Tag: stress tolerant

Government of Zambia and CIMMYT strengthen ties in agricultural development

Written by Tawanda Hove on April 3, 2023. Posted in News.

Bram Govaerts, Sieg Snapp, Minister Mtolo Phiri and Prassana Boddupalli pose at the conclusion of the high level meeting between CIMMYT and the Government of Zambia. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

Senior government officials in Zambia have embraced the rollout of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT’s) new innovations which target smallholder farmers and agriculture-based value chain actors in the country.

On January 17, 2023, CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts met with Minister of Agriculture Reuben Mtolo Phiri. The Minister reassured Govaerts that the investments made by CIMMYT in the country had the Government’s full support.

Earlier this year, a delegation led by Cary Fowler, the US Special envoy for Global Food Security met the Minister and his team at the Government complex in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, to deliberate on a variety of agriculture development issues concerning the country.

Govaerts’ visit came off the back of the new Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I), a CIMMYT-led project funded by the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID). The project seeks to scale up promising innovations that could transform the maize and legume value chains within the southern African region, with a focus on Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.

“As the Government of Zambia, we intend to create a private sector driven economy for which agriculture plays a critical role. Having progressive partners like CIMMYT helps us achieve this cause and this new program is received with open arms,” said Phiri.

The aims of the AID-I project include strengthening seed systems, the promotion and adoption of stress-tolerant maize and legume varieties, demonstration of good agriculture practices that respond to the effects of climate change and addressing systemic constraints in maize and legume value chains.

Through AID-I, CIMMYT experts are working with over 20 global, regional, national and local partners including the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Catholic Relief Services (TLC), Total Land Care (TLC), the International Water Management Institution (IMWI) and World Vegetable Center.

Also attending the meeting was AID-I Technical Lead and CIMMYT Scientist Hambulo Ngoma who discussed some of the latest project activities.

“As this project focuses on accelerated delivery, we have set up more than 40 demonstrations in eastern Zambia with the intention of showcasing stress-tolerant varieties for maize and legume under conservation agriculture. In addition, we are showcasing other good agriculture practices such as strip cropping which not only enhances intensified crop production but is a biological control for fall armyworm,” Ngoma said.

Hambulo Ngoma receiving a verbal vote of confidence from Zambian Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

The Minister appreciated the rationale of the project and indicated that participatory variety selection for farmers was crucial if they were going to maximize their yields and returns from farming.

Phiri further emphasized that CIMMYT and partners’ investment in legume value chain strengthening came at a welcome time as upscaling soya bean production was a key priority in the Government’s strategic plan for agricultural development because of its export-ready market within the region.

“Markets such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania can readily take up the soya we produce, and we are looking to export legumes such as soya and groundnuts to East Africa. This project therefore fits very well within our strategic road map,” Phiri said.

The demonstration plots set up by CIMMYT experts will help farmers grow the right varieties for their agro ecologies and have greater response capabilities to the export market opportunities the Government is facilitating.

The Minister also indicated that he hoped CIMMYT would assist in strengthening the country’s capacity to deal with fall armyworm. CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director B.M. Prasanna reassured Phiri that through the Zambian Agriculture research Institute (ZARI), CIMMYT had already released three fall armyworm-tolerant varieties. He also discussed how the AID-I project would be instrumental in scaling up their uptake, especially amongst smallholder farmers who have minimal disposable income to buy enough pesticides to control the pest.

Concluding the meeting, Govaerts spoke of CIMMYT’s commitment to supporting Zambia achieve its food security and agricultural export goals.

“As CIMMYT, we want you to recognize us as a listening partner. We are of the conviction that we can only combat climate change and achieve shared prosperity through the strength of convening power, where we leverage on each other’s strength.”

As the project is focused on scaling existing promising technologies and innovations, rapid transformative results are on the horizon for the people of Zambia.

Farmers introduced to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 4, 2022. Posted in In the media.

The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project has introduced farmers in the Wa West District, Ghana, to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties during a monitoring visit to field trials in the Upper West Region.

AGG is a collaborative project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) bringing together global partners to advance the development of higher-yielding varieties.

This field day was organized by the Crops Research Institute at Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the department of agriculture.

During the event, researchers aimed to encourage farmer adoption by familiarizing them with the stress-tolerant hybrids and emphasizing the high and stable grain yields.

Read the original article: Farmers introduced to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties

Farmers at a demonstration farm field day organized by East African Seed Company. (Photo: Courtesy)

Fighting the stress

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on March 23, 2021. Posted in Features.

East African Seed Company has a rich history of nearly 50 years, serving farmers with improved climate-resilient seed varieties. Established in 1972, the company produces and sells improved seed, through a wide distribution network in at least 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It also markets agrochemicals and other farm inputs, and has ambitions of expanding to the rest of Africa, trading as Agriscope Africa Limited.

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa continue to face multiple biotic and abiotic stresses as they try to improve their farms’ productivity and their livelihoods. Maize seed that guarantees high yield is a key trait, coupled with other key attributes such as drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, early seedling vigor as well as suitability for food and animal feed.

With the varieties serving both small- and large-scale commercial farmers, challenges such as the fall armyworm, diminishing soil fertility and erratic rains have persisted in recent years and remain as key farming obstacles. “Such challenges diminish crop production and the grain quality thereby, lessening farmers’ profitability,” says Rogers Mugambi, Chief Operating Officer of East African Seed Company.

Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with partners in the national agriculture research systems and the commercial seed sector, continue to develop seed varieties that can guarantee decent yield even in times of climatic, disease and pest stress.

General view of the East African Seed warehouse. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)

Top-notch research trickles down to farmers

Over the years, East African Seed has inked partnerships with CIMMYT, national research institutes and other agencies in the countries where it operates. Such partnerships have been the driving force to its success and the impacts within the farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Our collaboration with CIMMYT began in 2008 with germplasm acquisition. The cooperation has expanded to include testing networks for new hybrids, early-generation seed production and marketing. The overall beneficiary is the smallholder farmer who can access quality seeds and produce more with climate-smart products,” Mugambi says.

Apart from the multi-stress-tolerant varieties developed and released over time by the national agricultural research programs, CIMMYT recently announced a breakthrough: fall armyworm-tolerant elite maize hybrids for eastern and southern Africa. This success followed three years of rigorous research and experiments conducted in Kenya and signified a key milestone in the fight against fall armyworm.

As part of the partnership in the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects, East African Seed Company (Agriscope Africa Limited) established demonstration farms and conducted field days in Kenya, reaching thousands of farmers as a result. It was also able to produce early generation seed, which supported production of 2,000 metric tons of certified seed. This partnership now continues in the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project.

The company has contracted large- and small-scale growers across the country to meet its seed production targets.

“Most of our small-scale growers are clustered in groups of up to 30 farmers with less than five acres of farmland. The large growers have advanced irrigation facilities such as the pivot system and seed processing plants. The seed from the fields is pre-cleaned and dried in the out-grower facilities before delivery to our factory for further cleaning and processing,” Mugambi explains.

A handful of improved maize seed from the drought-tolerant variety TAN 250, developed and registered for sale in Tanzania through CIMMYT's Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT) — A handful of improved maize seed from the drought-tolerant variety TAN 250, developed and registered for sale in Tanzania through CIMMYT’s Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

Out with the drought

Currently, of the 1,300 metric tons of drought-tolerant hybrid seeds it produces yearly, 500 metric tons constitute those derived from the partnership in the STMA project. Two notable hybrids, HODARI (MH501) and TOSHEKA (MH401), were derived during the DTMA and STMA projects. Released in 2014 and accepted for regional certification through the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)’s regional catalogue, the MH501 is a mid-altitude adapted and medium maturing three-way cross hybrid. The yield advantage of 15% over the local commercial checks triggered widespread adoption by the farmers, according to Mugambi. In Kenya, it was used as a commercial check during national performance trials, from 2017 to 2019.

The MH401, an early maturing hybrid with moderate drought tolerance, has been adopted in lowland and mid-altitude dry ecologies of Kenya and Tanzania. It has a 20% yield advantage over the local commercial checks.

As part of its varietal replacement, East African Seed Company looks to steadily retire older varieties such as KH600-15A and WE1101 and promote new ones including TAJIRI (EASH1220), TAJI (MH502) and FARAJA (MH503).

To promote new varieties and successfully reach smallholders, the company conducts field days, farm-level varietal demonstrations, road shows and radio programs. It also disseminates information on the benefits of new varieties while also dispensing promotional materials such as branded t-shirts and caps.

“Additionally, we organize annual field days at our research farm in Thika, where key and influential farmers and other stakeholders are invited from across Kenya and neighboring countries to learn about our new agricultural technologies,” Mugambi says.

A signpost at the entrance to Farm Inputs Care Centre (FICA) in Masindi, Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Delivering improved maize seed against all odds

Written by Emma Orchardson on December 21, 2020. Posted in News.

As one of the pioneer homegrown seed companies in Uganda, Farm Inputs Care Centre (FICA) has become one of the leading players in the seed sector value chain. Since its inception in 1999, it has played a significant role in variety development and maintenance, seed production, and processing, packaging and marketing.

The close linkages it has maintained with partners such as National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO)’s National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCCRI) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have seen it acquire new hybrids for commercialization and production of early generation seed.

A FICA representative stands in front of a demonstration plot for one of the organization’s stress-tolerant maize varieties in Uganda. (Photo: Mosisa Worku/CIMMYT)

A unique opportunity for collaboration

Recurrent plant threats such as drought, pests and diseases — alongside the perpetual need to develop and foster better performing varieties in changing climatic conditions — has required partners to intensify efforts to tackle these challenges to bolster smallholders’ resilience. The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, for instance, ushered in the partnership between CIMMYT, FICA, national agriculture research systems, and other partners to develop and scale up well-adapted, drought-tolerant maize varieties among farmers in Uganda and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

“One of the unique features of the collaboration is that besides CIMMYT, there was a multi-stakeholder platform that would convene key seed sector players to discuss issues affecting the industry. Ultimately, this benefitted the farmers,” says FICA’s Chief Executive Officer Narcis Tumushabe.

This partnership continued during the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative — which ran from 2016 to2020 — and now, in the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project, which launched in July 2020 with the ambition of fast-tracking the development of climate-resilient, higher-yielding, demand-driven, gender-responsive and nutritious maize and wheat varieties.

Tumushabe is happy that the hybrids delivered in the DTMA and STMA projects proved worthwhile against multiple stresses in farmers’ fields, offering reliable yields even in challenging conditions like drought or other stresses. Because of the diverse ecological zones in Uganda, it was essential to test the hybrids FICA accessed through the CIMMYT-NARO partnership across different ecological zones, ahead of commercialization. This has given farmers opportunities to choose the varieties that are suitable in their environment. The five varieties FICA chose to promote include Longe 9H — which produces about 700 metric tons annually — and WE 2114, WE 2115, WE 3106 and UH 5355, which cumulatively produce about 1,300 tons annually.

The WE 3106 variety has a strong stem and produces big cobs and Tumushabe notes that some livestock farmers prefer this variety as a good forage source for their livestock. Large-scale commercial farmers prefer WE 2114 due to the positioning of the ears at a uniform height, which makes it easy for harvesting using combine harvesters.

Additionally, FICA breeders have also developed impactful combination hybrids using CIMMYT and FICA lines and the company looks to double its annual production of certified stress-tolerant maize seed to 4,000 metric tons in the next five years. Currently, it enlists about 800 contract seed growers to support its seed multiplication efforts.

A FICA employee walks through a seed production field growing hybrid maize variety WE2114 in Masindi, Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT) — A FICA employee walks through a seed production field growing hybrid maize variety WE2114 in Masindi, Uganda. (Photo: Mosisa Worku/CIMMYT)

Surmounting monumental challenges for varietal turnover

Promoting new seed varieties, especially in a highly competitive market, is no mean task. With the seed delivery systems in sub-Saharan Africa mainly driven by the supply side, seed companies end up multiplying only the popular varieties that are already in high demand, explains Mosisa Worku Regasa, a seed systems specialist at CIMMYT.

“Consequently, these companies become reluctant to multiply new seed varieties due to deficient demand, thereby slowing down the rate of varietal turnover,” says Mosisa. “There is, however, a growing push for a demand-driven system.”

“Some avenues for cultivating a demand-led environment include investing a great deal of resources to better understand farmers’ preferences or product profiles, setting up numerous demonstration plots for newer, better-performing varieties closer to the farmers locations in addition to investing in other marketing and promotional activities.”

Still, the seed sector must confront other dynamics such as farmers that are captive of old albeit popular varieties.

“There are cases where, depending on the stage of a seed company’s development, the number of products that one can deliver in the right quality and appropriate maintenance level has to be limited or realistically managed,” Tumushabe explains.

“The seed company also ought to be sure that the new variety will be superior to existing varieties under farmers’ conditions. That is why one may find little excitement if the genetic gain of a new crop variety is not significantly high compared to the already known and available crop variety. This may make one wonder why an old variety continues to persist in the market.”

To create awareness and sustain the demand for its seed, FICA has established demonstration farms to showcase the performance of its stress-resilient maize varieties among farmers and engaged agro-dealers as last mile seed merchants. It is also during field days held at demonstration farms where the company obtains feedback on how to improve its breeding program, particularly from women smallholder farmers. Such efforts have helped raise the company’s share of stress-tolerant maize seed production to 70% of the total maize seed it produces, which indicates good progress in variety replacement.

A farmer in Tanzania holds a handful of drought-tolerant maize seed. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

Molecular breeding speeds development of better seeds

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 27, 2020. Posted in Features.

To adequately confront rapidly changing plant pests and diseases and safeguard food security for a growing population, breeders — in collaboration with their partners — have to keep testing and applying new breeding methods to deliver resilient seed varieties at a much faster rate using minimal resources. Molecular markers are essential in this regard and are helping to accelerate genetic gains and deliver better seed to smallholders across sub-Saharan Africa in a much shorter timeframe.

Progress made so far in molecular plant breeding, genetics, genomic selection and genome editing has contributed to a deeper understanding on the role of molecular markers and greatly complemented breeding strategies. However, phenotyping remains the single most costly process in plant breeding, thus limiting options to increase the size of breeding programs.

Application of molecular markers increases the ability to predict and select the best performing lines and hybrids, prior to selection in the field. “This enables breeders to expand the size of a breeding program or the populations they work on using the same amount of resources,” says Manje Gowda, a maize molecular breeder at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

“There are three stages in the use of molecular markers: discovery, validation and deployment,” he explains. “At the discovery phase, the objective is to find molecular markers associated or tightly linked with the trait of interest, while also assessing whether the trait is more complex or easier to handle with few markers for selection.”

The molecular markers identified at the discovery stage are validated in independent bi-parental or backcross populations, and the marker trait associations — which are consistent across different genetic backgrounds and diverse environments — are then moved to the deployment stage. Here, they are considered for use in breeding either as part of marker assisted selection or forward breeding, marker assisted back crossing and marker assisted recurrent selection.

Screening for resistance markers

CIMMYT scientists have discovered several marker trait associations for crop diseases including maize lethal necrosis (MLN), maize streak virus (MSV), corn rust and turcicum leaf blight. All these trait-associated markers have been validated in biparental populations.

For MLN, after screening several thousands of lines, researchers identified a few with resistance against the viral disease, namely KS23-5 and KS23-6. These lines were obtained from synthetic populations developed by Kasetsart University in Thailand and serve as trait donors. Researchers were able to use these as part of forward breeding, producing doubled haploid (DH) lines by using KS23-6 as one parent and screening for the presence of MLN resistance genes.

“This screening helps eliminate the lines that may carry susceptible genes, without having to phenotype them under artificial inoculation,” says Gowda. “These markers are also available to all partners to screen for MLN resistance, thereby saving on costs related to phenotyping.”

Scientists also used these MLN resistance markers to introgress the MLN resistance into several elite lines that are highly susceptible to the disease but have other desirable traits such as high grain yield and drought tolerance. The marker-assisted backcrossing technique was used to obtain MLN resistance from the KS23-5 and KS23-6 donor lines. This process involves crossing an elite, commercial line — as a recurrent parent in the case of CIMMYT elite lines — with a donor parent line (KS23) with MLN resistance. These were then backcrossed over two to three cycles to improve the elite line carrying MLN resistance genes. In the past three years, more than 50 lines have been introgressed with the MLN resistance gene from KS23-6 donor line.

Aida Zewdu Kebede, a PhD student at the University of Hohenheim, sits next to an experimental plot for doubled haploid maize in Agua Fría, Mexico. (Photo: Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT)

An impetus to breeding programs

“The work Manje Gowda has been carrying out is particularly important in that it has successfully moved from discovery of valuable markers and proof-of-concept experiments to scalable breeding methods which are being used effectively,” says CIMMYT Trait Pipeline and Upstream Research Coordinator Mike Olsen. “Enabling routine implementation of molecular markers to increase selection efficiency of breeding programs in the context of African maize improvement is quite impactful.”

At CIMMYT, Gowda’s team applied genomic selection at the early stage of testing the breeding pipeline for different product profiles. “The objective was to testcross and phenotype 50% of the Stage One hybrids and predict the performance of remaining 50% of the hybrids using molecular markers,” Gowda explains.

The team have applied this strategy successfully each year since 2017, and the results of this experiment show that selection efficiency is the same as when using phenotypic selection, but using only 32% of the resources. From 2021 onwards, the aim is to use the previous year’s Stage One phenotypic and genotypic data to predict 100% of the lines. This will not only save the time but improve efficiency and resource use. The previous three-year Stage One historical data is helping to reduce the phenotyping of lines from 50% to 15%, with an increase in saving resources of up to 50%.

For the commercial seed sector, integrating molecular marker-based quality control measures can help deploy high-quality seeds, an important factor for increasing crop yields. In sub-Saharan Africa, awareness on marker-based quality has improved due to increased scientist and breeder trainings at national agricultural research systems (NARS), seed companies and national plant protection organizations, as well as regulators and policymakers.

Currently, many NARS and private sector partners are making it mandatory to apply marker-based quality control to maintain high-quality seeds. Since NARS and small- and medium-sized seed companies’ breeding programs are smaller, CIMMYT is coordinating the collection of samples from different partners for submission to service providers for quality control purposes. CIMMYT staff are also helping to analyze quality control data and interpret results to sharing with partners for decision-making. For the sustainability of this process, CIMMYT is training NARS partners on quality control, from sample collection to data analyses and interpretation, and this will support them to work independently and produce high-quality seed.

Such breeding improvements have become indispensable in supporting maize breeding programs in the public and private sectors to develop and deliver improved maize varieties to smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.

A farmer in Tanzania stands in front of her maize plot where she grows improved, drought tolerant maize variety TAN 250. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

3 climate-resilient food solutions for smallholder farmers

Written by Mary Donovan on September 10, 2020. Posted in In the media.

While COVID-19 is exacerbating an existing hunger crisis, authors highlight three of the most impactful research and development successes from the past few years that help smallholder farmers cope with climate change and bolster food security.

The first is CIMMYT’s program to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, successfully developing hundreds of new varieties that boost farmers’ yields and incomes, directly improving millions of lives.

Norah Kayugi holds a bunch of Striga weeds she has uprooted on a farm she works as a casual laborer in Siaya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Work to develop high yielding Striga tolerant maize seed is bearing fruit

Written by Alison Doody on July 30, 2020. Posted in Features.

Striga, an invasive parasitic weed with purple-colored flowers, looks striking and harmless. But, beyond that mark of beauty, is a nutrient-sucking monster that stunts crops such as maize and sorghum, leaving affected farmers counting losses.

Witchweed thrives in poor soils with low rainfall conditions. It is prevalent in farming systems with poor crop management practices and in communities where farmers use minimal or no fertilizer. Once maize begins germinating in Striga-prevalent soil, it stimulates Striga seeds to germinate. Striga then attaches to the roots of the host plant, sapping nutrients from the plant, leading to stunting. The potential yield loss can reach up to 100%. Some farmers attempt to uproot it once they notice it germinating alongside their maize plantation, but this is often too late because damage is done as soon as the parasite attaches to the maize roots. When mature, the weed deposits tens of thousands of tiny seeds into the soil. This makes it very difficult for farmers to get rid of it.

To tackle this challenge, farmers need to apply inorganic fertilizer, which is not always affordable, or animal manure to enrich the soil before planting. They are also advised by researchers and extensionists to practice crop rotation or intercropping with legumes such as beans, soybean or groundnuts that restrict Striga’s germination. In the Assessment of Management Options on Striga Infestation and Maize Grain Yield in Kenya, for example, researchers recommend that Striga control measures include a combination of herbicide-resistant or maize varieties with native genetic resistance intercropped with legumes.

Nevertheless, while a few control measures have been moderately successful, the problem still persists, especially in western Kenya, eastern Uganda and lake zone of Tanzania, where farmers have frequently voiced their frustrations at the ubiquity of this invasive weed.

“While crop rotation with crops such as soybean or beans may break the cycle of Striga, its seed can stay in the soil and remain viable for up to 10 years,” says Dan Makumbi, a maize breeder with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who is leading research efforts against the witchweed.

A sorghum field infested with Striga in Siaya County. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Norah Kayugi on a Striga-infested farm in Siaya County. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Norah Kayugi holds a bunch of Striga weeds she has uprooted on a farm she works as a casual laborer in Siaya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

A blow to optimal yield potential

Maize is a staple crop that is predominantly cultivated by smallholder farmers in western Kenya and the lake region. It is an important source of food security and livelihoods of millions of people in the region, but constraints such as Striga prevent farmers from obtaining the crop’s ideal potential.

“The yield loss would have been adequate to cover my family’s food requirements for a year,” Naliaka said. “From two farming seasons, I could harvest a sufficient quantity of maize and sell some surplus to pay my children’s school fees. With the Striga menace, all that is but a dream.”

Just like Naliaka, Norah Kayugi, a 40-year-old widowed mother of six children from Siaya County in Kenya, has seen her maize production fall to less than 8 bags of 90kgs per acre. In normal circumstances, they would obtain at least 16 bags of maize per acre. The significant yield loss sets back many affected households in a big way, as they experience food shortage only a few months after harvest. Some divert their reduced incomes for food purchases, possibly leaving other priorities such as health and education of their children unattended.

Kayugi, who has been a farmer since 1997, now takes on casual jobs to supplement her farming in order to support her family, being the sole breadwinner following her husband’s demise years ago. “I plant vegetables, beans and maize to sustain my family. My one-acre farm yields about 10 bags of 90ks each. But I know for sure that were it not for this weed, the yield potential could reach 30 bags of 90kgs each per acre.”

A young, yet-to-flower Striga weed at the CIMMYT-KALRO Kibos Research Station in Kisumu. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Standing up to multiple farming stresses

These smallholders, like their counterparts elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, already face other farming challenges, including climate change-induced droughts, pests such as the fall armyworm, diseases like maize lethal necrosis (MLN), and declining soil fertility, among others. While CIMMYT has registered breakthroughs in developing maize varieties that tolerate such stresses, on-going efforts against Striga are also taking shape, challenges notwithstanding.

The development and deployment of the imazapyr-resistant (IR) maize has been one such instance of effective Striga control. With this method, herbicide-resistant maize seeds are coated with herbicide. The seed germinates and absorbs some of the herbicide used to coat it. The germinating maize stimulates Striga to germinate and as it attaches to the maize root, it is killed before it can cause any damage. Despite its effectiveness, sustaining this technology presented a major challenge to seed companies.

“It was costly for seed companies, as they needed to establish and sustain the operation of separate seed treatment units dedicated to production of the herbicide-coated maize seed. Once you establish a line to dress the seed with the chemical, you cannot use it to treat any other seeds as the chemical will destroy them,” said Makumbi.

Seed companies — like NASECO in Uganda, Kenya Seed Company in Kenya, Western Seed Company and FreshCo in Kenya, and Meru Agro in Tanzania — obtained financial and technical support from a partnership initiative coordinated by African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and backed by CIMMYT to scale commercialisation of StrigAway^TM maize in East Africa. The initiative was funded by USAID’s Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation program through Fintrac and it supported the seed companies to establish seed treatment facilities to handle herbicide resistant maize. This allowed each of the companies to have a fully dedicated facility for herbicide resistant maize seed processing. “Right now, herbicide resistant maize hybrid seed is available on the market in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,” Makumbi said.

CIMMYT field technician Carolyne Adhiambo at a maize field experiment showing promise of Striga tolerance or resistance the Kibos Research station in Kisumu. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Native hope

In the past few years, Makumbi and his team, in collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), have redirected their efforts towards breeding for native genetic resistance to Striga. This means developing seeds which are naturally resistant to Striga, reducing the need for herbicides. The early indication is that there are several parental lines showing potential to tolerate or resist Striga, and these are being used to develop hybrids. The hybrids, which offer multiple benefits for farmers, are under wide scale testing in Kenya.

“In our tests, we are not only looking at Striga resistance alone but also other important traits such as good yield under optimal conditions, drought stress and low soil fertility, resistance to major foliar diseases including gray leaf spot, Turcicum leaf blight, maize streak virus and ear rots,” Makumbi noted.

As these breeding efforts continue, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The hope of farmers taking back full control of their maize farms from Striga’s “bewitching ways” in the near future remains alive.

Alinda Sarah demostrates how happy she is with the maize cob due for harvest on the farm she owns with her husband in Masindi, mid-western Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Reaching farmers in the last mile with seeds they can trust

Written by Alison Doody on July 21, 2020. Posted in Features.

Seed companies play a crucial role in delivering improved seed varieties to smallholder farmers. Masindi Seed Company Limited, located in Uganda’s mid-western region, is one such enterprise.

It traces its beginnings back to the Masindi District Farmers Association (MADFA) more than a decade ago. At the time, the association, which was comprised of about 9,000 farmers, was organized into a seed out-grower scheme of the then government-led Uganda Seed Project.

While its members were well trained, operated professionally and did their out-grower work diligently, the association faced one major challenge that almost broke it up: the ‘certified’ seed they bought from some seed firms could not germinate.

“At the time that we were operating solely as a farmers’ association, we did our best to grow maize seed for various seed companies who would then go on to produce and supply certified seed,” said Eugene Lusige, Masindi Seed general manager. “But we soon realized that a lot of the certified seed that we bought was of very poor quality due to their inability to germinate or because of low germination rates. This caused our farmers huge losses. We instead took this situation as a blessing in disguise, venturing into the certified seed production business based on our experience.”

Such turn of events meant the association had to not only produce the right seed, at the right price, at the right time and with the attributes their farmers desired, but also had to provide an opportunity to generate income for its members. By establishing Masindi Seed Company in 2009, the association members fulfilled their dream and ended up killing several birds with one stone by addressing multiple seed production challenges.

Over the past few decades, the liberalization of the Ugandan seed industry has seen it morph from government control, largely with the support of public sector research institutions, to increased private sector participation. This saw a resurgence in local and foreign-based seed firms involved in seed production, processing and marketing, which significantly contributed to increased delivery of certified seed to farming communities.

A sign leading to the Masindi District Farmers Association (MADFA) offices in Masindi town. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Reliable and beneficial partnerships

As one of the enterprises operating in the formal seed market, Masindi Seed has grown from strength to strength over the years, working closely with the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) of the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) in Uganda. The Longe 5D, an open pollinated variety (OPV) — an improved version of the Longe 5 — was the first certified seed that ushered them into the seed production and marketing landscape in 2009. The company accessed hybrids and parental materials from NARO, which works very closely with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to obtain improved stress tolerant maize.

“Besides the parental materials we receive from CIMMYT through NARO, we are trained on best practices in quality seed production, and receive materials and financial support for some of our operations,” Lusige said.

In the first year, the company produced about 120-150 tons of the Longe 5D variety, which has remained their flagship product over the past decade. Currently, the variety has up to 65 % share of the company’s annual seed production capacity, which stands at about 1,200 tons. The annual capacity is poised to reach 2,400 by 2025 due to growing demand from farmers. The first stress tolerant hybrid, UH5053, was introduced in 2013 and two more hybrids have since gone into commercial production.

“The hybrids have much higher yield than the OPVs and other varieties in the market in this region. They are stress tolerant and some are early maturing,” Lusige said “But, the advantage with the Longe 5D is that it is much cheaper, with a seed packet going for less than its hybrid equivalent. So, it is best suited for the resource-constrained farmers who may not have the funds to buy artificial fertilizer. However, under normal farmer conditions, it yields between 1.5-1.8 tons per acre compared to a hybrid that can produce about 3 tons or more.”

The Longe 5D is also a quality protein maize (QPM) variety, which combats hidden hunger by providing essential amino acids that children and lactating mothers need, according to Godfrey Asea, director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute at NARO.

“One of the initiatives we have been working on is nutritious maize, with some of the OPVs that we have released in the past being QPM varieties,” Asea said. “We are thinking of integrating more nutrient qualities such as vitamin ‘A’ in new varieties, some of which are in the release pipeline. We have also acquired genetic resources that are rich in zinc. QPM varieties, as well as varieties that are biofortified with vitamin A and zinc are very important in improving household nutrition in the future for resource-constrained maize-dependent communities.”

To make farmers aware of available seed and important attributes, marketing and promotional activities through radio, flyers, banners, field days and on-farm demonstrations come in handy. For some newer varieties, the company goes as far as issuing small seed packs to farmers so they can see for themselves how the variety performs.

Masindi Seed Company offices in Masindi town. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

From a regional outfit to the national stage

In the beginning, growth was slow for Masindi Seed due to capacity and financial constraints to sustain promotional activities. Around 2013 and 2015, the company received support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to scale-up its marketing and promotional efforts, which greatly enhanced Masindi Seed’s capacity and visibility. From then on, Masindi Seed went from being just a small regional-focused outfit to a nation-wide seed firm, marketing seed as far as northern and eastern Uganda.

By working closely with farmers, Masindi Seed Company puts itself at a strategic position to understand farmers’ preferred traits better. They have found that farmers prefer traits that allow them to earn more, such as higher yield, which allows them to harvest much more maize and sell the surplus for much-needed income.

A double cobber maize crop on Alinda Sarah's farm in Masindi, western Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT) — A double cobber maize crop on Alinda Sarah’s farm in Masindi, western Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Seed that farmers can trust

Alinda Sarah, who doubles up as both a contract farmer for Masindi Seed and a large-scale grower for maize grain, agrees that obtaining the right seed that is guaranteed to germinate and offers a higher yield is a major boost to her trade.

“All I require is seed that I trust to have the attributes I want. What works for me is the seed that offers a higher yield, and can tolerate common stresses including drought, diseases and pests. This way, I can sustain my farming business,” she says.

The second attribute the farmers keep mentioning to Masindi agricultural extensionists is the maturity period, with farmers inclined to prefer faster maturing varieties, such as varieties that mature in 90 days. Ultimately, beyond some of these desirable and beneficial traits, the farmer is, before anything else, interested in the germinability of the seed they buy.

“By confirming the attributes that we tell them regarding our varieties with what they see at demo farms, the farmers trust us more,” Lusige said. “Trust is good for a business like ours and we try our best to preserve it. In the past, we have seen how some companies who lost the trust of their customers quickly went out of business.”

“Besides offering improved seed to farmers, we encourage our partner seed companies to support and teach the farmers good agronomic practices such as proper fertilizer requirements and application rates, early planting, appropriate spacing, weed control, integrated pest management and intercropping with legumes,” said Daniel Bomet, maize breeder at NARO.

Cover photo: Alinda Sarah demostrates how happy she is with the maize cob due for harvest on the farm she owns with her husband in Masindi, mid-western Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)