| Abstract |
The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project is a joint venture between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARl), with financial support from the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture. The project is a response to the need to feed Africa's rapidly increasing population by reducing the damage caused by the continent's major insect pest of maize, the stem borer. IRMA is being implemented initially in Kenya, but the results and experiences gained through the project will be made available to other African countries. The overarching goals of the project are to develop insect resistant maize varieties for the major Kenyan maize-growing environments, and to establish procedures to provide insect resistant maize to resource-poor farmers in Kenya. During the implementation of the IRMA project, relevant technologies will be transferred to KARl and continuously evaluated. The specific objectives of the project are as follows: 1. Product Development: Develop insect resistant maize varieties for the major insect pests found in Kenyan maize production systems. 2. Product Dissemination: Establish procedures for providing insect resistant maize to resource poor farmers in Kenya. 3. Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of insect resistant maize varieties in Kenyan agricultural systems. 4. Technology Transfer: Transfer technologies to KARl and Kenya to develop, evaluate, disseminate, and monitor insect resistant maize varieties. 5. Project Documentation and Communication: Plan, monitor, and document processes and achievements, for dissemination to the Kenyan public and developing countries. Research activities in the IRMA project started in August 1999, and the project was publicly launched at the first Stakeholders Meeting, held in March 2000. Review and Planning meetings and Steering Committee meetings have been held annually, and stakeholder meetings have been held regularly during the course of the project. These meetings enable all involved to be informed of progress and to contribute to the direction the project should take. All of these meetings are well documented in publications and a newsletter, which allows the lessons and experiences gained in Kenya to be shared with other African countries. This document-IRMA in 2004 Briefs-serves as a starting point for discussion of activities and progress during 2004, and indeed the status of IRMA I as that phase comes to an end. This will also serve as the basis for developing work plans for 2005 and beyond, within IRMA II. For ease of reference, the briefs are presented in bullet-point format. The original 2004 work plans are included to enable the research teams review progress. Also included are programs and participant lists for the various IRMA meetings in 2004, and the proposed structure of IRMA II. These briefs represent the work of many individuals, to whom we are grateful. |
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