A Tanzanian farmer on her maize plot, where she grows improved, drought tolerant maize variety TAN 250. It also acts as a demonstration plot in partnership with Tanzanian seed company Tanseed International Limited. These farmer-owned, farmer-managed plots are one of many strategies for promoting and encouraging adoption of improved varieties.
TAN 250 was developed in collaboration with CIMMYT’s Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, based on material from CIMMYT-Zimbabwe, CIMMYT-Mexico and Tanzania. For more about the collaboration between Tanseed and CIMMYT, see CIMMYT’s June 2009 e-news story « No maize, no life! » available online at: http://www.cimmyt.org/en/about-us/media-resources/newsletter/previous-issues/38-2009/119-genetic-resources-program.
For more about DTMA see: http://dtma.cimmyt.org.
Photo credit: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT.