Partnerships Issue 9 - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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AATF projects report progress at the 2012 review Dr James Gethi, the WEMA Kenya country coordinator shares his experience with farmers in Limpopo, South Africa during a field trip in February 2012 held alongside the 2012 planning and review meeting During the first quarter of the year, various projects held their annual review and planning meetings. The Water Efficient Maize for Africa varieties to include insect-protection The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project held its 4 th annual review meeting in Polokwane, South Africa in February 2012 where significant progress was reported by all project partners since the last meeting held in February 2011. In 2011, the project submitted two conventional drought-tolerant hybrids into National Performance Trials in Kenya. In 2011 Kenya and Uganda, two of the five project countries, successfully carried out the second round of confined field trials for the drought-tolerant maize varieties. South Africa, also one of the countries, did its third round of confined field trials. It was also reported that as a result of the research and development results from the last four years, the project realised the need to include insect protection in the drought-tolerant varieties to guarantee smallholder farmers the expected yield during moderate drought. n For more information visit http:// w w w. a a t f - a f r i c a . o r g / w e m a / wemareportmay2012 or, contact Sylvester Oikeh (s.oikeh@aatf-africa. org) The Maruca-Resistant Cowpea project identifies promising lines The Maruca-Resistant Cowpea project partners met in Accra, Ghana in March 2012 to review progress made in the three project countries of Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso in 2011. During the meeting, it was reported that Nigeria had successfully held its third round of confined field trials (CFTs) with Burkina Faso conducting its first. Results from these CFTs show that both were very successful and have clearly indicated that there are at least two cowpea lines from which to choose for backcrossing and further biosafety and molecular studies. Ghana has submitted its application to the country’s national biosafety authority to conduct similar trials. The trials are expected to begin in 2012. n For more information, contact Jacob Mignouna (j.mignouna@aatf-africa.org) Cowpea Project Partners during the meeting in Accra, Ghana in March 2012 4
and planning meetings ISMA project partners and staff from Kenya Seed Company pose for a group photograph with the seed treater in the background during the handover ceremony in February 2012 The Striga Control in Maize Project to upscale demonstrations Partners involved in the Striga Control in Maize project met in Kisumu, Kenya in January 2012 to plan activities that would upscale the use of Imazapyr Resistant (IR) maize during 2012. The partners consisting of representatives from community based organisations (CBOs) and seed company representatives involved in the project implementation agreed to set-up more demonstration plots and hold farmer field days in areas with heavy Striga infestation to create more awareness on the problem and the solutions available. During the same month, AATF also participated in a review and planning meeting that was held alongside a stakeholders’ forum for the Integrated Striga Management in Africa (ISMA) project. Participants at the two meetings were drawn from the key partner organisations participating in the project. These included AATF, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), and the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF- CIAT), Ministry of Agriculture, seed companies and CBOs. The four-year ISMA project was launched in June 2011 and is focusing on improving and expanding access to methods of Striga control, while supporting on-farm research to identify the most effective means of controlling the parasitic weed under varying conditions. The project is evaluating and implementing five approaches: i. using herbicide-coated seeds (IR maize) ii. using Striga-resistant maize crop varieties iii. using a “push-pull” technology that involves intercropping with 5 specific forage legumes that inhibit the germination of Striga iv. using soybeans and groundnuts as a trap crop v. deploying bio-control of Striga. During this period, the availability of IR maize seed to farmers in western Kenya was boosted by the donation of a seed treater machine to the Kenya Seed Company (KSC) in February 2012. The seed processing facility purchase by CIMMYT was facilitated with financial and technical support from the Bill & Melinda Gates <strong>Foundation</strong> and BASF, respectively as part of the ISMA project. The seed treater costing USD 30,000 will facilitate the KSC to produce IR maize seed targeting resource poor farmers in western Kenya who are facing the threat of Striga weed infestation on their farms. n For more information, contact Gospel Omanya (g.omanya@aatf-africa.org)
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Partnerships Issue 9 - African Agricultural Technology Foundation

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