Skip to main content

Location: Uganda

New maize brings hope to farmers in Striga-infested regions in Tanzania and Uganda

Written by on . Posted in News.

For many years, farmers in Tanzania have desperately tried to control the parasitic flowering plant Striga spp.—popularly known as witchweed—that can make maize farming nearly impossible in regions of heavy infestation. In Tanzania Striga infests an estimated 0.6 million hectares over 10 regions, causing yearly losses to farmers of some 1.7 million tons of grain worth US$ 350 million. For lack of cost-effective control measures for this pest, some farmers have stopped growing maize.

However, there is now hope, thanks to a new maize variety, that is effective in controlling Striga. The variety, TAN222, has the added advantage of being high yielding 3.7 tons per hectare, according to Isaka Mashauri, director of Tanseed International, the company that is commercializing the variety in Tanzania.

Many years of joint research by CIMMYT, BASF (a multinational producer and supplier of agrochemicals), and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have resulted in a solution and source of hope for farmers. It involves coating seed of a herbicide-tolerant maize variety with the systemic herbicide imazapyr. When the seed is sown and sprouts, any Striga plants that attack it are killed. As part of this research, the partners developed herbicide tolerant maize lines based on a natural mutation in maize.

The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is promoting this technology among farmers and extension agencies in areas of sub-Saharan Africa where Striga is prevalent. In Tanzania, the seed company Tanseed International has used the herbicide tolerant lines from this effort to develop and market the maize variety TAN222.

Anatia Mike, a farmer in Muheza District, Tanzania, tried using herbicide-coated seed of TAN222 and managed to harvest 1.2 tons of grain per hectare from her Striga infested farm, where previously she was getting yields of only 0.5 tons. At a recent field day organized by the research partners on Mike’s homestead to demonstrate the efficacy of this technology, Karimu Mtambo, the Director of Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives, lauded the practice as the best and most effective in controlling Striga and improving maize yields, and called on farmers to adopt it together with other good agricultural practices.

Also present were Mashauri; Denis Tumwesigye Kyetere and Gospel Omanya, Executive Director and Seed Systems Manager, respectively, AATF; BASF representative Sammy Waruingi; Ibrahim Matovu, Muheza District Commissioner; and from CIMMYT agronomist Fred Kanampiu and breeder Dan Makumbi.

Kyetere promised full support from AATF in scaling out the technology, and Kanampiu called on the government to put in place mechanisms like herbicide registration for commercial use that would facilitate speedy adoption of the technology. He also urged seed companies to work with the Ministry of Agriculture to educate farmers on its use. Matovu promised to have Striga control included in the district agenda, particularly in budgeting.

DTMA III holds annual meeting

Written by on . Posted in News.

The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Initiative held its first annual meeting of phase 3 during 24- 28 September 2012 at the Nairobi Safari Club Hotel in Kenya. The meeting was attended by 83 participants representing national programs, training institutions from DTMA partner countries (Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), project’s advisory board members, and seed companies. The participants reviewed and discussed the progress made during the first year of the project, and visited the Western Seed company production fields in Rongai, Nakuru County.

DTMA has produced 105 maize varieties, 48 hybrids, and 57 open-pollinated varieties between 2007 and 2012. In addition, the project has trained technicians, breeders, and seed companies in seed business management in Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. The meeting highlighted the varieties developed by DTMA for drought-prone areas, whose performance also matches or exceeds that of commercial varieties under optimum conditions. In Southern Africa, on-farm trials of drought-tolerant (DT) hybrids produced 20-30 % more yield than the common check variety. In Western Africa, DT open-pollinated varieties produced up to 40 % more yield than farmer varieties during on-farm trials.

There is a surge in new DT varieties, particularly hybrids, being registered and coming into production in all DTMA countries. In addition, uptake of DT lines by companies holding important market shares (e.g. Seed Co and Kenya Seed Company) is increasing. The total production of DT varieties in the 13 DTMA countries reached more than 25,000 MT in 2012, with the largest amount being produced in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. Seed policy workshops have created conditions for national governments to address maize seed sector development.

drying-maize-seed-in-the-sun

CIMMYT strengthens links with seed companies in Uganda and Kenya

Written by on . Posted in News.

John-SalimStrengthening and enhancing seed systems is critical to ensure that released varieties reach the ultimate beneficiary — the farmer, and that farmers, especially smallholders, are able to access improved maize seed varieties from seed companies who are often key players in the maize value chain. This is why scientists working on seed systems at CIMMYT met with seed companies at the Uganda Seed Trade Association (USTA) meeting during 19-20 September 2012 in Kampala, Uganda. CIMMYT was represented by seed system specialists John MacRobert and Mosisa Worku, whose objective was to create awareness on new drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties and roadmaps for their seed production. The meeting was attended by 12 participants representing 9 seed companies, along with representatives from USTA.

MacRobert highlighted the importance of working with seed companies and USTA in delivering improved maize seed varieties to farmers, and explained the support CIMMYT provides to seed companies. Worku introduced the new CIMMYT DT maize varieties, while Godfrey Asea, maize research coordinator from the National Agricultural Research Organisation-Uganda, presented 11 recently released maize varieties originating from CIMMYT and/or a combination of CIMMYT materials and the national maize research materials. The seed companies were taught how to identify new DT maize varieties, how to request new varieties and their parental lines, and how to prepare seed road maps.

Following the meeting, the team visited Kenya Seed Company and Western Seed Company, in Kitale, Kenya, from 21-22 September. They traveled to Kenya Seed Company’s demonstration plots and discussed releasing DT varieties in mid-altitude areas in East Africa, as the company operates in other East African countries as well. At Western Seed Company, the team visited a nursery, trial sites, and demonstration plots. They also had the opportunity to observe the company’s DT maize varieties seed production activities and in exchange provided technical advice to the company.

WEMA prepares for commercial release of new varieties

Written by on . Posted in News.

Stephen-Mugo-explaining-WEMA-trials-to-Seed-CompanyTwenty-nine drought-tolerant, early maturing, disease-resistant hybrids developed by the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project are getting ready to be released, a huge success for WEMA and all its stakeholders. “The 29 hybrids advanced to national performance trials is a record release by an entity in Africa in all times. These high performing hybrids yield 20–35 % more grain under moderate drought compared to 2008 commercially available hybrids,” said Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT principal scientist and co-chair of the WEMA Product Development Team. “Let us seize the technological opportunities that are there to boost productivity and people’s welfare,” he added. The white hybrids resistant to stem borers, maize weevils, and large grain borer, and to diseases such as grey leaf spot, northern leaf blight, and maize streak virus will complement other drought tolerant hybrids developed and released by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) initiative. These first WEMA hybrids were developed from CIMMYT’s drought tolerant germplasm accelerated using the doubled haploid technology from the Monsanto platform.

Moderate drought is a major production constraint for small-scale farmers in Africa who rely on rainfed agriculture, and this rapid progress is thus great news for African farmers. WEMA stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, and South Africa met in Nairobi, Kenya, during 10-13 September 2012 for the WEMA Project Second Regional Stakeholders and Seed Company Meetings organized by CIMMYT, Monsanto, and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) to discuss the project. Denis Kyetere, AATF executive director and executive advisory board member, explained that WEMA is a public-private partnership with the goal of developing and deploying royalty-free African drought-tolerant and insect-pest resistant climate change ready maize. Wilson Songa, Kenya’s Agriculture Secretary and the chief guest at the meetings, noted that Africa’s agriculture must be competitive and must ensure that productivity is meeting the continent’s needs. This can be achieved by advancing the cause of science and technology in the midst of climate change, an approach taken by WEMA and appreciated by Ephraim Mukisira, WEMA executive advisory board member and the director of Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). “We in the agricultural sector must strive to cut the hunger and improve the welfare of thousands who rely on agriculture. We would like to see the expansion of maize production area but, more importantly, maize productivity. We must embrace science and technology to achieve these goals,” said Mukisira.

According to Sylvester Oikeh, WEMA project manager, the first conventionally bred hybrid seeds will be available in 2014 to farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, and in 2015 to farmers in Mozambique and Tanzania. Reiterating Monsanto’s excitement and commitment to WEMA, Kinyua MMbijjewe, Monsanto’s Africa Corporate Affairs manager, warned that Africa cannot afford to rely on maize imports: “Africa should strive to be self-reliant in maize production. Those areas suitable for maize production should be made more robust through the adoption of appropriate technologies.”

The stakeholders later visited WEMA trials at KARI-Kiboko. They were impressed by the performance of the varieties on display in the demonstration plots, as many have outperformed some of the best local hybrid checks on the market. After seeing the trial fields, seed companies from Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa expressed their readiness to take up the promising varieties for commercialization, noting that it is a great business opportunity. According to Norah Olembo, Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum executive director, rapid release of the varieties to the farmers is also critical for improving productivity, food security, and livelihoods, considering that 75 % of agricultural land in sub-Saharan Africa is drought prone.

Honorable Casimiro Pedro Sacadura Huate, Mozambican Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Commission on Agriculture, Rural Development, Economic Architecture and Services, assured the project implementers of the government’s support. His counterpart from Uganda, Honorable Binta Lukumu, member of the Parliamentary Standards Committee on Agriculture, promised to promote the project in Uganda and urged the project implementers to bring on board other members of parliament in WEMA countries to help them understand and champion the course of the project and argue for favorable decisions in their respective countries.

Scientists from SIMLESA Spillover countries visit Kenya

Written by on . Posted in News.

IMG_6001A delegation of scientists from South Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda —the spillover countries of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative— visited Embu, Kenya, during 18-20 July 2012, to gain hands-on experience in implementing the program and to learn about its impact on livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

The delegation comprised Leonidas Dusengemungu, Albert Ruhakana, and Alphonse Nyobanyire from Rwanda; Luka Atwok, Anna Itwari, and Cirino Oketayoyt from South Sudan; and Drake N. Mubiru, William Nanyenya, and Godfrey Otim from Uganda. The scientists found the visit very educative and informative. They learned about the implementation of SIMLESA in Kenya and the role of national agricultural research institutions, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in particular, in the process. They also gained insights into the innovation platform establishment and arising challenges, maize-beans intercropping and timing, challenges and coping strategies for the implementation of SIMLESA, and the level of adaptation of SIMLESA technologies in Kenya.

In his introductory remarks, Stephen Njoka, KARI-Embu Center Director, explained the Center’s mandate, activities, opportunities, and challenges in conducting agricultural research in Kenya. He noted that research programs at KARI-Embu range from food crops and crop health, natural resource management, horticultural and industrial crops, animal production and health research, outreach and partnerships, to cross-cutting programs, such as socioeconomics and applied statistics. The Center also offers advisory services, such as technical support for partners and capacity development for other service providers, including extension service providers and NGOs. Alfred Micheni, KARI Agronomist and SIMLESA Site Coordinator for eastern Kenya, explained that the western and eastern sites in Kenya had been selected because of their potential for the highest impact. This was determined by their agricultural production constraints: low soil fertility, erratic rainfall, high cost of farm inputs, high incidences of pests and diseases, high cost of credit, and small land sizes.

The scientists had a chance to interact with farmers participating in SIMLESA during a farmers’ field day in Kyeni Division, Embu County, on 20 July 2012. The field day was hosted by the Kyeni Innovation Platform and showcased various treatments under conservation agriculture (CA): maize-legume intercrop, minimum tillage, furrows and ridges, use of herbicides, residue retention, and variety selection. The scientists also had the opportunity to compare the robust crops under CA with those under conventional agricultural practices which were unable to cope with the prolonged drought in the region.

Charles Nkonge, SIMLESA National Coordinator, stressed the importance of the innovation platforms used by the program to evaluate and scale out maizelegume intensification technologies and knowledge in a participatory manner. Other strategies for scaling out include farmer exchange visits and participatory exploratory demonstrations. Nkonge stressed the importance of the participatory nature of the evaluations; through cooperation between the farmers and other collaborators, experimental designs of some of the treatments were adjusted to achieve more efficiency. For instance, the design of maize-pigeon pea intercropping trial was changed from intercropping of one pigeon-pea row between two rows of maize, giving one crop of maize and pigeon pea per season, to five rows of maize between two rows of pigeon pea and one row of common beans between two rows of maize. With the new design, two crops of maize, two crops of beans, and one crop of pigeon pea are harvested every year. This demonstration of successful practices allowed the representatives from SIMLESA Spillover countries to leave Kenya feeling optimistic about the new partnership.

Maize without borders: Reforming maize seed sector policies to meet farmers’ needs in Africa

Written by on . Posted in Features.

CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 10, October 2008

Senior policy makers from sub-Saharan Africa have recently made recommendations for policy actions to reform operations in the maize seed sector. At stake is better access for millions of small-scale farmers to affordable, quality seed of maize, the region’s food staple. CIMMYT is closely involved.

oct01In the 2006-07 cropping season, 82 registered maize seed companies produced the bulk of just over 100,000 tons of improved maize seed that were marketed in the major maize producing countries of eastern and southern Africa (excluding South Africa) — enough to sow 35% of the maize land in those countries.

A recent CIMMYT study found that restrictive national policies, lack of credit opportunities, inadequate seed production capacities, insufficient numbers of recently released public sector varieties, and challenging marketing situations were the main reasons why maize seed sector growth is slow in many African countries. Worse, this situation contributes significantly to Africa’s poor food security and farm incomes.

“The good news is that we have today four times more seed companies than ten years ago and they have increased seed provision from 26% to 35% of the total planted maize area,” says CIMMYT socioeconomist Augustine Langyintuo. “Yet there is still a significant, unmet demand for seed, and this underscores the need for new policies that support efficient seed production, processing, and marketing.”

In 2007 Langyintuo led the above-mentioned study to characterize seed providers and bottlenecks to seed supplies in eastern and southern Africa. A total of 117 representatives from seed companies, national research programs, and CBOs/NGOs participated, and information was gathered on the seed sectors in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In July 2008, more than 60 senior policy makers from agriculture ministries, private seed companies, seed trade associations, and regional trade blocs from 13 sub-Saharan African countries met in Nairobi, Kenya and recommended ways to improve farmers’ access to seed of improved drought tolerant maize varieties through specific policy actions to enhance the production, release, and marketing of these varieties. They agreed with the findings of the 2007 seed sector study.

Understanding the hurdles

The main findings were that investment capital requirements and a shortage of qualified staff hinder the growth of small, local seed companies that have emerged over the past decade, according to Langyintuo. “The costs of setting up and running an office, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, and procuring and operating production, processing, and storage facilities are beyond what many local businesses can afford, and access to operational credit is limited or nil,” he says.

oct02

Up to 60% of a seed company’s operational budget goes into seed production. Seed companies, therefore, need affordable credit over the mid-to-long term to produce enough seed to meet farmers’ needs. Marketing seed is also costly. “Most companies rely on third-party agents such as agro-dealers, large retail stores, NGOs, or the government to retail most of their seed,” says Langyintuo. “The majority of the agro-dealers lack funds to purchase seed, and so must take it on consignment, forcing companies to retrieve unsold seed at cost. The dealers are normally not knowledgeable enough about the seed they sell to promote it effectively, and some of them have also been known to adulterate seed with mere grain.”

Other hurdles identified include cumbersome varietal release, registration, and seed certification regulations, as well as a weak producer base, slow access to the best germplasm, uncompetitive prices in local grain markets, low adoption rates of improved varieties, restrictions on cross-border trade in seed, and poor infrastructure (such as bad roads and inadequate storage facilities).

Policy actions needed

To get farmers the seed they want will involve a range of players in the maize seed sector and calls for specific policy actions. Participants in the July 2008 meeting identified ways in which governments and international centers like CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) can assist and support current seed companies to improve their seed outputs and profits.

“The government is supporting the maize seed sector through initiatives such as increasing investments in agricultural research and extension, training of agro-dealers, and developing the National Seed Industry Policy,” confirms Kenya’s Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Japheth Mbiuki.

“Seed companies would benefit from access to a wider range of improved maize varieties, good seed production sites, affordable inputs, and training in effective business practices,” adds Langyintuo. CIMMYT normally distributes its experimental varieties freely to everyone, but granting companies some degree of exclusivity in their use would facilitate branding and promote sales. This would have to be tailored to specific country and company contexts, according to Langyintuo.

Maize seed without borders

No country is an island, and with increasing regional integration of economies around the world, it makes sense that the region should move as one in developing its maize seed sector. Regional trade blocs such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are key. “Specific actions and commitments by national governments include dedicating increased funds (at least 10% of their national budgets) for agricultural development and harmonization of regional seed regulations,” says Ambassador Nagla El-Hussainy, COMESA Assistant Secretary General. “This will improve rates of variety release, lower costs in dealing with regulatory authorities, increase trade in seed of improved varieties and, ultimately, adoption by farmers.” In East Africa, for instance, the national seed policies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are at various stages of development and are set to be harmonized soon.

“Effective trade and risk management strategies that buffer seed supply within countries are needed to stabilize and increase maize production in the region,” says Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director. “These will mitigate the impact of drought and national production fluctuations, which are some of the harsh realities that farmers and consumers face.”

“Where applicable, carrying out the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) tests alongside national performance trials (NPT) could speed up varietal releases,” adds Langyintuo. “Farmers’ awareness of the usefulness and availability of new varieties can be raised through improved extension message delivery, widespread demonstrations, and better retail networks.”

According to Richard Amoussou, an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Benin: “The links between (community-based) seed producers and seed companies should be strengthened through contracts. This will ensure that quality seed is produced and sold to seed companies, who must finally distribute the seed to the farmers, thus improving their access.”

“Streamlining the seed sector will directly benefit the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers and result in more and more affordable food for consumers – significant in the current global food crisis,” concludes Bänziger. She says this is crucial, given the twin challenges of the global food price crisis and more frequent droughts due to climate change.

For more information: Augustine Langyintuo, socioeconomist (a.langyintuo@cgiar.org)

Strengthening the capacity of technicians in insect mass rearing

Written by on . Posted in News.

curso-insect-mass-rearingInsect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) and its sister project, Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), have embarked on an initiative to train personnel in mass rearing of insects and develop rearing facilities. These insects are used in evaluation of maize resistance to insect damage. Through the initiative, 12 technicians from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique participated in a Stem Borer Mass Rearing Training Course held at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)-Katumani, Machakos, Kenya during 25 March-05 April 2012.

The course was co-organized by CIMMYT, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), KARI, and Monsanto. It designed to empower technicians from the WEMA project partner countries to undertake mass rearing of stem borers; establish and manage mass rearing facilities; and effectively conduct research on stem borers in field trials. It provided hands-on training, focusing on establishment of mass rearing units, facilities, equipment, diet ingredients, and lab safety regulations; colony establishment and maintenance, diet sorting, preparation and infestation; and management of stem borer larvae, pupae, moths, and eggs.

Underscoring the importance of the course, CIMMYT maize breeder Stephen Mugo noted that insect pests had become major problems in maize production, affecting 46% of the global maize growing area and destroying 25% of the global crop annually, equivalent to 52 million metric tons valued at USD 5.7 billion. Farmers trying to control the pests across the globe use USD 550 million worth of insecticides annually. Further, over 60% of these losses occur in the tropics where environmental conditions are favorable for stem borers year round.

Explaining the inclusion of insect protection in WEMA, Mugo noted that water stressed maize suffers more from stem borer infestation. “Drought and insect damage may lead to crop failure. The development of products with combined drought tolerance and insect protection would greatly enhance the benefits to smallholder maize growers in Africa.”

Tadele Tefera, CIMMYT maize entomologist and one of the course facilitators, pointed out that each of the four control methods for maize stem borer—biological, chemical, cultural and host plant resistance (HPR)—has its own limitations. However, considering that for reasons of costs and availability of pest control methods farmers often use no control measures at all, HPR is the easiest control method for subsistence farmers to adopt and use as the resistance is embedded in the seed. However, HPR needs investment in germplasm development and screening, a process that requires insect pests, hence the need to establish insect mass rearing facilities.

Stella Adupo, a participant from Uganda, exuded confidence that she had acquired adequate skills to undertake mass rearing of insects. Like other participants, she promised to establish a mass rearing facility, at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCCRI), Namulonge, Uganda.

Speaking at the end of the course, Charles Kariuki, center director of KARI-Katumani, noted that food insecurity is partly due to lack of technical personnel to develop suitable technology and to advise farmers. “You have now gained this very important technical know-how on mass rearing. It is important that you apply this knowledge. More importantly, you must endeavor to pass the knowledge to others, at least train 2-3 people on insect mass rearing at your institution for greater impact.”

He advised the participants to read more on insect mass rearing to expand their knowledge and understand the discipline, and become more professional and efficient in their work. He thanked CIMMYT for its support in research and capacity-building.

Sasakawa and partners impacts

Written by on . 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.

Getting our message to journalists

Written by on . Posted in News.

Maize breeder, Dan Makumbi and writer-editor, Anne Wangalachi of CIMMYT in Nairobi, attended a workshop organized by the Reuters Foundation and CGIAR Media Unit on “Reporting Climate Change in Africa” this past Thursday. Thirteen journalists working in both print and electronic media participated in the training workshop. They came from Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia and Uganda. The purpose was to sensitize and educate them about current issues surrounding climate change and particularly its implications for livelihoods and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dan Makumbi gave a well-received presentation on Drought Tolerant Maize (DTM) which drew a lot of interest, particularly with respect to potential yield improvement and fertilizer x DTM interactions. Also the issue of who had responsibility for creating awareness of new DTM varieties with farmers was raised. It was agreed that the journalists can greatly help with this. Many of the journalists are expected to write stories based on what they learned at the workshop.

Message from Masa: Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia

Written by on . Posted in Blogs. 1 Comment on Message from Masa: Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia

I visited Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia this week. In Kenya I attended the IRMA Project Executive Committee (ExCo) meeting. We had interesting and critical negotiations to gain access to a new Bt event from a private company and thus enable the development of a robust insect management strategy for poor farmers based on a humanitarian use exception.

I visited the DGs of the three national agriculture research systems, Executive Secretary of ASARECA, and the Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia. In addition to appreciating our past and on-going partnerships, I discussed with them ways we could work together on two specific projects—the Global Rust Initiative and Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa. Two multi-million dollar proposals have been requested by donor agencies and if they are accepted, swift implementation based on partnership will be extremely important.

These discussions demonstrated again that CIMMYT’s style of partnership is highly appreciated by our NARS partners. We are their preferred partner because:

  • We consult with them (as opposed to deciding unilaterally).
  • We give them due credit after working together (as opposed to over-claiming credit).
  • We deliver on the ground (as opposed to just talk and meetings).
  • We support their capacity building (as opposed to our taking over their role).
  • We engage in a continuous professional relationship as colleagues with former trainees (as opposed to one-shot training course).

Those elements are building blocks for long-term relationships based on trust and respect. We will continue to build our future and deliver our mission as the preferred partner. With this trip I was also able to complete my promised series of visits to all CIMMYT’s regional locations.