Maize is an important food crop for more than 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. It is consumed as gruels, porridge, paste, and weaning food for babies. However, Striga parasitic weed poses a serious threat to its production. Striga attack is virulent where there is poor soil fertility, short fallow periods, mono cropping in place of crop rotation and inter-cropping systems. Annual crop losses associated with Striga infestation in SSA are put at about US$7 billion. Its control is difficult because it attaches itself to the roots of the host plants, making its weeding problematic. Furthermore, it produces millions of tiny seeds that can remain viable in the soil for about 20 years.

Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have however made a  breakthrough on the control of the stubborn weed through the development of maize varieties that are resistant to it. With this new development, efforts to ensure food security and income generation for maize farmers in the sub region are yielding good results. Hitherto, Striga problem had reached epidemic proportions. Farmers are often frustrated and they abandon their farms. The improved maize varieties are now a toast of farmers in the continent. Abandoned farms are being re-visited, re-dressed, and planted into the resistant maize varieties without much fear of the weed.

The success of the technology has encouraged the Semi-Arid Africa Agricultural Research and Development (SAFGRAD) to support farmers through extension services in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali to put more confidence into maize farming. Improved maize yields now double from an average of one ton per hectare to more than 2 tons. To effect a sustained Striga control strategy, SAFGRAD, with funding support from the Korean government established a Striga Task Force (STF) in 2002-2004, to introduce Striga resistant maize varieties with other control options to reduce the effects of the weed.

To arrive at this level IITA scientists screened maize germplasm from diverse sources for tolerance to Striga. In contrast to tolerance, the selection and cultivation of resistant cultivars has succeeded in reducing reproduction of Striga seeds thereby contributing to depletion of its seeds from the soil. Further progress still continues to be made with a view to obtaining more excellent sources of resistance from wild maize species, African landraces and elite tropical germplasm.

According to Dr. Menkir, IITA Maize breeder, the distribution and testing of the improved maize varieties resistant to S. hermonthica in several countries of West and Central Africa is made possible through the collaborative efforts of the West and Central African Maize Network (WECAMAN). The body works with the national agricultural research systems (NARS) in the sub-region.  Funding is provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UNDP and IFAD for trials in several locations to demonstrate the effectiveness of the open pollinated and hybrid maize varieties resistant to the parasitic weed.