MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Case Study:  CGIAR drought tolerant maize varieties - Horn of Africa

The CGIAR is a global strategic alliance that works to reduce poverty, improve food security, and improve nutrition and health. It is made up of 15 centres across the world working closely with hundreds of partner organisations, including national and regional agricultural research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector. As part of this work CGIAR centres use scientific advances to build resilience to hunger and climate change in the Horn of Africa. Practical measures such as drought-resistant seeds, irrigation, rural infrastructure, livestock programs are needed to combat the effects of climate change.

Drought tolerant maize route out of poverty for community-based seed producer, Kenya.

Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT

Over the past five years, CGIAR centres have led to the creation of more than 34 new drought tolerant maize varieties. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) coordinates the work on this in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and national partners from 13 African countries. With maize already Africa’s main staple crop, the drought tolerant variety is designed to take advantage of whatever little water it receives at the critical times of germination and flowering. These innovative maize varieties have been given to over two million smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, empowering them to cope with climate change impacts on their livelihoods and food security. The 10-year goal of the project is to increase average maize productivity under smallholder farmer conditions by 20-30% on adopting farms, with the aim of helping more than 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.