Download - Maize

What's new in this initiative?
To date, no international diagnostic trial dealing with more than nutrient deficiencies and responses
has been conducted to evaluate the effects of different crop management components on maize
yield across the farming systems targeted in this initiative.
A network of maize agronomists will enhance research capacity in target countries.
The diagnostic trials should prove useful to farmers and extension agents as aids to learning and will
likely be incorporated into the work of national partners.
Cutting‐edge sensor technology for diagnosing nutrient needs will be introduced to small‐scale
farmers in the developing world.
Targets and impact estimates
Fourteen systems will be included in this initiative (Figure 5). Given the leverage of new communication
tools, we estimate that by 2020, 2 million farmers in Asia and Latin America will have increased their
maize yields and profitability, and 15 million by 2030. In Africa, 500,000 farmers will have adopted
higher‐yielding practices by 2020 and 5 million by 2030. In the higher‐yielding environments of Asia and
Latin America this will result in average yield increases of 15%, while reducing farmers’ use of nitrogen
fertilizer by 25%. In the more variable and lower‐yielding environments of sub‐Saharan Africa, the trials
and decision guides will lower farmers’ productions risks and boost their input use, with a minimum
average yield increase of 25%.
These advances will translate into 1.2 million tons more maize grain by 2020 and 9.6 million tons by
2030, and they will be accompanied by savings of at least 150,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer in 2020, and
600,000 tons in 2030. The total value of these benefits will amount to USD 240 million per year in 2020
and USD 1.8 billion in 2030.
Other isssues
Gender
The gender of farmers participating in and evaluating the exploratory diagnostic trials will be one of the
variables recorded. Where possible, feedback on the trials will be assessed separately for female and
male farmers, to understand and address gender‐specific constraints. These observations will then feed
into the design of the research to overcome the limitations identified in the diagnostic trials, and again
the gender disaggregated data on possible solutions and options will be used to evaluate and define
research directions.
Capacity building
Capacity building will be an important component of the SI, and will include knowledge development in
farming communities and among change agents on the factors limiting crop productivity. Research
partners will receive training on potential and innovative solutions to productivity limitations, on the
management of efficient applied research programs and on the use of the outputs of simulation models
to enhance ex ante analysis of research directions.
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