Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) Project

Abstract

Maize is a major food crop in Africa, especially in the eastern and southern regions of the continent. For many, it is the main staple of their diet, as evidenced by annual consumption levels of 79 kg per capita in the region and 125 kg per capita in Kenya. Serious threats to this food source obviously endanger food security generally. Stem borers pose just such a threat in much of Africa. In Kenya alone, farmers estimate crop losses due to stem borers at 15% of their ultimate harvest, amounting to 400,000 tons of maize with a value of US $90 million-this in a country where many people live on less than $1 a day. Given that Kenya currently imports maize to meet demand, these losses are considerable. For individual farmers, infestations of these pests can decimate entire fields of maize-depriving a rural family of vital income and a year's supply of their main food source. To tackle this problem, the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project was launched in 1999, by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI}, with financial support from the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development.