{"id":714,"date":"2017-09-11T17:11:36","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T09:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/?p=714"},"modified":"2017-09-11T17:11:36","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T09:11:36","slug":"hybrid-maize-boosts-yields-kenyan-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/09\/11\/hybrid-maize-boosts-yields-kenyan-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid maize boosts yields for Kenyan farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"
Keywords:\u00a0Hybrid maize , Kenya , New varieties<\/div>\n
Hybrid maize seeds and the yields they make possible can make a big difference for small-scale farmers in developing economies worldwide. It is especially those who are at risk of poverty and food insecurity. However, low adoption rates are common, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/div>\n
\nMichael Carter is a professor of agricultural and resource economics. And also he is the director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UC Davis. He led a randomized controlled trial in Kenya. The trial tested whether hybrid maize seeds tailored for western Kenya\u2019s mid-altitude regions could increase yields and income for small-scale farmers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe found that making those seeds available had a very large impact on maize productivity,\u201d Carter said. \u201cSo there really was something in those seeds that was different.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Farmer Joshua Oyugi took part in trials of new hybrid seeds for mid-altitude conditions in Kenya. Most commercial maize seed in Kenya is created for conditions in the \u201cWhite Highlands\u201d over 5,000 meters. Photo credit AMA Innovation Lab.
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Hybrid Maize Seeds for Higher Yields<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Hybrid seeds are the product of breeding two distinct varieties of a plant into a single. Frst-generation hybrid that has all the desired characteristics of both parent lines. This is how plant breeders typically create plants that are drought tolerant or resistant to disease. First-generation hybrid seeds also benefit from heterosis. And that results in bigger plants and significantly higher crop yields.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In western Kenya, hybrid maize adoption rates hover around 40 percent. One reason may be the cost. Hybrid seeds must be purchased each year, while local or traditional varieties can be saved from the last harvest. A hybrid crop\u2019s second generation of seeds produces plants that are smaller than the hybrid parent line. They also don\u2019t uniformly contain the characteristics of the two original parent lines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Another reason may be that many of the hybrid seeds available in western Kenya were developed for climates and conditions at altitudes around 5,000 meters (over 16,000 feet) above sea level. Those seeds don\u2019t perform as well at mid-altitudes, between 1,000 and 1,500 meters (about 3000 to 5000 feet) above sea level, where the climate is warmer and the growing season is shorter.
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Higher Maize Yields in Western Kenya<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The UC Davis experiment, in partnership with the Tegemeo Institute for Agriculture and Policy Development in Kenya, took place between 2013 and 2015. About 1,200 farmers in western Kenya\u2019s mid-altitude regions received 250-gram trial seed packets and information on hybrid seeds bred by a local company, Western Seed Company, for mid-altitude conditions. Farmers had the option to purchase full bags to be delivered to their homes at a cost of about 2,000 Kenyan shillings per acre (about $20).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The study was randomized, so different farmers received different treatments. Some farmers received only the seed trail packets and the option to purchase. Some farmers received soil testing and a 50kg bag of high-qualityfertilizer<\/a> to test how they would use the recommendations. Some farmers received both, and the control group received no treatment at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Biggest Gains for Farmers Who Already Used Hybrids<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Maize farmers given the opportunity to purchase Western Seed hybrids developed for their agro-ecological niche increased their per-acre productivity by 41 percent compared to the control group. Farmers who had historically used hybrid seed increased maize productivity by 85 percent, compared to 30 percent among those who did not regularly use hybrid seed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Follow-up surveys showed that the higher yields increased the number of meals these households ate and the variety of their foods. Incomes also went up, but modestly. Across the sample, maize only accounted for about 25 percent of total household income.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Over three-fourths of all maize crops in Kenya are grown by small-scale farmers, and primarily for their own consumption. For these farmers, maize yields at an average 1.6 tons per hectare of land are about a fourth of what is possible with today\u2019s technologies like hybrid seeds. Hybrid seeds could make a particular difference across western Kenya where the average poverty rate is about 31 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThis study provides strong evidence that a local seed company can increase smallholder productivity by developing varieties fine-tuned to niche agro-ecological environments that are often overlooked by larger seed companies,\u201d said Carter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>UCDAVIS UNINERSITY OF CALIFORNIA<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keywords:\u00a0Hybrid maize , Kenya , New varieties Hybrid maize seeds and the yields they make possible can make a big difference for small-scale farmers in developing economies worldwide. It is especially those who are at risk of poverty and food insecurity. However, low adoption rates are common, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Michael Carter is a… Continue reading Hybrid maize boosts yields for Kenyan farmers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nHybrid maize boosts yields for Kenyan farmers - agrinoon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/09\/11\/hybrid-maize-boosts-yields-kenyan-farmers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hybrid maize boosts yields for Kenyan farmers - agrinoon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keywords:\u00a0Hybrid maize , Kenya , New varieties Hybrid maize seeds and the yields they make possible can make a big difference for small-scale farmers in developing economies worldwide. 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