Drought tolerant CIMMYT maize provides hope for drought-gripped Kenya
Kenyan farmer Philip Ngolania shows off his healthy maize crop, June 2011. East Africa in 2011 is struggling with the worst drought in more than half a century, pushing food prices in Kenya to dangerously high levels beyond the reach of the poor. However, drought-tolerant CIMMYT varieties provide hope. In February, Ngolania planted a variety developed by CIMMYT and Kenyan research partners specifically for dry conditions. It has thrived, even with little rainfall. Ngolania thinks he will get four 90-kilogram bags from the maize grown on his small farm, which is about 1/3 of a hectare. "I am very happy with this maize," he says, "it will feed me and my family for nine months." This success has attracted the attention of his neighbors, whose stunted maize plants will not produce a harvest this year, and interest in the new varieties is growing.
Photo credit: CIMMYT.
For more information, see: dtma.cimmyt.org/index.php/component/content/article/117-2....
Drought tolerant CIMMYT maize provides hope for drought-gripped Kenya
Kenyan farmer Philip Ngolania shows off his healthy maize crop, June 2011. East Africa in 2011 is struggling with the worst drought in more than half a century, pushing food prices in Kenya to dangerously high levels beyond the reach of the poor. However, drought-tolerant CIMMYT varieties provide hope. In February, Ngolania planted a variety developed by CIMMYT and Kenyan research partners specifically for dry conditions. It has thrived, even with little rainfall. Ngolania thinks he will get four 90-kilogram bags from the maize grown on his small farm, which is about 1/3 of a hectare. "I am very happy with this maize," he says, "it will feed me and my family for nine months." This success has attracted the attention of his neighbors, whose stunted maize plants will not produce a harvest this year, and interest in the new varieties is growing.
Photo credit: CIMMYT.
For more information, see: dtma.cimmyt.org/index.php/component/content/article/117-2....