The Development of Drought Tolerant Maize for Sub-Saharan Africa through the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project.

The African continent is prone to drought with three-quarters of the world’s severe droughts having occurred there over the past 10 years. Such frequent droughts make farming risky for the millions of smallholder farmers who rely on rainfall to water their crops. In the Sub-Saharan Africa region of the continent, maize is the primary grain crop grown for human consumption, with more than 300 million people dependent on it as their staple food. Unfortunately, maize is severely affected by the frequent droughts. The increasing environmental challenges caused by climate change will only worsen this problem. Hence, in response to a growing call by African farmers, leaders, and scientists to address the effects of drought in a way that is cost effective to African smallholder farmers, Monsanto joined the public-private partnership called the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project. This partnership is lead by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) based in Kenya with collaborating partners including CIMMYT and representatives from the National Agricultural Research Systems from participating countries (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique). In this presentation we will discuss how Monsanto is contributing to this effort with the objective of developing drought-tolerant maize using the most advanced technology available internationally.