Location: Africa

CIMMYT’s work in Africa helps farmers access new maize and wheat systems-based technologies, information and markets, raising incomes and enhancing crop resilience to drought and climate change. CIMMYT sets priorities in consultation with ministries of agriculture, seed companies, farming communities and other stakeholders in the maize and wheat value chains. Our activities in Africa are wide ranging and include: breeding maize for drought tolerance and low-fertility soils, and for resistance to insect pests, foliar diseases and parasitic weeds; sustainably intensifying production in maize- and wheat-based systems; and investigating opportunities to reduce micronutrient and protein malnutrition among women and young children.

Drought tolerant maize for Africa award recognizes Zimbabwe partners

Written by on November 24, 2011. Posted in News.

DTMA-Breeding-Team-Award-2011-2.-Emma On 14 November 2011 Thokozile Ndlela and Charles Mutimaamba of Zimbabwe’s Crop Breeding Institute received the DTMA Breeding Team Award for southern Africa. It was presented by Cosmos Magorokosho, CIMMYT Zimbabwe Maize Breeder, at a management meeting of the Department of Research and Specialist Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development of the Government of Zimbabwe, at their head office in Harare. The award consisted of USD 3000 and a silver tray that the winners will be able to display until it is reawarded next year.

“We truly appreciate this award, because it recognizes the efforts of all our team and shows our commitment to DTMA,” said Charles Mutimaamba. This is the third consecutive year that the Crop Breeding Institute has won the award in recognition of their outstanding achievements in maize breeding for drought tolerance. The team has consistently maintained a pedigree breeding program at Harare Research Station, using local and CIMMYT germplasm, and has been testing improved hybrids at two drought screening locations in southern Zimbabwe. The Crop Breeding Institute has also regularly submitted hybrids into the CIMMYT regional trials for widespread testing. Two drought tolerant hybrids, ZS263 and ZS265, were recently released and are in the process of seed scaleup with local seed companies.

Policy recommendations to improve the seed sector in eastern and southern Africa

Written by on November 7, 2011. Posted in News.

ESAgroup During 26-27 October 2011, seed policy experts met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a workshop on “Maize seed sector development in eastern and southern Africa”, to chart the way forward for the regions’ seed systems. The workshop was organized by CIMMYT as part of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, and brought together permanent secretaries of agriculture ministries, members of parliament, seed companies, seed traders associations, heads of research organizations, scientists, and seed regulators from eight of the project countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).

The experts reviewed the results of the 2010/2011 CIMMYT seed sector survey, and assessed the progress made since the last regional policy workshop in 2008, and the survey of 2007/2008. Among the noteworthy achievements was the regional harmonization of seed laws as well as an increasing evidence base to inform policy. Lively discussions focused on five themes: variety development and release; seed production; seed marketing, distribution and storage; farmer adoption and seed use; and seed laws and private sector participation.

To increase effectiveness and productivity of the seed sector, the experts made several policy recommendations:

International and regional seed laws should be domesticated and harmonized, and embedded within existing legislation.
To reduce trade in fake seed, competition commissions should be set up and anti-trust laws enacted, including Kenya’s Anti-counterfeit Act, and holograms should be used for seed packaging.
Smart subsidies with a clear exit strategy, in conjunction with services such as extension education and good agronomy, would be effective in increasing farmers’ access to new drought tolerant maize varieties.
Seed availability could be increased through irrigated seed production on more land, and credited finance guarantees through national governments.
The liberalization of seed production, certification, and trade would improve the efficiency of seed sectors and ensure that farmers have access to the best varieties for improved farm incomes and food security.

Summing up the outcomes from the workshop, Hon. John Mututho, Kenyan Member of Parliament and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee said: “The experts at this meeting have accurately coined the policy issues dealing with seed production, marketing and trade. These policy recommendations should be adopted by the [Kenyan] Executive and Parliament as the basis for developing the Kenyan Seed Act, to be passed in 2012.”

Empowering maize technicians in Angola

Written by on October 11, 2011. Posted in News.

In 2010, several new maize varieties were released in Angola and taken up by emerging seed companies for multiplication and dissemination. To upgrade the skills and knowledge of the maize breeders, technicians, and seed services staff involved in the management of field trials and seed production, a Maize Technician Course was held in Huambo, Angola, during 26-29 September 2011. The training was attended by over 35 participants from emerging seed companies, national agricultural research systems, and NGOs. Lectures and practical sessions covered maize breeding, seed production, management of field trials, and components on variety testing and release. The results of pre- and post-course tests indicated that over 70% of participants significantly improved their knowledge and skills during the training.

Roberto Gomes, from the seed company Agropecuaria Kambondo LDA., said “This course is very useful. It will guide us in producing good quality seed and we hope it can be offered to all our staff in the company. We also wish that there can be exchange visits between CIMMYT and our company to see what CIMMYT is doing in Harare, and we hope we can now maintain the inbred lines and hybrids we have acquired from CIMMYT-Harare.”

Thanks go to Peter Setimela, Cosmos Magorokosho, and Tesfahun Girma (CIMMYT), Mpanzo Domingos, Director of Agricultural Research, Institute for Agronomic Investigation (IIA), and Dibanzilua Nginamau, Maize Coordinator for Angola (IIA), for organizing and coordinating the course.

DTMA Promotion and Dissemination Award 2010/11

Written by on October 11, 2011. Posted in News.

The 2010/11 DTMA Promotion and Dissemination Award was presented to the Angolan National Coordinating Unit (NCU) by CIMMYT’s Cosmos Mogorokosho and Peter Setimela. Mpanzo Domingos, Director of the Angolan Institute for Agronomic Investigation accepted the award and thanked the Angolan Maize NCU for their efforts in releasing and promoting new drought tolerant maize varieties in Angola. He hopes the award will motivate scientists and seed companies in Angola to promote agriculture.

Partners in southern Africa projects discuss maize seed regulations

Written by on October 4, 2011. Posted in News.

Partners from various projects for farmers in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met in Gaborone, Botswana, during 10-12 August 2011 to review progress and discuss future directions. Interactions involved members of the New Maize Seed Initiative for Southern Africa (NSIMA), the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) projects, as well as representatives from SADC, CIMMYT, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and local seed producers.

Edison Wotho, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana, praised Botswana’s participation in NSIMA, whose products for that country’s farmers include a new drought tolerant maize hybrid (CZH0623) and three OPVs (ZM309, ZM401 and ZM523). “The projects come at the right time,” said Wotho. “The region is experiencing frequent droughts and food shortages.”

Simon Mwale, SADC headquarters, Gaborone, highlighted the progress of his organization, CIMMYT, and other partners to harmonize the seed regulations and ease restrictions on the release and cross-border movement of seed in the region. He said a SADC Seed Centre would be established in Lusaka, Zambia, to help implement harmonized seed regulations (a MoU is expected to be signed soon by SADC countries). George Bigirwa, Senior Program Officer, AGRA and Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS), described how to establish a successful seed business in Africa. Presenting outcomes of a recently conducted review of NSIMA in preparation for a phase III, SDC consultant David Karite mentioned that 7 new OPVs and 13 hybrids had been registered in SADC during 2008-10.

During a visit to Botswana’s Seed Multiplication Unit, participants discovered that the Unit produces about 3,000 tons yearly of Kgalagadi Early Pearly, the only registered OPV sold at a subsidized price by the government. It is looking forward to multiplying seed of drought tolerant maize varieties from the various projects. As part of NSIMA, breeder’s seed is also being multiplied to scale up seed production for the new varieties.

At a cocktail party sponsored by Seed Co-Botswana, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT Regional Liaison Officer for Southern Africa, gave an overview of the center’s activities in the region and commitments in support of the SADC objectives to enhance food security. He said CIMMYT was very pleased to partner with the new Center for the Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (Southern Africa-CCARDESA). Mekuria and CIMMYT Maize Breeder Peter Setimela also visited the Botswana Department of Agricultural Research to introduce the “Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa program” (SIMLESA), following up on a 2010 visit by the President of Botswana to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to involve Botswanan scientists in the project.

Conservation agriculture trials impress in southern Ethiopia

Written by on August 30, 2011. Posted in News.

In Hawassa region, southern Ethiopia, maize yields have been steadily declining. The deep-rooted agricultural practices of low farm input application and removal of crop residues to feed livestock have damaged the land: soil is eroded, nutrients and organic matter are depleted.

But change is afoot. In Ethiopia, the Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative is being implemented by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), with technical support from CIMMYT and financial assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Last year, SIMLESA conducted on-farm trials using conservation agriculture (CA) techniques: minimum tillage, crop residue management, intercropping/crop rotation (with maize and haricot beans) and participatory variety selection trials.

One of the farmers taking part in the trials was Yohanes Gudeta. He planted four CA trial plots: sole maize (BH-543), sole haricot bean (rotation), sole maize (rotation) and maize intercropped with haricot bean. In comparing these with the trial plot he farmed using traditional techniques, Gudeta observed that “the maize under CA is very robust and green, an indication of far better yields than we usually harvest.” Next planting season, Gudeta plans to increase his area under CA from trial plots to 0.5 ha.

According to Dagne Wagery, SIMLESA National Coordinator for Ethiopia, the trials aim to demonstrate that practicing CA allows for enhanced productivity and profitability of maize and legumes, whilst decreasing production risks such as abiotic and biotic constraints. Gudeta agrees: “soil erosion is a big problem in this area considering that we have sandy soils. The plots under CA are not affected by soil erosion,” he said. Farmers participating in the trials have also found that CA is less labour intensive, largely due to the Roundup herbicide used in CA, which controls grasses as well as weeds.

The success of the trials encouraged EIAR and CIMMYT to organize a farmers’ field day to demonstrate the performance of CA technologies, which was held in the Hawassa Zuria district on 16 August. Farmers from the other SIMLESA districts of Meskan and Misrak Badawacho attended, alongside agriculture officers, developments agents, seed dealers, and researchers.

The visitors were impressed with the visible results of CA, especially in the aspect of intercropping maize and beans, as this provides additional crop yield from the same piece of land. “Obtaining additional yield, be it maize or beans from the same piece of land is a boost to food security and land use efficiency,” said Solomon Admassu , SIMLESA Hawassa Site Coordinator and organizer of the field day. Following the success of these trials, the stakeholders have pledged to increase the dissemination and adoption of CA for enhanced food security in Ethiopia.

Mobile seed marketing in Africa

Written by on June 30, 2011. Posted in News.

Mobile2 Staff of this Tanzanian seed company drove a vehicle topped with Tanseed drought tolerant varieties in potters through the city’s crowded streets during the nation’s Worker’s Day Celebration. The crowd cheered as the vehicle entered Jamhuri Stadium and passed in front of the chief guest, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. And because the event was televised live on three national stations, the message about drought tolerant maize was likely viewed by a large audience.

This successful bit of mobile marketing was the brain-child of Tanseed CEO and managing director, Isaka M. Mashauri, a partner and beneficiary of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. Two drought tolerant varieties from Tanseed, TAN 250 and TAN 254, come from ZM 401 and ZM 721, varieties selected for tolerance to drought and low soil fertility conditions by CIMMYT at Chiredzi, Zimbabwe (for more details, see “No Maize, No Life”).

“At Tanseed, we aim to offer farmers many choices when it comes to drought tolerant maize varieties,” says Mashauri.

GMP director visits Zimbabwe

Written by on September 1, 2010. Posted in News.

During the week of 15 August 2010, Boddupalli Prasanna, director of the Global Maize Program, visited CIMMYT-Zimbabwe to participate in the first day of the “Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Maize Breeding Course.” The course runs from 15-31 August and is designed for early-career maize breeders who are interested in maize improvement for stress environments. During the trip, Prasanna also reviewed maize activities in Zimbabwe; conversed with CIMMYT-Harare staff; met with representatives of seed companies to discuses CIMMYT’s support activities for the private sector; and spoke with government officials. Additionally, Prasanna visited the CIMMYT research station at the University of Zimbabwe Farm (12.5 km north of Harare) and the Chiredzi and Chisumbunje research stations (500 km south of Harare) to review the drought testing sites, and the Muzarabani Estate (200 km north of Harare) to observe the winter nurseries.

CIMMYT’s commitment to Malawi’s agricultural development recognized

Written by on August 31, 2010. Posted in News.

On 02 August 2010, Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security held a meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, for all donor-funded agriculture projects coordinated by international centers operating in the country. This meeting was organized by the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach Program (ASWAP) in order to review how contributions from these projects complement national agricultural initiatives, and to inform the donor community of how their support is making an impact.

CIMMYT, one of eight CGIAR centers working in Malawi, received special recognition from Dr. Andrew Daudi, Malawi’s Principal Secretary for Agriculture, and from Dr. Jeff Luhanga, Controller of Technical and Extension Services. Both acknowledged CIMMYT as a key collaborative partner for maize production technologies, which have helped improve Malawi’s maize-based food security. Specific CIMMYT achievements in Malawi include the development, release, and dissemination of improved maize varieties; the promotion of metal silo technology; training of national scientists; and the adoption of conservation agriculture practices for smallholder farmers.

At the meeting, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT regional liaison officer and SIMLESA project leader, presented on CIMMYT’s works, focusing on the center’s strong science, partnerships, and capacity building. He also distributed related project briefs from the center. These documents impressed Daudi, who requested that all centers develop similar informational and communicative materials. Meeting attendees all agreed to follow one shared format for these materials to be used in future publications.

Specific CIMMYT initiatives operating in Malawi include: the New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa (NSIMA); Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA); the Effective Grain Storage Project; Sustainable Intensification of Maize Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA); the Soil Fertility Consortium for Southern Africa (SOFECSA); and work on conservation agriculture in maize-based farming systems.

For more information on CIMMYT’s work in Malawi, see CIMMYT’s June 2010 e-news Maize farmers and seed businesses changing with the times in Malawi.

Maize-legume project launched in southern Africa

Written by on May 24, 2010. Posted in News.

During 11-15 May 2010, CIMMYT scientists from the Conservation Agriculture, Socioeconomics, and Maize programs met with SIMLESA partners in Malawi and Mozambique, coinciding with each country’s official SIMLESA launch. SIMLESA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa) is new four-year project to improve farm-level food security and productivity in eastern and southern Africa. The project is a collaboration of international and national agricultural research programs, led by CIMMYT, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and implemented in collaboration with national partners.

On 12 May in Malawi, the Principal Secretary of Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Andrew Daudi, announced the beginning of SIMLESA-Malawi. Daudi expressed his gratitude to the Australian Government and ACIAR for their generous financial assistance to SIMLESA, and to CIMMYT and its partners for developing the program document and preparing for the start of field activities.

Two days later, the Governor of Mozambique’s Manica Province, Ana Comuane, officially launched SIMELESA-Mozambique on 14 May in Chimoio, the province’s capital city and where the national maize research program is based. The Governor congratulated all those who assisted with the project’s development and encouraged SIMLESA partners to maintain the partnerships and collaborations fostered by the project, which will help meet the goal of increased productivity. She also extended her gratitude to ACIAR and the Australian government for their financial assistance.

SIMLESA project leader Mulugetta Mekuria, along with CIMMYT and ICRISAT scientists Bekele Shiferaw, Patrick Wall, Mosses Siambi, and Emmanuel Monyo presented project specific objectives and facilitated the subsequent discussions. National agricultural research institutes and private sector partners also outlined the current status and challenges of research in their respective organizations. In both Malawi and Mozambique, partners indicated their commitment to the implementation of the planned project activities. TV and press media in Malawi and Mozambique extensively covered the launch and inception meetings, and related government officials, SIMLESA project leaders, and national coordinators gave interviews.

BRAC International team visits CIMMYT-Kenya

Written by on April 21, 2010. Posted in News.

On 09 April 2010, a team of four executives from BRAC International (formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) visited CIMMYT-Kenya’s Nairobi office to discuss increased collaboration.

In 2009, BRAC-Tanzania collaborated with CIMMYT offices in Kenya and Zimbabwe on regional maize trials. Thirteen of these trials performed well and will be planted again this year in five locations in Tanzania to test some of the best CIMMYT hybrids. After testing these new hybrids for drought tolerance, BRAC plans to release and market hybrid seed of these varieties in Tanzania.

After winning a competitive grant from the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project through the Maize Working Group, the BRAC team requested stronger collaboration with CIMMYT – mainly through the sharing of maize germplasm and the training of their maize breeders and technicians. They will now work closely with CIMMYT maize breeder Dan Makumbi and, the Selian Agricultural Research Institute in Arusha, Tanzania, one of CIMMYT’s partners.

BRAC International, the largest non-governmental development organization in the world, is committed to fighting poverty through improvements in agriculture, health, education, and income. Founded in Bangladesh, BRAC’s work is mainly in Asia and Africa, with offices in 11 countries. In Africa, BRAC is working in Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

“We are excited by this collaboration, and we appreciate CIMMYT-Kenya’s support to BRAC in Tanzania on maize research and seed production,” said Aminul Alam, executive director of BRAC International Programs. “As we expand to cover five more African countries, and to develop and promote suitable maize varieties, we look forward to continuing this collaboration.”

Attendees of the CIMMYT-BRAC meeting included Wilfred Mwangi, Global Maize Program associate director, Makumbi, Alam, and Imran Matin, BRAC deputy director. BRACTanzania was represented by Abdus Salam, senior production agriculture manager, and Mizanur Rahman, livestock senior manager.

Benefits of biofortification explored during meeting in Zambia

Written by on April 20, 2010. Posted in News.

Over 50 experts gathered in Lusaka, Zambia during 15-18 March 2010 for HarvestPlus’s 5th Maize Team Meeting. The meeting, organized by CIMMYT and hosted by the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), included overviews of progress reports, four field visits, and identification of needs and development plans for further success.

HarvestPlus is a CGIAR Challenge Program that uses biofortification to improve the nutritional value of staple foods.

A key topic at the meeting was the development and use of maize varieties with high amounts of provitamin A and their potential benefits for consumers in Zambia. Between one third and half of all Zambian children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which weakens their vision and immune systems, makes them more vulnerable to various diseases, and reduces their productivity and quality of life. Maize is Zambia’s staple food. HarvestPlus uses conventional breeding to create maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties with a high density of pro-vitamin A.

ZARI and private companies are currently evaluating advanced experimental varieties for yield and agronomic characteristics; the best of these will be tested for pro-vitamin A content. Additionally, a new generation of varieties with higher amounts of pro-vitamin A than today’s best hybrids is now being bred. New information on a crucial gene that increases pro-vitamin A has made this possible. This information was published in a March 2010 article in Nature Genetics.

During the meeting, attendees presented and discussed several other topics and studies. These included socio-economic work to assess the likely consumer acceptance of biofortified orange maize; food technology to assess the effects of food preparation on the nutritional value of maize; biochemistry to assess the causes and losses of pro-vitamin A during milling and storage; and nutrition to assess the health impacts on children who eat biofortified maize.

A particularly fruitful session involved several stakeholders from Zambia, including representatives from the Ministry of Health, nongovernmental organizations, ZARI, and seed companies. Partnerships with these and other Zambian colleagues are essential for the delivery of biofortified maize to farmers and consumers. CIMMYT attendees included Kevin Pixley, Natalia Palacios, Hugo de Groote, John MacRobert, Sebastian Mawere, and Amsal Tarekegne.

New collaborative maize and legume project kicks off in Africa

Written by on April 14, 2010. Posted in News.

A collaboration of national agricultural research programs has launched a new project to improve farm-level food security and productivity in eastern and southern Africa. The Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) is a four-year project with various partner institutions. It is led by CIMMYT and funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

At the end of March, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) hosted a SIMLESA country planning meeting. The goals of the meeting were to plan SIMLESA project activities, develop detailed work plans and budgets, and to identify additional possible partnerships. Abera Deressa, Ethiopia’s state minister of agriculture, opened the meeting and congratulated CIMMYT for being a model for partnerships and for enhancing agricultural research and collaborations in sub-Saharan Africa. He was followed by Adefris Teklewold, director of crops research at EIAR, who welcomed all the participants to the meeting.

Next was a presentation by John Dixon, ACIAR advisor. Dixon gave an overview of the project’s origins; discussed the role of ACIAR and other Australian institutions; and emphasized the importance of integration and innovative systems to achieve real impact and meet SIMLESA objectives. This was followed by an address on CIMMYT’s commitment to SIMLESA and the region, given by Bekele Shiferaw, director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program.

The meeting continued with SIMLESA program coordinator Mulugetta Mekuria. Mekuria presented a profile of the project and its current status, as well as expected outputs of the planning meeting. Several other participants also gave presentations.

A similar meeting was held during 19-21 February 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. This was the joint country planning meeting for Kenya and Tanzania, hosted by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). More than 35 participants from Kenya, Tanzania, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) attended the planning workshop.

Major SIMLESA partners include national agricultural research institutes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique, along with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development, and Innovation (QDEEDI), Murdoch University in Australia, ASARECA, ICRISAT, and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC).

Sasakawa and partners impacts

Written by on January 18, 2010. Posted in News.

A website designed to track the effectiveness of efforts to improve farmers’ livelihoods in Ethiopia and Uganda is available to the public and the CIMMYT community at http://sg2000ia.cimmyt.org/. The site provides information that is used to monitor knowledge from and assess impacts of the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA)— particularly the Sasakawa-Global 2000 Program—and partners on their capacity building efforts and dissemination of technologies for improved cropping practices in Africa.

This impact-assessing project has been in place since 2006 and focuses on maize and wheat production; conservation agriculture; tillage technology; and post-harvest, agroprocessing, and improved marketing technologies for other relevant crops in local farming systems. The corresponding website, developed by Roberto La Rovere and launched in 2008, has information on the project’s background, approach, and key contributors. It also contains peer-reviewed journal paper, socioeconomic reports, datasets, interactive Google Earth maps, and other collection and management tools.

Innovative partnerships boost livestock-maize systems in eastern Africa

Written by on January 7, 2010. Posted in News.

In recent times, in eastern Africa, arable land has become more scarce and livestock production has gained more ground, making maize more important than ever—both as a source of food and feed—in highly intensified crop-livestock farming systems. In an innovative partnership, CIMMYT, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners from universities, research centers, and ministries of agriculture in Ethiopia, Tanzania , Kenya, and Germany have worked together to develop and evaluate dual-purpose maize cultivars to meet the increasing need for livestock fodder in a project funded by BMZ from 2005 to 2009. The partnership—new to all those involved—brought together socio-economists, animal scientists, maize breeders, and spatial analysts.

Recently, CIMMYT and ILRI organized an end-of-project workshop themed “Improving the Value of Maize Stover as Livestock Feed” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for stakeholders to review results of the project and agree on future directions. Maize stover is the leftover leaves, stalks, husks, and cobs after a harvest.

“Livestock is important in Ethiopia—contributing 40% to our gross domestic product (GDP). Available grazing land has decreased while the area under maize has increased. Therefore, stovers have become an important source of fodder,” said Adefris Teklewold, crop research process director at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), who opened the workshop. “However, maize stover has low nutritive value and this project has the potential of increasing its value as livestock feed.”

Researchers found that that farmers value grain yield much more than stover fodder value, and would adopt an improved variety only if it gave reasonable yields. Nevertheless, farmers do recognize differences among varieties in the fodder value of stover, particularly in traits such as ‘stay-green,’ softness of stalks, and palatability. After grain yield and food related attributes, stover biomass is an important characteristic upon which farmers base their selection of varieties.

The project successfully explored the potential to improve maize stover for livestock fodder and identified traits that could be used by breeding programs to do so. These traits would serve as additional ‘value added’ release criteria rather than requirements for release to facilitate optimization of whole plant utilization. To adopt and implement these findings will require more widespread awareness among actors in the food-feed value chain, including government extension workers, private seed companies, and farmers so that breeding for improved stover quality can be integrated in national maize breeding programs. Workshop participants also recognized competition for other uses of stover, such as fuel and fencing, as well as its importance in soil conservation. As Teklewold advised, “Reducing soil degradation and erosion from the hillsides and sloping fields on which much of Ethiopian agriculture is practiced is an urgent need. Reduced tillage and residue conservation are crucial to this task.” Participants were left with the challenge of how to reconcile the competing demands for crop residues in maize-livestock systems.