Latest STMA Bulletin is out

Posted on dtma, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa Publications, general, Media&Stories, Milestone Reports, News release, Newsletter, Newsletters, Publications, Reports, Research News, Research Publication, Seed System News, Seed System Publication, Seed Systems, Southern Africa News, Southern Africa Publications, Southern Africa Publications, West Africa News, West Africa Publications, May 14, 2020

Read the latest news from the just concluded Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative. This issue highlights the impact the project has had on farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, how it has helped build resilience of Africa’s smallholder farmers and how the improved maize varieties will enable partners to reach farmers on time to plant and produce maize during the COVID-19 crisis in different countries in SSA. You will also get to read about farmers getting an opportunity to select the stress tolerant varieties they prefer and why varietal taste matters.

Download the bulletin here.

List of STMA supported publications for sub-Saharan Africa for 2019

Posted on Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa Publications, News, News & Media, News release, Publications, Published Journals, Reports, Research News, Research Publication, Seed System News, Seed System Publication, Southern Africa News, Southern Africa Publications, Southern Africa Publications, West Africa News, West Africa Publications, May 14, 2020

Amondo, E., Simtowe, F., Rahut, D.B., Erenstein, O., 2019. Productivity and production risk effects of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties in Zambia. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 11, 570-591. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-03-2018-0024

Awata, L. A. O., Ifie, B. E., Tongoona, P., Danquah, E., Jumbo, M. B., Gowda, M., Marchelo-D’ragga, P. W., Sitonik, C., & Suresh, L. M. (2019). Maize lethal necrosis and the molecular basis of variability in concentrations of the causal viruses in co-infected maize plant. Journal of General and Molecular Virology, 9(1), 1-19.

Awondo, S.N., Kostandini, G., Setimela, P., Erenstein, O., in press. Multi-Site Bundling of Drought Tolerant Maize Varieties and Index Insurance. Journal of Agricultural Economics. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12344

Buchaillot MB, Gracia-Romero A, Vergara-Diaz O, Zaman-Allah M, Tarekegne A, Cairns JE, Prasanna BM, Araus JL, Kefavuer SC. 2019. Evaluating maize genotype performance under low nitrogen conditions using RGB UAV phenotyping techniques. Sensors 19, 1815.

Chaikam V, Gowda M, Nair SK, Melchinger AE, Boddupalli PM. Genome-wide association study to identify genomic regions influencing spontaneous fertility in maize haploids. Euphytica. 2019 Aug 1;215(8):138.

Chaikam V, Molenaar W, Melchinger AE, Boddupalli PM. Doubled haploid technology for line development in maize: technical advances and prospects. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 2019:1-7.

Chaikam, V., Gowda, M., Nair, S.K. et al. (2019) Genome-wide association study to identify genomic regions influencing spontaneous fertility in maize haploids Euphytica (2019) 215: 138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-019-2459-

Katengeza, S.P., Holden, S.T., Lunduka, R.W., 2019. Adoption of Drought Tolerant Maize Varieties under Rainfall Stress in Malawi. Journal of Agricultural Economics 70, 198-214. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1477-9552.12283

Lunduka, R.W., Mateva, K.I., Magorokosho, C., Manjeru, P., 2019. Impact of adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties on total maize production in south Eastern Zimbabwe. Climate and Development 11, 35-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2017.1372269

Nair S, Chaikam V, Gowda M et al. Genetic dissection of maternal influence on in vivo haploid induction in maize . The Crop Journal. 2019 (in press)

Simtowe, F., Amondo, E., Marenya, P., Rahut, D., Sonder, K., Erenstein, O., 2019. Impacts of drought-tolerant maize varieties on productivity, risk, and resource use: Evidence from Uganda. Land Use Policy 88, 104091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104091

Simtowe, F., Marenya, P., Amondo, E., Worku, M., Rahut, D.B., Erenstein, O., 2019. Heterogeneous seed access and information exposure: implications for the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties in Uganda. Agricultural and Food Economics 7, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-019-0135-7

Sitonik, C., Suresh, L.M., Beyene, Y. et al. (2019) Theor Appl Genet (2019) 132: 2381. Genetic architecture of maize chlorotic mottle virus and maize lethal necrosis through GWAS, linkage analysis and genomic prediction in tropical maize germplasm https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03360-x

Tigist Mideksa Damesa, Jens Möhring, Manje Gowda, Yoseph Beyene, Kassa Semagn, Hans-Peter Piepho, 2019 Comparison of weighted and unweighted stage-wise analysis for genome-wide association studies and genomic selection – Crop Science

Wegary, D., Teklewold, A., Prasanna, B.M. et al. (2019) Molecular diversity and selective sweeps in maize inbred lines adapted to African highlands. Sci Rep 9, 13490 (2019) https://doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49861-z

Wender et al 2019, Performance and Yield Stability of Maize Hybrids in Stress-prone Environments in Eastern Africa,  The Crop Journal (Accepted)

Araus JL, Kefauver SC, Zaman-Allah M, Olsen, Cairns JE. 2018. Phenotyping: New Crop Breeding Frontier. In: R. A. Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_1036-1

Das B, Atlin GN, Olsen M, Burgueño J, Tarekegne A, Babu R, Ndou E, Mashingaidze K, Moremoholo L, Ligeyo D, Matemba-Mutasa R, Zaman-Allah M, San Vicente, Prasanna BM, Cairns JE. 2018. Identification of low N tolerant donors for maize breeding in sub-Saharan Africa. Euphytica 215, 80.

Yuan Y, Cairns JE, Babu R, Gowda M, Makumbi D, Magorokosho C, San Vicente F, Olsen M, Prasanna BM, Lu Y, Zhang Y. 2018. Genome-wide association mapping and genomic prediction analyses reveal the genetic architecture of grain yield and flowering time under drought and heat stress conditions in maize. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:1919.

Teklewolda H., Adam, R., Marenya, P. What explains the gender differences in the adoption of multiple maize varieties? Empirical evidence from Uganda and Tanzania. 2020. World Development Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2020.100206


Seeing is believing: demo farms accelerate adoption of stress tolerant maize

Posted on dtma, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa Publications, Media&Stories, News, News & Media, News & Stories, News articles, News release, PhotoStories, Publications, Research News, February 19, 2020

Joshua Masinde

Over 400 farmers from Manyatta in Embu County were on February 7, 2020, invited to a demonstration farm to witness the performance of various high yielding, early to medium maturing, drought tolerant maize varieties. Such occasions aim to encourage them to adopt varieties whose traits they preferred the most.

Some of the farmers who showed up for the field day in Embu County on February 7, 2020. Image-Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT.

They were invited by the Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK), with the support of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in continuation of the work started under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project, which was later succeeded by the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative. In attendance were officials from the Embu County government led by its minister in charge of agriculture, Jamleck Muturi, as well as ten seed firms, some of who use CIMMYT’s germplasm for seed propagation and marketing.

A seed company representative explains to the farmers the merits of the variety on this plot. Image-Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT.

Farmers such as 29-year old Nancy Wawira not only learnt of best agronomic practices, but also identified a high yielding, drought tolerant and early maturing variety she hopes to plant on her farm next season.

Nancy Wawira admiring a maize crop with double cobbers in one of the demo plots. Image-Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT.

For others like 52-year-old John Njiru, a father of four children, a higher-yielding variety with a lot of foliage, which remains green even after the maize cob has dried, is what he came looking for. The green maize foliage is significant income source due to demand from livestock keepers. He also feeds his own livestock with it, making substantial savings on animal feed expenditure.

John Njiru on a demo plot whose variety he likes. Image-Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT.

Latest STMA Bulletin is out

Posted on annual meetings, Eastern Africa News, Eastern Africa Publications, Media&Stories, News, News release, Newsletters, Publications, January 16, 2020

Read the latest news from the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative. This issue highlights stories on how stress tolerant maize is improving the lives of smallholder farmers in northern Uganda, after a two-decade civil war; why stress tolerant maize varieties are good for Africa and how CIMMYT and its partners are making systems work for both men and women, among others. Download the report here.

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Street theater amplifies need for stress tolerant maize varieties

Posted on Media&Stories, News, News Articles, West Africa News, West Africa Publications, January 7, 2020

The Stress Tolerant Maize in Africa (STMA) project team in Nigeria used street theater to drum up messages on how to mitigate stresses affecting maize production in the country. The messages targeted mainly the youth, informing them that with the right stress-resilient seed varieties and the application of recommended agronomic practices, they can turn farming into a lucrative and livelihood improving enterprise. The messages were developed by the STMA team in collaboration with the Adopted Village Project of the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), the Nigerian Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (NIFAAS) and the Theatre and Performing Arts Department of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Local artistes in Nigeria perform songs, dance and drama at different markets and streets to create awareness on the benefits of adopting stress resilient maize seed varieties.

Local troupes displayed their skills in song, dance and drama to relay messages on the need for youth to venture into climate-smart agriculture to overcome challenges of drought, current and emerging pests and diseases, as well as improve their yield.

The artistes amplified the benefits of adopting stress resilient maize seed varieties.

Seven such performances were enacted at various markets and streets in Nigeria between August and November 2019. The theme of the street performance was, “Smart people, smart farming”. Since 2017, the STMA team has effectively used this unique campaign method to mobilize communities in rural areas to take adopt stress tolerant maize seed varieties for improved yields and livelihoods.

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