Maize Productivity for the 21st Century: the African Challenge

Maize is a major food crop in southern and eastern Africa. It is widely grown by smallholders, and forms an important part of the transformation of smallholder agricultural systems that has taken place this century. But, despite commendable efforts in technology development at both the national and the international level, agricultural productivity is well below that necessary to help create strong, healthy African economies. No single solution is likely to be found for this problem. In this paper, two major possible foci are outlined. First, there is a need to match advances in crop improvement (through breeding) with developments in crop management. Second, and directly associated with the search for improved crop management methods, a concerted effort, involving public and private agricultural service agencies, as well as local farmer groups, NGOs, and other rural associations, is needed so that priorities are set correctly, that the right questions are asked, and that the solutions found are delivered quickly to those who need them.