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

420Conclusion and RecommendationsThe production of QPM seed at the community level has resulted infarmers being aware of the new maize variety and its quality for food.Hitherto, QPM was not known in these communities but throughthe open days, it has now been popularised even beyond the twocommunities. The economic analysis showed that, on average, theproduction of both Obatanpa GH and EV 99 QPM varieties wereprofi table. The following recommendations should, therefore, beconsidered to enhance sustainability of QPM seed production beyondthe project phase:i. Farmers’ training and awareness campaigns are needed toovercome the basic technical problems of seed productiontechniques, which the farmers lacked. Publicity campaigns usingextension leafl ets, demonstrations and mass media are needed toreach out to more maize farmers.ii. Effective demand for the QPM seed could be created if thefarmers or their groups could be linked to the existing seedcompanies so that they could serve as contract growers. This willbe an incentive, as the producers will be assured of the market.iii. The farmers should come together to form strong and virileQPM Farmers’ Associations to facilitate better access to extensionservices and and establish strong linkages with seed companies,the ADPs and markets.The individual profi t level shows that those who invested inimproved crop management practices, such as recommended fertilizerrates, had higher profi ts.Farmers should be linked to sources of farm credit/input supplycompanies or micro-credit organizations for easy access to fi nancialand physical inputs to ensure sustainability of the community seedproject beyond the project phase.ReferencesAdo, S.G., M.A. Hussaini, S. Abdulraman, and J.E Onyibe, 2000. Promotionof sustainable maize seed production and distribution to farmers andfacilitation of fertilizers and credit distribution networks. In: The report of the9th Meeting of the Adhoc Research Review Committee of WECAMAN heldat Abidjan, 17–18 April 2000, IITA /WECAMAN, Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire.CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria), 2003. Annual Report and Statement ofAccounts for the year ended 31 December 2003. CBN, Abuja, Nigeria.Fakorede, M.A.B., B. Badu-Apraku, A.Y. Kamara, A. Menkir and S.O. Ajala,2003. Maize revolution in West and Central Africa: An overview. Pp 3–15