Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa: Project brief

Abstract

More than 208 million households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend on maize for food security and economic wellbeing, but maize productivity in this region is the lowest among the world regions. The slow adoption of new maize varieties means that farmers are unable to reach their yield potential. The Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project will develop new maize varieties with resistance to the many challenges faced by farmers, and support local seed companies to make this seed available at scale in SSA. A key priority of STMA is to facilitate the replacement of varieties older than 15 years in Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.