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hits key milestone for drought-tolerant maize
T
he ARC and its Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA)
partners are pleased to share the news that the new maize
drought trait, MON 87460, licensed from Monsanto as part
of the WEMA project, has been authorised by the Executive
Council for Cultivation (General Release) in South Africa.
“The authorisation for cultivation is a significant step forward not
only in strengthening the fight against food shortages looming in
the country, but also in the process of bringing new agricultural
technologies to smallholder farmers in South Africa,” said
Dr Kingstone Mashingaidze, research team manager: Plant Breed-
ing and Country Co-ordinator of the WEMA project in South Africa.
“This allows the ARC and WEMA partners to start the next stage of
more extensive testing with the drought trait, and to stack it with
the insect protection (Bt) trait in maize.”
It is anticipated that hybrids combining the drought-tolerant and
insect-protection traits will be an option for producers in South
Africa to plant within a few years pending final regulatory approvals.
The ARC launched two conventional drought-tolerant maize hy-
brids in December 2014. The drought-tolerance of these hybrids
will be further enhanced by incorporating the drought-tolerance
trait (MON 87460). At the launch event in 2014, Deputy Minister
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, general Bheki Cele, said
South Africa faced a challenge as only 13% of the land is suitable
for crop production. This challenge is exacerbated by low rainfall,
which often results in drought. Drought leads to crop failure,
unemployment, hunger, and poverty.
Drought is one of the major factors that rob producers of good
yields in South Africa. There are no simple solutions to ensure crop
survival and yield in a drought. It takes a systems-based approach
using all the tools available to help minimise drought damage.
Producers must envisage a system that incorporates the best
agronomic practices combined with using the best adapted varie-
ties suited for their farm. The new drought trait alone cannot
guarantee success, but producers can use it as another tool in their
systems-based approach to help give their maize crop the best
chance to survive and thrive in dry climates prone to drought.
“The ARC with its WEMA partners is excited to bring this new
drought trait to the market for smallholder farmers royalty-free in
South Africa. The next few seasons will be an important opportu-
nity to do extensive testing and demonstrations to help producers
learn how it can become part of their farming systems and help
minimise the risk of drought,” said Mashingaidze.
The ARC has worked with the WEMA public-private partnership
since 2008 to help develop drought-tolerant maize for producers in
Africa and is excited about the progress towards turning research
into seed that producers can plant to help manage drought stress.
“We are extremely proud of the authorisation as this innovative
farming technology will certainly improve crop yields and advance
agriculture in South Africa. This is a significant stride towards
improving food security, increasing employment and enhancing
the sector's contribution to national economic growth,” concludes
Dr Shadrack Moephuli, chief executive officer: ARC.
107
August 2015
RELEVANT
MARY JAMES,
ARC-Grain Crops Institute
About WEMA
Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) is a public-private
partnership led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Tech-
nology Foundation (AATF), and involves Monsanto, CIMMYT,
and five National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Ugan-
da, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.
The objective of the project is to improve food security and
rural livelihood among smallholder maize farmers in sub-Saha-
ran Africa by developing new drought-tolerant and insect pest-
protected maize hybrids.
WEMA provides the technology royalty-free to all African seed
companies for deployment to smallholder farmers. WEMA
helps build technical breeding and biotechnology capacity as
well as seed systems in Africa.
The ARC launched two conventional drought-tolerant maize hy-
brids in December 2014, and these will be sold under the brand
name Drought
TEGO
™. The drought-tolerance of these hybrids
will be further enhanced by incorporating this new maize drought
trait. WEMA is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-
tion, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and USAID.
The ARC with its WEMA partners is excited to bring this new
drought trait to the market for smallholder farmers royalty-free in
South Africa.