputy director general of Crops at KALRO.
As the primary technology provider, Corteva Agriscience provides the seed production technology system on a royalty-free basis and grants access to key gene editing technologies, which are the foundation for the two projects. Corteva Agriscience is also actively involved in project execution through collaborative scientific support.
âWe have appreciated the opportunity to work with CIMMYT, KARLO, Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bring some of the technologies and tools from Corteva to address significant challenges facing smallholder farmers in Africa. We could not have done this alone, it requires the partnerships that exist here to bring forth these solutions,â said Kevin Diehl, director of the Global Seed Regulatory Platform at Corteva Agriscience.
The name TELA is derived from the Latin word tutela, which means “protection.” The TELA Maize Project is a public-private partnership led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) working towards the commercialization of transgenic drought-tolerant and insect-protected (TELAÂź) maize varieties to enhance food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Launched in 2018, the TELA Maize Project builds on progress made from a decade of breeding work under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project.
Africa is a drought-prone continent, making farming risky for millions of smallholders who rely on rainfall to water their crops. Climate change will only worsen the problem. Identifying ways to mitigate drought risk, stabilize yields, and encourage small-scale farmers to adopt best management practices is fundamental to realizing food security and improved livelihoods for the continent. Drought is just one of the many challenges facing sub-Saharan African farmers. Insects pose additional challenges as farmers in the developing world have little or no resources to effectively manage them. Insect protection complements and protects yield made possible through research and development.
Through TELA, AATF and its partners are pursuing the regulatory approval and dissemination of new biotech/genetically-modified maize seeds containing either an insect-resistant trait or the stacked insect-resistant and drought-tolerant traits across seven target countries in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda). The transgenic technology, including gene constructs, transformation and other recombinant DNA technologies, and other proprietary information and materials regarding the transgenes, owned by Bayer CropScience LP (formerly Monsanto Company), is licensed royalty-free to the partners for use in the project.
To the extent where their germplasm is transformed/incorporated into finished lines, Bayer and CIMMYT further grant AATF the license to commercially release the transgenic maize varieties within the partner countries, provided that no royalty fee shall be charged by AATF/its sublicensees, and subject to compliance with all regulatory, biosafety and stewardship requirements. CIMMYTâs non-transgenic parental lines which may be used for introgression in this project have been shared under the terms of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) of the Plant Treaty, and remain available to other third parties outside the project in the same way. The partner countries are in different stages of the approval process to test and commercialize TELAÂź hybrids, which will determine when farmers can access the improved TELA seeds.
Seed companies can receive license rights to produce and commercialize the new TELAÂź hybrids under their private brand from AATF in due course. Licensed seed companies will access the technology royalty-free for them to produce and sell the seeds to farmers at prevailing market prices. Better yield performance, combined with improved seed quality, will deliver more value to farmers and create more demand and potential for the seed brand.
Smallholder farmers benefit from TELA maize, as it provides better drought tolerance, protection against stem borers, and partial but significant protection against fall armyworm. As a result, smallholders will spend less money on insecticides and reduce their exposure to these chemicals, besides benefiting from improved yields and better grain quality.
Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in Uncategorized.
African maize farmers must deal with drought, weeds, and pests, but their problems start with degraded, nutrient-starved soils and their inability to purchase enough nitrogen fertilizer. Maize yields of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are a fraction of those in the developed world, due mainly to the regionâs poor soils and farmersâ limited access to fertilizer or improved maize seed. On average, such farmers apply only 9 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare of cropland. Of that small amount, often less than half is captured by the crop; the rest is leached deep into the soil where plants cannot recover it or otherwise lost.
The Improved Maize for African Soils Project (IMAS)Â develops maize varieties that are better at capturing the small amount of fertilizer that African farmers can afford, and that use the nitrogen they take up more efficiently to produce grain. Project participants will use cutting-edge biotechnology tools such as molecular markersâDNA âsignpostsâ for traits of interestâand transgenic approaches to develop varieties that ultimately yield 30 to 50 percent more than currently available varieties, with the same amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied or when grown on poorer soils.
The varieties developed will be made available royalty-free to seed companies that sell to the regionâs smallholder farmers, meaning that the seed will become available to farmers at the same cost as other types of improved maize seed.
In four years or less, African farmers should have access to IMAS varieties developed using conventional breeding that offer a 20 percent yield advantage over current varieties. Improved varieties developed using DNA marker techniques are expected to be introduced within seven to nine years, and those containing transgenic traits are expected to be available in approximately 10 years, pending product performance and regulatory approvals by national regulatory and scientific authorities, according to the established laws and regulatory procedures in each country.
The second phase of IMAS continues to be implemented through the Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) project.
OBJECTIVES
Conventional and marker assisted breeding to develop hybrids and OPVs with improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) adapted to southern and eastern Africa
Identification and deployment of native trait alleles to enhance yield under low nitrogen conditions through association mapping and Quantitative Trait Loci mapping
Development of transgenic maize varieties adapted to southern and eastern Africa with increased yield under severe nitrogen limitation
Managing NUE varieties for sustainability in African maize cropping systems
Project stewardship, public awareness and capacity building
NUE variety registration, release and dissemination in southern and eastern Africa
The Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) project is working to implement an advanced seed production system in Africa for the benefit of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Hybrids are maize varieties in which the seed is produced by crossing two different parent lines, increasing the yield through heterosis. In hybrid maize seed production, the pollen-producing tassel must be removed on female parent plants to avoid self-pollination. If detasselling is not done in a timely and accurate way, pollen from the female plants can pollinate the ears, causing contamination and reduced seed quality. Currently, African seed production actors prevent self-fertilization during certified seed production by manual detasselling. This process requires considerable time and labor and reduces seed yield potential of the detasselled seed-bearing plants (female plants).
The Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) project was launched to improve access for smallholders to high quality seed of modern maize varieties. The project targets small and medium seed production companies in the region to strengthen their capacity to produce high quality hybrid maize more efficiently, and at reduced cost. These modern hybrids will improve yield in drought prone and low fertility production conditions that are common among resource-constrained African smallholders, particularly those that are not able to access adequate fertilizers.
SPTA efforts will contribute to a more vibrant private seed sector by providing higher quality hybrid seed using a technology that fits well within existing production systems of small and medium enterprise seed companies. This will help to improve productivity gains for smallholder farmers and ease the burden on public funding for development.
The SPTA project originated from the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project that concluded in 2015. IMAS focused on developing maize hybrids that could use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently to deliver higher yields under low fertility conditions.
How SPTA works
This project seeks to introduce a proprietary SPTA process that eliminates the detasselling step by utilizing a mutation in the naturally occurring maize gene – Ms44 – that aborts the development of microspores into pollen to create female parent plants that are male-sterile, eliminating the need to manually remove the pollen-producing tassels.
The cross-pollination between this female parent and the male parent is therefore more reliable, efficient, and cost effective. Importantly, whilst the SPTA process utilizes a transgenic maintainer line, no transgene will be present in the single cross production, three-way hybrid production, or the final hybrid seed, sold to farmers. The benefit of SPTA is that it works across genetic backgrounds, unlike cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). An additional benefit of SPTA is hybrids produced using this technology yield 200 kg ha-1 more as a result of conserving resources for grain production.
Collaboration between Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (an affiliate of Corteva Agriscience) (Corteva), Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC), Kenyan Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Qualibasic Seed Company Limited (QBS) and CIMMYT
The SPTA project which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation originated from the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project that concluded in 2015, where the focus was on developing maize hybrids that could use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently to deliver higher yields under low fertility conditions. The overall objectives of the project are to:
Improve the grain yield potential of stress tolerant maize hybrids in low fertility environments.
Develop a new hybrid production platform capable of producing sufficient early generation seed to support production of high-quality certified seed each year.
Simplify hybrid maize seed production in sub-Saharan Africa.
Objectives
Improve the grain yield potential of stress tolerant maize hybrids in low fertility environments.
Develop a new hybrid production platform capable of producing sufficient early generation seed to support production of high quality certified seed each year.
Reduce the production costs of seed partners in the sub-Saharan region.
The SPTA concept was confirmed suitable for tropical environments in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa in the first phase of the project (2017-2022). The current phase (2022-2024) is working towards licensing of the homozygous Ms44 seed to seed companies serving smallholder farmers in Africa. Eventually, the proprietary SPTA Maintainer Event and SPTA process will be licensed royalty-free by Corteva for further sublicensing in the production of SPTA Ms44 Maize in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ms44 and the SPTA Maintainer are introgressed into African-bred germplasm to produce male-sterile female parents (INP) suitable for low-nitrogen and drought environments in Africa. The commercial production of the INP will be carried out by QBS in South Africa after it has achieved full Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS) recognition and executed a royalty-free license agreement for the SPTA Maintainer Event with Corteva.
Seed companies will apply for release/registration and commercialize SPTA Ms44 maize only in sub-Saharan African countries that have acknowledged SPTA Ms44 maize as non-transgenic for the SPTA Maintainer Event. To produce and commercialize SPTA Ms44 maize, seed producers will have to access INP seeds from QBS and agree to implement all stewardship and management practices related to the use of SPTA Ms44 maize. Since the availability of SPTA Ms44 maize will be restricted this way, a percentage of its sales may be required to be paid into the FAO trust fund established by the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
A researcher holds two plants to show the pollen-producing (left) and non-pollen producing plants (right) at a research station in Embu, Kenya. (Photo: Hugo De Groote/CIMMYT)
Smallholder farmers evaluate Ms44 hybrids in Embu, Kenya. (Photo: Mike Ndegwa/CIMMYT)
Two smallholder farmers evaluate Ms44 hybrids during an on-farm evaluation in Embu, Kenya. (Photo: Hugo De Groote/CIMMYT)
Farmer Edma Shanguri holds a harvest of Ms44 hybrids from an on-farm trial in Murewa, Zimbabwe. (Photo: J. Cairns/CIMMYT)
Smallholder farmers evaluate Ms44 hybrids in Embu, Kenya. (Photo: Hugo De Groote/CIMMYT)
A farmer holds a cob from a Ms44 hybrid during on-farm evaluations in Kakamega, Kenya. (Photo: Virginia Ndungu/KALRO)
Smallholder farmers remove kernels from cobs during an on-farm evaluation of Ms44 hybrids in Kakamega, Kenya. (Photo: Virginia Ndungu/KALRO)
A non-pollen-producing plant (on the left) on a farm trial in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Jill Cairns/CIMMYT)
Research partners to develop new maize hybrid seed production system to help smallholder farmers access modern, high quality maize hybrid seed.
Pretoria, South Africa, 26 October 2018â An initiative launched in 2016 seeks to provide African smallholder farmers with better quality and high yielding hybrid maize seed. The Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) initiative strives to improve seed production systems to ensure that high-quality hybrid maize seed is available to smallholder farmers, as well as to deliver new hybrids with a high yield potential adapted for low fertility areas common in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
SPTA will utilize a technology provided by Corteva Agriscience, and implemented by the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC) alongside the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the four-year initiative will cost US$ 6.4 million.
âAs Africa faces significant challenges of low maize yields, climatic extremes and variability, costly farm inputs, threats due to pests and diseases, and growing demand for food, it is critical to provide smallholder farmers with access to high quality and stress resilient modern maize hybrids to allow them to increase yields and incomes,â said Kingstone Mashingaidze, Senior Research Manager at ARC.
The SPTA process will address pressing seed production concerns in the region that include insufficient genetic purity due to pollen contamination resulting from improper or incomplete detasseling practices. As a result, small and medium seed companies are expected to produce greater volume of hybrid maize seed at lower cost. Partner seed companies in the region will access the technology royalty free.
Maize productivity in Africa lags behind other maize producing regions, and through SPTA more smallholders will improve their yield. Average maize yield in much of Africa is approximately 2 metric tons per hectare, which is less than 20 percent of the yield level in more productive parts of the world. Farmers cannot access or afford high quality seed. Only 57 percent of the SSA maize growing area is planted with recently purchased seed; a lot of hybrids grown in the region are obsolete – 15 years or older compared to an average of less than 5 years in highly productive regions. In many situations, seeds of these older varieties are no longer suited for the climate and cropping environments that exist today.
Hybrid maize seed delivered through SPTA will have higher yield in low fertility environments. This will enable resource-constrained farmers to harvest more despite limited inputs like fertilizer. This means stronger livelihoods coupled with improved professionalism in the maize seed value chain for farmers, seed companies, consumers, and governments to deliver a more food-secure future.
SPTA originated from the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project that concluded in 2015. IMAS focused on developing maize hybrids that could use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently to deliver higher yields under low fertility conditions prevalent in Africa. The IMAS project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation together with the United States Agency for International Development.
Issued by Agricultural Research Council
For more information contact:
Agricultural Research Council (South Africa)
Mary James
Tel: +27 (0) 18 299 6100, Cell: +27 84Â 817 2376, Email: JamesM@arc.agric.za
Corteva Agriscience (South Africa)
Barbra Muzata
Tel: +27-11-218-8600, Email: barbra.Muzata@pioneer.com
Notes to editors:
The Agricultural Research Council (ARC), a schedule 3A public entity, is a premier science institution that conducts research with partners, develops human capital and fosters innovation in support of the agricultural sector. The Agricultural Research Council provides diagnostic, laboratory, analytical, agricultural engineering services, post-harvest technology development, agrochemical evaluation, consultation and advisory services, food processing technology services as well as various surveys and training interventions. ARC has successfully collaborated with international partners in the WEMA project. ARC has successful partnerships with local seed companies for deployment of its products to smallholder farmers. For more information, visit the website at www.arc.agric.za
Corteva Agriscienceâą, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), is intended to become an independent, publicly traded company when the spinoff is complete by June 2019. The division combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Corteva Agriscienceâą provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry â including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: PioneerÂź, EncircaÂź, the newly launched Brevantâą Seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products â while bringing new products to market through our solid pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat, and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) is a corporate body created under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act of 2013 to establish suitable legal and institutional framework for coordination of agricultural research in Kenya with the following goals: Promote, streamline, co-ordinate and regulate research in crops, livestock, genetic resources and biotechnology in Kenya, and expedite equitable access to research information, resources and technology and promote the application of research findings and technology in the field of agriculture.
