05 March 2010
	More in the bag for farmers By Shannon Sherry

Grants of almost US$20m from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID have been provided for a project aimed at improving smallholder farmers' access to fertiliser. Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa often pay as much as six times more for fertiliser than their counterparts in the US and Europe, mainly because of transport costs arising from poor road and rail networks. Costs force farmers to apply far less fertiliser than required on Africa's older and poorer soils. This reduces yields, creating a vicious cycle for farmers who consequently receive less income. The $19,5m grants will be used by an alliance formed to create and share new maize varieties that use fertiliser more efficiently and therefore increase yields. Alliance partners include SA's Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Kenya's Agricultural Research Institute and biotech company Pioneer Hi-Bred. The partners will contribute staff, infrastructure, seed, technology, training and know-how to the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project. The project will develop maize and wheat varieties that will yield more with the same amount of nitrogen fertiliser when grown on poorer soils. The varieties will be made available to farmers at the same cost as other types of improved maize seed. IMAS leader Gary Atlin says: "If all your fertiliser is used by the crop and none is lost in the soil, you can save lots of money. Or you can get better yields using the same amount." ARC CEO Shadrack Moephuli says: "We are committed to ensuring that maize varieties of benefit to resource-poor farmers are developed using the latest technologies available."