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Striga Management through Herbicide Resistance: A Public-Private Partnership in Action
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Abstract
Striga is an indigenous parasitic weed that attacks cereals and other crops in Africa. In maize croplands alone, Striga infests over 2.3 million ha resulting in 1.6 million tons of grain loss worth US 383millionannually.Aninnovativeapproachtocontrollingtheparasitewastoinduceherbicideresistanceinmaizeandtocoattheseedwithherbicidetoprovidechemicalprotectionfrominfection.Thisbreakthroughthatwasrealizedafter12yearsofcollaborativeresearchanddevelopmentbytheInternationalMaizeandWheatCentre(CIMMYT),theKenyaAgriculturalResearchCenter(KARI)andtheWeizmannInstituteofScienceinIsrael,isnowreadyfordeploymentinSub−SaharanAfrica.ThiseffortismostadvancedinKenya,whereonevarietyoftheImazapyr−resistant(IR)maizehybridaptlynamedUaKayongo(StrigaKiller)wastestedbyover13,000householdsandregisteredforcommercialreleasebyWesternSeedCompany.Comparedtoacurrentlyrecommendedcommercialhybrid(H513),UaKayongoimprovedmaizeyieldsby1,022kgha−1,reducedStrigaexpressionby81143 ha-1 (+63%). This technology occupies a central role in the design of comprehensive Striga Eradication Initiatives in maize fields, but hindrance to achieving this goal has emerged from unlikely sources. Crop breeders committed to developing alternative, Striga-immune varieties self-indulgently dismiss IR maize as a technological dead-end single gene approach, while “green” interests unfairly label IR-maize a GMO. A public-private partnership has formed to deploy IR maize to needy African farmers. Differences in operational approaches are expected among these partners, given their underlying interests and organizational mandates, and it is important that these issues continue to be resolved in a manner that does not lose momentum or shift focus. Now that Striga has become a preventable disorder in maize fields, it is time to minimize the drama and direct all available resources toward assisting Striga’s victims in Africa.Africa, Herbicides, Maize, Striga, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,