Demand-Driven Technologies for Sustainable Maize ... - IITA

generate new, improved technologies. The Network has developedseveral drought tolerant varieties for the savannas as well as the secondseason in the forest ecology. In many cases, the drought-tolerantvarieties are also tolerant of Striga and low soil-N as well as resistant tomost of the prevailing maize diseases in the subregion. In addition todeveloping low-N tolerant varieties, WECAMAN’s collaborating scientistshave approached the problem of non-availability/high cost of inorganicfertilizers in two other ways: incorporation of legume–maize rotationinto the farming system and development of improved cultural practicesthat more effi ciently utilize the native soil fertility. Maize–legume rotationhas also been used to control Striga, improve soil fertility, and raisemaize grain yield. Stem borer resistant varieties and complementarymanagement practices have been developed and placed at the disposalof farmers in areas where the pest and soil acidity are prevalent, especiallyin Cameroon and southeast Nigeria.Technology transfer has been of top priority to the Network. Tofacilitate this aspect of its mandate, WECAMAN funded communitybasedseed production of improved varieties. During the periodcovered by the analysis presented herein, a total of well over 2000t of commercial seed was made available to maize farmers in WCAthrough the community seed production project. With the availability ofhigh quality seed, it was possible to rapidly transfer the stress tolerant,early/extra-early, and QPM varieties to farmers in the savannaecologies of the subregion (Gyasi et al. 2003; Onyibe et al. 2003;Sallah et al. 2003).It is pertinent to note here that technologies developed by WECAMANhave been primarily demand-driven. The Network’s member countriesrealized that, to stimulate production, there was an urgent need to diversifymaize utilization and marketing. Therefore, the Network establishedappropriate linkages between NARS and producers, extension services,NGOs, and processors. Marketing constraints were identifi ed and studieson the maize marketing network and utilization in the subregion werecommissioned. Technologies for improved nutritional values of maizehave been developed, and the availability of QPM varieties has ledto the development of new food products. Consumers in Cameroon,Chad, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria are fi nding new uses for maize (QPMand normal endosperm varieties). All of this together has stimulatedmaize production in the subregion, leading to an unprecedented rate ofadoption of available production technologies.The third objective of this study was to identify areas that needto be strengthened for further progress toward achieving the goalsof the Network. One such area is the estimation of total grainproduction as well as grain yield per unit land area in the subregion.Results presented herein on these aspects would seem to suggest that21