The legacy of drought tolerant maize in Africa

The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project has contributed towards improving seed system in sub-Saharan Africa for the past almost nine years (2007–2015), through development of drought-tolerant well-adapted maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties to help farmers across 13 countries in eastern, west and southern Africa, cope with drought constraint in maize farming. In 2014 alone, the project supported production of nearly 54,000 tons of certified DT maize seed benefitting an estimated 5.4 million households – or 43 million people – across the DTMA countries (Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The project was jointly implemented among the National Agricultural Research systems by CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and concluded at the end of December 2015.