Location: Nigeria

CIMMYT and IITA training on management of seed production and maize field trials

Written by on September 21, 2012. Posted in News.

Menkir-and-group-IITA-Training-Aug-2012_JohnMacRobert During 27 August – 1 September 2012, the Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA) project held a training course on management of field trials and nurseries and seed production of open pollinated and hybrid maize varieties. The course took place at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was attended by 30 participants from Ghana and Nigeria, including CIMMYT scientists Peter Setimela and John MacRobert. The resource persons were drawn from Nigerian universities, the National Agriculture Research System, IITA, and CIMMYT.

The training session was opened by Nteranya Sanginga, IITA director general, who commended the collaboration between IITA and CIMMYT in implementing DTMA and working towards its vision of producing more than 70,000 tons of drought tolerant maize seed. Sanginga also spoke of the importance of training to empower maize technicians from the national maize programs and seed companies to manage field trials and produce quality seed needed by smallholder farmers in Ghana and Nigeria.

The training course emphasized the importance of good trial management, advanced experimental designs, management of maize nurseries and variety trials, and key aspects of seed production. Training included practical field sessions during which participants applied appropriate experimental designs for various fields and learnt how to lay out a field trial. They also tried various pollinating techniques used in maize breeding and variety maintenance.

Maize-IITA-training-Aug-Group-picture

DTMA partners in West Africa gather for annual regional planning meeting

Written by on May 17, 2012. Posted in News.

DTMA-W.-Africa-meeting The Regional Planning Meeting for phase III of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project was held in Kumasi, Ghana, during the week of 16-19 April 2012. The objectives of this meeting were to (i) review and document progress on DTMA project activities conducted in West Africa in 2011, (ii) present, critically review, and approve project proposals submitted for funding by partner countries Benin Republic, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria under phase III, and develop work plans for the 2012 cropping season. The regional meetings have proved instrumental in planning and monitoring of DTMA project activities and building the requisite partnerships for successful implementation of the project.

The meeting was attended by 26 participants, representing research institutions, national agricultural research system (NARS) partners, NGOs, and seed companies. NARS scientists from the partner countries presented 20 progress reports and received feedback. All the presenters highlighted the importance of engaging partners from diverse disciplines in successfully implementing project activities in their respective countries. Discussion sessions were devoted to peer-review of the four partner countries’ 2012 work plans on complementary breeding, seed production, regional trials, national performance, and on-farm trials, demonstrations and promotional activities.

After this, national group meetings were held to revise the work plans taking into consideration the input provided, and these were then presented during plenary sessions. During the meeting, it was reported that a total of 38 new drought tolerant maize varieties have so far been released, including seven hybrids, with a total of 1,057 metric tons of seed produced. The DTMA project, which is jointly led by CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), makes annual awards to the best teams in each region to motivate scientists and foster healthy competition among partner countries. An award committee consisting of a representative from each of the participating countries and two independent members convened during the planning meeting, and assessed achievements and progress made in 2011. Ghana received the award for the best technology promotion team award in West Africa, while Nigeria received the best breeding team award. The runners-up were the Malian team for technology promotion and Benin Republic for breeding. Hans Adu-Dapaah, director of the Ghanaian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI), presented the awards to the winning teams during the closing ceremony. IITA also presented CIMMYT’s Wilfred Mwangi with a plaque as a token of appreciation for his good leadership of the DTMA project in phases I and II.

IITA and CIMMYT join forces for food security in Africa

Written by on April 20, 2012. Posted in News.

IITA-012 On 15 February 2012, CIMMYT director general Tom Lumpkin met with his peer, Nteranya Sanginga, at the headquarters of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria. Accompanied by CIMMYT-Regional Liaison Officer, Wilfred Mwangi, Lumpkin also interacted with IITA maize breeders Baffour Badu-Apraku, Abebe Menkir, and Sam Ajala, as well as IITA socioeconomist Tahirou Abdoulaye.

Topics of discussion included governance and management of MAIZE, the CGIAR research program launched in July 2011 and jointly led by CIMMYT and IITA. The initiative aims to meet the annual food demand of an additional 135 million consumers by 2020 and an additional 600 million by 2030.

IITA-Visit-021 Lumpkin and Mwangi visited IITA maize trials, including those of maize bred for resistance to the parasitic flowering plant, Striga spp., through crosses with teosinte. Attaching to sprouting maize seedlings, Striga saps nutrients and imparts a toxin that slows growth. It causes damage to Africa’s maize estimated in the billions of dollars and affects as much as 40 million hectares of food crops across the region. Teosinte belongs to the same genus as maize and is considered the crop’s predecessor.

Maize was the main focus of the visit, but wheat in West Africa emerged as an important subject. Nigeria currently imports USD 4 billion of wheat. Now at over 150 million, the country’s population is expected to exceed 400 million by 2050. Regarding increasing populations and their implications for food security, Dr. Sanginga stated: “In the end, we don’t care about IITA, CIMMYT, or what have you. What we do care about is that we solve the problem….CIMMYT is an important ally of IITA. This visit reassures us of CIMMYT’s commitment to delivering improved maize technologies for food security in Africa.”

The call at IITA was one of three recent visits by Lumpkin to CGIAR centers in Africa, including the World Agroforestry Center and ILRI.

Nigerian government pledges support for CIMMYT’s DTMA project

Written by on January 9, 2012. Posted in News.

In December 2011, Nigerian’s Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, pledged the support of the federal government for CIMMYT and the Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in producing and distributing drought resistance maize seeds in West African countries. The pledge was made at a workshop organized by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. Read the full story here.