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New conventional drought-tolerant hybrid maize seed that can give farmers a significant yield increase under drought stress, more crop per drop, is soon to be available in South Africa. Marketed under the brand of DroughtTEGOTM, it was developed by the WEMA project (Water Efficient Maize for Africa) and will be launched by South African seed companies in September 2014, says Dr. Kingstone Mashingaidze, Department Manager - Plant Breeding & Biotechnology at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
 
Dr. Mashingaidze said the DroughtTEGO is a new, improved conventional non-GM white maize. WEMA will release its first two new conventional hybrids and will target two to five new releases each year. The first DroughtTEGO hybrid was introduced in Kenya in late 2013 and now after two planting seasons is turning into a hit with smallholder farmers in Kenya.
 
WEMA is a public-private partnership dedicated to delivering drought-tolerant and insect-pest protected seed to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The project uses conventional, marker assisted and genetic modification to develop high-quality seeds that will improve yield, and consequently the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in South Africa.

WEMA is coordinated by the Kenyan based African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) involving five national agricultural research institutions from South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique; CIMMYT and Monsanto. The objective of the project, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and USAID, is to improve food security and rural livelihood among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
 
All the partners in the project have contributed their maize germplasm and expertise to help develop new drought-tolerant hybrids.  Monsanto has contributed elite global germplasm, breeding and product deployment know-how. According to the AATF, initial plantings in 2013 of DroughtTEGO in Kenya, after six years of trials, surveyed on 39 sites resulted in average yields of 4.5t/ha, a 2.7t/ha increase over the national average of 1.8t/ha.
 
It is estimated that if the WEMA project achieves its target scale and yield increases, an additional 2 million tons of maize will be produced to feed 14-21 million people in the five sub-Saharan countries involved with trials.
 
WEMA is working with private seed companies to deliver at least 10,000 metric tonnes of certified seeds produced from at least 25 conventional drought-tolerant hybrids within the next four years. To date, 25 DroughtTEGO hybrids have been approved for commercialisation in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.