Revisiting WEMA—One Year Later
“One of the biggest challenges facing farmers today is drought,” Hugh Grant, Monsanto CEO, said.
By 2050, the monsoon winds that bring seasonal rain to sub-Saharan Africa could be 10-20 percent drier than southern Africa’s averages between 1950 and 2000.
“In the United States, farmers have access to sophisticated irrigation systems, but in much of the world, farmers rely on rainfall to irrigate their crops,” Grant said.
A year ago, Monsanto made a commitment to help. In March 2008, Monsanto announced a public-private partnership to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties for Africa.
The partnership, Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), links Monsanto with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and research systems in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation are contributing $47 million to fund the first five years of the project.
“Africa is at a great crossroads,” Newton Ochanda, Monsanto sub-Saharan Africa test lead for WEMA, said. “In the face of growing populations and global climatic change—which has depressed rainfall patterns—farming methods are not meeting all the requirements for food security and economic growth.”
WEMA aims to develop drought-tolerant African maize varieties—using conventional breeding, marker-assisted breeding and biotechnology. The goal is to eventually offer the drought-tolerance trait to small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, royalty-free, so they are able to produce more reliable harvests. During moderate drought, the new varieties are expected to increase yields by 24-35 percent.
The project is currently in its first phase—research and development.
Sub-Saharan African scientists, breeders, agronomists and regulators are developing and testing new white corn hybrids—adapted specifically for the region—through breeding, breeding technology and biotechnology.
“These new hybrids should allow for a substantial increase of sustainable yields under moderate drought conditions,” Mourad Abdennadher, Monsanto WEMA technical lead, said. “Through WEMA, the African partners will have to develop sites for water-controlled trials. There will be one site per country, so countries can actively participate in testing and selecting drought-tolerant hybrids and develop capacity in running regulated trials--while complying with stewardship guidelines and national regulatory permissions.”
The second phase involves market and reliability trials. It will allow farmers to witness firsthand the value of the germplasm and the drought trait in improving white corn yields and sustaining them under conditions prone to drought.
“We are finally seeing this project gain momentum in the sub-Saharan Africa partner countries,” Vanessa Cook, Monsanto’s WEMA project lead, said. “An additional advantage of projects like this is they show how biotechnology benefits, not only the commercial farmers, but all farms, all sizes.”
Within the first year, the project has celebrated some significant successes, including increased enthusiasm among partners and the recruitment of 13 Monsanto scientists—based in South Africa and Kenya—who work full-time on the WEMA project.
“I joined WEMA after working in the U.S. for 11 years because of a desire to participate in research that directly improves the lives of the people of Africa,” Ochanda said.
Kenya is battling a drought that has left some 10 million people—a third of the population—needing food aid and led the government to declare a state of national emergency.
In the future, food security for Kenyan farmers will require the use of multiple resources, including biotechnology, to improve productivity. The recent passage of the Biosafety Bill in Kenya indicates a commitment from the Kenyan government to utilize biotechnology and offers promise for WEMA.
“Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa face situations similar to the one in Kenya,” Ochanda said. “A program that creates an avenue to produce high-yielding varieties of maize, which is tolerant to water stress, would represent a milestone in the fight against devastating famine caused by drought.”
