Helping more than 100 small and medium-scale seed companies in Africa and Latin America to assess potential markets and to seize new opportunities.
As part of work to foster competitive maize seed markets and offer farmers quality seed at affordable prices, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is helping more than 100 small and medium-scale seed companies in Africa and Latin America to assess potential markets and to seize new opportunities.
“Just as carmakers retool assembly lines and marketing to roll out a new model, maize seed companies must revamp operations for new varieties,” said Kate Fehlenberg, manager of the CIMMYT-led Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project. “It takes at least 3-5 years before the new product hits the market, so seed producers want assurance of demand before replacing older varieties or targeting new markets.”
CIMMYT supports public-private partnerships
- The Center’s maize and socioeconomics programs are applying geographic information systems technology to help identify and assess potential markets, allowing companies to home in on suitable improved varieties, forecast the volume of seed demand, and plan and resource marketing campaigns.
- Data on hybrids and their parent lines from CIMMYT breeding programs allow companies to estimate production costs and expected performance – crucial for decisions to invest in new varieties.
- Annual training events organized by CIMMYT for country partners cover hybrid seed production and offer tools to identify and analyze market opportunities.
- With international and local organizations, CIMMYT helps to scale out best agronomic practices and improved seed in farming communities, leveraging local distribution networks and offering technical expertise.
- The Center is partnering with digital service providers in target communities to make seed available to farmers and suppliers and to measure demand and adoption.
As a result, seed companies can invest in new high-yielding, resilient maize varieties in a much more secure environment, retire obsolete products, and boost smallholder farmers’ food security while improving their profits.
CIMMYT in Mexico: Progress in 2017
MasAgro is a CIMMYT-led bilateral project between CIMMYT and Mexico’s Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) that promotes agricultural development at different levels of Mexico’s maize and wheat value chains.
Achievements in 2017 included:
- 20 percent average yield increase achieved in maize production on MasAgro plots compared with conventional plots.
- 19 percent average increase in profits from wheat produced under sustainable intensification practices.
- Maize participant farmers harvest twice the average yield of their regions.
- More than 30 seed companies sold 46 MasAgro maize hybrids and 5 varieties under 147 commercial brands.
- Companies participating in MasAgro sold 1.1 million bags of maize seed in 2017, with a market share of 21%. Half of the bags sold have CIMMYT germplasm.
- Maize hybrids and varieties were sold in 24 states, 118 regions and 398 municipalities in central and southeastern Mexico.
This story is part of CIMMYT's 2017 Annual Report.
Credits:
CIMMYT Annual Report 2017. Editors-in-chief: Geneviève Renard, G. Michael Listman, Laura Strugnell. Creative Director: Clyde R. Beaver III. Layout and Design: Gerardo Mejia, Clyde R. Beaver III. Infographics/Illustrations: Gerardo Mejia. Production/Printer Liaison: Eliot Sánchez/Marcelo Ortiz. Video Promotion: Silvia Rico, Carlos Alfonso Cortés. Writers/Editors: Rachel Cramer, Ricardo Curiel, Jennifer Johnson, G. Michael Listman, Julie Mollins, Matthew O’Leary, Geneviéve Renard, Katelyn Roett, Sam Storr. Contributors: Bekele Abeyo, Ayele Badebo, Frédéric Baudron, Carolina Camacho, Alberto Chassaigne, Kristie Drucza, Kate Fehlenberg, Terefe Fitta, Bram Govaerts, Velu Govindan, Sarah Hearne, Huntington Hobbs, Muhammad Imtiaz, M.L. Jat, Scott Justice, Victor Kommerell, Timothy Krupnik, Jelle Van Loon, Víctor López Saavedra, Cosmos Magorokosho, Kevin Pixley, B.M. Prasanna, Michael Quinn, Matthew Reynolds, Johnson Siamachira, Arturo Silva Hinojosa, Sam Storr, Kashif Syed, Ghulam Ullah. Photographers: Alfonso Cortés, Xochiquetzal Fonseca, Apollo Habtamu/ILRI, Peter Lowe, Johnson Siamachira, Sam Storr, CIMMYT Archives. Spark Page production: Sam Storr.