Nakuru, Kenya
September 22, 2014
The Striga Control in Maize partnership has today commissioned a state of the art seed processing machine that will enhance the effectiveness of StrigAway™ a herbicide-resistant seed and treatment to improve the productivity of maize, one of the most important food crops in Kenya. The commissioning of the seed treater facility at Freshco Seeds in Nakuru, Kenya attended by members of the partnership - African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and BASF - will facilitate the coating of maize seed with the StrigAway Imazapyr Resistant (IR) herbicide which kills the Striga seed as it germinates and before it can cause any crop damage.
“This partnership aims to improve the productivity of maize in Kenya and increase the food security of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya” said Dr Gospel Omanya, the Senior Manager Projects Management and Deployment at AATF.
StrigAwayTM combats Striga, a parasitic plant that affects the agricultural productivity of approximately 250,000 hectares in western Kenya. Commonly known as witchweed, this parasitic plant can cause a 20-80 percent crop loss in maize, leading many farmers to abandon fields with heavy Striga infestation. Striga is worst on farms in the Lake Victoria basin. Maize is especially susceptible to Striga and continuous cereal mono-cropping has intensified the Striga problem. StrigAwayTM, which includes conventionally bred herbicide resistant maize varieties and an herbicide seed coating, was developed by BASF and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).
“Seed treatment with StrigAway™ enables use of the full potential of the seed and therefore the largest possible benefit for the farmer” said Sammy Waruingi, the Striga Project Manager at BASF East Africa during the commissioning. “BASF is committed to ensuring the ability of StrigAway maize farmer to control Striga in their maize fields through stewardship and training” he said.
With best management practices, the use the StrigAway IR-maize technology to control Striga permits grain yields of up to 2 ton/ha higher than the average 0.5 ton/ha obtained from traditional maize varieties. In Kenya, a conservative estimate indicates that when adopted, the proposed technology can lead to an extra 375,000 tonnes (4.2 million bags enough feed 3.4 million people) of maize in western Kenya.
“The commissioning of the StrigAway seed treater today is a very significant milestone for our company as it will see us produce, process and distribute high quality StrigAway IR maize seeds to farmers in Kenya and contribute to the noble goal of enhancing food security for farmers and their families” said Captain James Karanja, the Managing Director of Freshco Seeds. “In line with our mission of delivering world-class agricultural technologies and food supply chain solutions to improve livelihoods, Freshco Seeds will ensure that our StrigAway maize variety FRC 425 IR delivers on that promise” he added.
The upscaling of the commercialisation of the StrigAway technology in Kenya is being supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative through AATF. Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation’s goal is to find and commercialise agricultural technologies that benefit smallholder farmers around the world.
The Striga Control in Maize project in Kenya is a partnership between AATF, Freshco Seeds, Kenya Seed Company, CIMMYT, BASF and Feed the Future initiative.
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