Location: Malawi

On 3 September 2009, a new drought tolerant maize variety received presidential approval in Malawi. The variety, ZM 309, known by locals as ‘msungabanja’ (that which takes care of the family), will be included in the national farm input subsidy program and is to be planted by farmers in Malawi’s most drought prone areas this October.

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika hosted CIMMYT’s Wilfred Mwangi, project leader of Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA), and Peter Setimela, maize breeder, at the State House in Lilongwe. The two briefed him on CIMMYT’s maize research activities and collaboration in Malawi, which date back to 1974. “The new maize variety, ZM 309, released under the auspices of the DTMA Project, will give Malawi farmers an advantage because it is high yielding and drought tolerant,” said President Bingu wa Mutharika on receiving a 10-ton consignment of ZM 309 seed presented by Mwangi and Setimela on behalf of CIMMYT. “We welcome this research because it will help Malawi cope with climate change and improve food security.”

The variety will be grown in Balaka, Chikwawa, Nsanje, and Karonga, and the consignment is adequate to plant a minimum of 400 hectares. “We at CIMMYT commend Malawi’s leadership for implementing innovative agricultural policies that have made the country a great example for improving national food security in Africa,” said Mwangi. “We will work with the government of Malawi to help farmers cope with climate change by using drought tolerant maize technology.”

ZM 309 is a drought tolerant, open-pollinated maize variety, meaning farmers have the option to save seed for subsequent seasons with minimum yield loss. ZM 309 was developed through collaborative research efforts with CIMMYT, Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Chitedze Research Station. CIMMYT also included an information leaflet on ZM 309 in each 10-kilo bag of seed as part of efforts to provide information about new varieties to farmers. CIMMYT is most grateful to Andrew Daudi, Malawi’s principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and to Jeff Luhanga, controller of Agricultural Extension and Technical Services from the same department, for their support and facilitation assistance. Collaboration with SeedCo Malawi in producing the required seed is also acknowledged, and particular gratitude is due to SeedCo employees Dellings Phiri, general manager, and John Lungu, operations executive. Also participating in the event was Anne Wangalachi, CIMMYT science writer/editor.

CIMMYT is taking a creative approach toward reducing postharvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa. The Effective Grain Storage Project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), targets and trains artisans in metal silo construction in order to provide farmers with better alternative storage solutions.

This 10-year project is in its 2-year pilot phase and currently focused in Malawi and Kenya. World Vision International, a project collaborator, trained artisans from the Dowa and Mchinji regions in Malawi 4-14 May 2009 at Lilongwe Technical College with assistance from Jose Contreras, an expert in silo construction. Covered topics included making metal silos of different sizes, cutting of metal sheets, and soldering and handling. “If anybody asks me if we have a solution to the enormous post harvest losses experienced by the farmer, I now have an answer,” said Mulugetta Abebe, director of World Vision International-Malawi.

Similar training courses held 18-29 May 2009 in Kenya targeted 10 artisans from the Homa Bay and Embu areas. Contreras and the Catholic Dioceses ran the courses at St. Bernard’s Youth Polytechnic (Homa Bay) and Embu Agricultural Staff Training College with assistance from metal silo artists Micah Okongo in Homa Bay and Benjamin Njue in Embu.

Metal silos for grain storage were successful in reducing post-harvest grain losses in Central America and provided inspiration for this project. By using the metal silos to store surplus grain, especially maize, African farmers will be able to better control post-harvest losses, stabilize supplies and prices of maize while increasing their food and income security. The technology will also increase employment and business opportunities for manufactures, traders, and processors. “The focus of the [Effective Grain Storage] project is to ensure that farmers use only well fabricated, high quality metal silos; that is why we are training the artisans who will make and sell these silos. We are promoting the technology while improving the artisans’ skills,” said Fred Kanampiu, CIMMYT agronomist and project leader who coordinated the training sessions.

ZM 309 and ZM 523 have been a success in Malawi—locals from Balaka District, greeted the new varieties with song, dance, and a poem at the government launch and field day on 20 March 2009. Malawian farmers who planted them on on-farm demonstrations have even given them local names calling ZM 309 “Mkawa sala” (early-maturing) or “Msunga banja” (that which takes care of or feeds the family). About 300 demonstrations of the new open pollinated varieties (OPVs) have been set up in farmers’ fields.

“We are grateful to CIMMYT for technical, financial, and scientific support in developing these new varieties that are suitable for the drought-prone areas and will help the people of Malawi to alleviate poverty and hunger and cope with climate change; which these days is becoming a reality,” said Dr. Andrew Daudi, principal secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Malawi. “ZM 309 is going to be included in the national subsidy program for the 2009/10 growing season.”

Both varieties were developed for drought-prone areas with infertile soils in eastern and southern Africa through joint efforts by CIMMYT and Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. They are also resistant to maize streak virus, gray leaf spot, and other diseases.

“We at CIMMYT are happy to be associated with Malawi and commend the Government of Malawi for boldly supporting its farmers through the national agricultural input subsidy program,” said Wilfred Mwangi, program leader, Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project. “The rest of Africa is going to learn from Malawi.”

Malawi’s green revolution

Malawi is now a net exporter of maize to the region and is being looked to as an African success story due to its food self-sufficiency. This success is owed to the country’s agricultural input subsidy program, initiated by the government in 2005 after Malawi experienced one of its worst harvests in years. Farmers are supplied with improved maize seed and fertilizer at subsidized prices and can choose either hybrid or OPV seed. Seed Co, Malawi, plans to produce enough certified seed of the new varieties for farmers to plant in coming summer seasons. As well, both varieties are OPVs so farmers can save and re-use the seed optimally for up to three subsequent seasons.

Also organizing and participating in the launch from CIMMYT were Peter Setimela, seed systems specialist; Brian Chiputwa, research associate, Socio-Economics Program; and Anne Wangalachi, science writer/editor. CIMMYT is grateful to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Malawi for supporting Innovation Learning Platform (ILeP) activities and the launch of the new varieties. Special thanks also goes to Dr. Andrew Daudi; Dr. Jeff Luhanga, controller of Agricultural Extension and Technical Services; and to Christine Mtambo, chief agricultural officer (crop production).

Similar field days will be held in Balaka District to raise awareness and allow farmers to interact freely with researchers, seed producers, and other stakeholders.

The annual collaborators meeting of the New Seeds Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa (NSIMA), which included the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project, was held in Lilongwe, Malawi, during 13-14 August, 2008; with 35 participants from 9 southern African countries sharing their progress reports on in-country projects supported by NSIMA and DTMA, and being updated on some of the new tools in crop research.

The meeting was opened by the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, A.T. Daudi. He emphasized the need for continued development of the maize sector through facilitating government policies, illustrating this with the advances Malawi has made in improving maize production through government funded input support subsidies. These policies have increased maize yields in Malawi in recent years, and enabled the country to export significant quantities of grain to other southern African countries. Other presentations were “National Agricultural Policies for Advancement of the Seed Sector in Malawi” by J. Luhanga (Controller of Agricultural Extension and Technical Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Republic of Malawi); “Use of Marker Assisted Breeding for Improving Yield Gains in Maize” by Bindi Vivek, CIMMYT Maize Breeder, and “Advances in Drought Breeding in South Africa” by K. Mashingaidze (Department Manager: Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, ARC-Grain Crops Institute, South Africa).

Notably in 2008, the research projects released several new varieties – many of which were CIMMYT open pollinated varieties such as ZM309, ZM523, ZM623, and ZM721. Other outcomes were: basic seed production by national programs for distribution to seed houses and community seed producers; identification of improved varieties from regional and national trials; and training workshops for research associates in Angola and Malawi.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the award of prizes for the best national breeding team and the best technology dissemination team. These prizes are awarded through the DTMA Project and serve to stimulate excellence in breeding and rapid scale-up of improved drought mitigating technologies, such as improved varieties. For 2008, the awards were won by Zambia for the best breeding team, and Zimbabwe for the best technology dissemination team. Our congratulations to the two national teams!