For farmers like Mary Sikirwayi, maize is life. Although she also grows wheat, peanuts, and beans on her farm in Zimbabwe’s Murewa District, maize is her most important crop. She usually eats white maize, which she grinds and cooks to produce sadza, Zimbabwe’s staple food. But she also grows yellow maize as feed for her chickens and other livestock, and local red maize that she uses for medicinal purposes, milling it into a special sadza to treat ailments ranging from indigestion to heart problems.
The Murewa District, which is located about 75 kilometers north-east of Harare, is normally subject to recurrent droughts, making it a perfect testing ground for drought-tolerant maize. So, like many other famers in the District, Mary began growing drought-tolerant maize for the first time last year, when she participated in a program of on-farm trials carried out by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. Jointly implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the DTMA project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and is also receiving complementary grants from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Lack of rainfall is usually the biggest problem facing maize farmers like Mary, but rainfall from January to July 2011 was more than double the average. Nonetheless, as Mary soon discovered, the maize’s performance shone even though the sun didn’t. Two seasons ago, her farm produced only 3.5 tons of maize, but last season her harvest had increased by 2 tons.
According to Oswell Ndoro, the CIMMYT research officer responsible for on-farm participatory trials in the Murewa District, the new drought-tolerant varieties, which can also survive high rainfall, can produce yields that are up to 25 per cent higher than those of commercial varieties.
“If CIMMYT develops varieties of maize which are drought-tolerant, then that’s great,” said Ndoro. “But if these same varieties are unable to produce high yields with varied levels of rainfall, then farmers lose confidence in the product. All it takes is one bad season for farmers to lose confidence in a seed variety.
“This is a highly-populated area that has often suffered from drought-related food deficits, but this year, the issue was nitrogen deficiency caused by the excessive rains. If they are to provide useful solutions, scientists must develop versatile varieties that provide reliably good yields and have other important traits too, such as resistance to pests and diseases. DTMA maize breeders are doing just that.”
Partnerships for success
In the Murewa District, the project works in collaboration with the Zimbabwe government’s Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services Department (AGRITEX) to test and disseminate drought-tolerant maize varieties. Training is also provided by extension workers on topics such as crop management and the identification of pests and diseases.
However, not all farmers are willing or able to participate in these initial trials, because they must be committed and able to keep records. Nonetheless, Nevis Moronbo and Nogate Zvereza Moronbo, a farming couple who feed 12 children on the maize, wheat, beans, and other crops from their 4 hectares of land, are in no doubt that the effort was worth it.
“I’m happy about the trial and expect to do it again,” said Nevis. “I wanted to know more about improved varieties of maize and I’m happy about the results. I’ve tested three varieties on my farm. They were all very good. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sell the surplus to invest in poultry and cattle.”
By working in partnership with national maize programs and private seed companies, DTMA brings together CIMMYT’s international network of breeders and germplasm resources with the power to test varieties extensively under local conditions, drawing on the expertise of farmers and extension workers to produce maize varieties ideally suited to the region.
Thanks to its greater productivity, the new drought-tolerant maize has the potential to increase farmers’ yields and incomes, and improve regional food security.
Read more on the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Initiative
Download Flyer: Zimbabwe: When drought-tolerant maize faces excessive rain.
Photo credit: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT