| Abstract |
2012 was an exciting year for MAIZE. Over 860,000 farmers benefited from CIMMYT and IITA research outputs, and many more are benefiting through germplasm released by partners in countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Kenya, India, Malawi, and Mozambique. The work of researchers and partners has been translating into results and impact in Africa, Asia and Latin America: The rapid response of MAIZE and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to the outbreak of the deadly Maize Lethal Necrotic Virus (MLN) in eastern Africa in 2012 resulted in quick identification of promising CIMMYT inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids with resistance or moderate resistance to MLN, offering considerable hope to combating the disease through breeding efforts. Two million smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa are using varieties developed by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, involving CIMMYT and IITA in collaboration with national agricultural research systems. With better yields than leading commercial varieties under drought conditions – and outstanding harvests when rains are good – the DTMA varieties improve food security and income of farmers in 13 countries. To date, the total volume of drought tolerant maize varieties produced by seed companies has increased from 19,000 metric tons in 2007 to 30,000 metric tons of seed annually across the 13 target countries. The release of the first publicly available inducer line for doubled haploids (DH) in collaboration with the University of Hohenheim was met with great enthusiasm and engagement among MAIZE partners. The DH technology, already in high demand among maize breeders from national agricultural research systems and small and medium enterprises, significantly reduces the cost and time needed for breeding. 2012 also saw MAIZE initiate a gender audit to find new avenues for increasing women’s participation in maize value chains; the Research Program’s gender strategy was approved by the Consortium. The success of AflasafeTM, a non-toxic and affordable solution to Aflatoxins, one of Africa’s most serious food safety issues infecting maize both in the field and in storage, is one of IITA’s innovative scientific solutions already improving nutrition and agricultural production in 2012. Finally, MAIZE experts joined forces with the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in support of farming-systems focused innovation platforms helping researchers and local partners understand farmers’ needs and realities from a ‘systems’ perspective. The goal? Better mechanisms for multi-stakeholder interaction to share beyond the MAIZE program. Looking back, we feel that 2012 was a year to establish groundwork for success with new models of collaboration and more wide-spread and rapid seed distribution. More than ever, we are ready to make a difference in the lives of millions of resource-poor consumers for whom maize is the preferred staple. |
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