Quality protein maize development for the Horn and East Africa – Ethiopia focus

Published on 9 April 2010

Research Areas

Crops

Countries

Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

Timeline

Start Date: 1 April 2008 | End Date: 31 December 2010

Overview

The Goal of QPMD is to contribute to improved food security, nutrition (and thus health) and farm income of resource-poor farming families by developing and facilitating adoption of stress-tolerant QPM cultivars adapted to the major ecologies of The Horn and Eastern Africa region.

 The Purpose is to improve the availability, production and utilization of protein-quality enhanced open-pollinated and hybrid maize varieties, and to facilitate transfer of the technology package to farmers in the four target countries of the region: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

This QPMD Project has an Ethiopian focus but maintains a regional perspective. 

The expected long-term impact of the QPMD Project is increased food security, improved nutrition (and thus health), and increased farm income of resource-poor farming families through adoption and utilization of stress-tolerant QPM cultivars in the major maize producing agro-ecologies of The Horn and Eastern Africa.

Project Outcomes:

 ·         Increased utilization of QPM (particularly by children and female members of farm families).

·         Increased QPM grain production, processing and marketing.

·         Strengthened institutional and organizational capacity of seed growers, CBOs and private institutions to produce, maintain quality and distribute QPM seed on a sustainable basis.

Project outputs

·         Increased knowledge and awareness of QPM technologies and nutritional benefits, and adoption of QPM by farm families.

·         Increased utilization of QPM by farm families, and the food and poultry feed industry.

·         Improved productivity and adaptation of QPM germplasm to biotic and abiotic stresses in major ECA agro-ecologies.

·         Increased quantities of high quality QPM breeders’ and foundation seed available and accessible to seed producers.

Research Partners

• Private Foundations
• Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Tags

Development, Maize, Protein maize