Abstract

Burundi is one of the most heavily populated countries in Africa, with nearly 5 million people and a total land area of 2.5 million hectares. There is an urgent need to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability. This on-going project seeks to assist the national maize and pea improvement program to breed high-yielding disease and insect/pest resistant cultivars and to develop improved agronomic methods to enable smallholders throughout Burundi to increase productivity of these crops. Relevant progress has been achieved in the previous phases, still, two more years support is essential to achieve the objectives set by the National Programs in the country. Specifically, this project will breed early, disease, and insect/pest resistant high and stable yielding cultivars; develop improved production techniques; produce sufficient high quality breeders' seed of recommended cultivars; and train extension workers and additional staff.

Post-Project Summary

Earlier phases of the project were funded under numbers 77-0083, 81-0089, 83-0215 and 86-0212. Although the project was hampered by the departure of the program officer from IDRC and conflicts within Burundi, most of the project objectives were achieved. Researchers developed stable, high-yielding disease-resistant varieties and released them to farmers. Varieties resistant to streak (a viral disease) such as SNSYN F3 (89 elite) and ZM609 C1were multiplied and tested on-farm. Other on-farm trials resulted in the breeding of disease-resistant, high-yielding cultivars tolerant to aluminum toxicity. Suitable production techniques, such as intercropping, were developed for various agroecological conditions. High quality technical assistance and germplasm were provided by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Research skills of both individuals and institutions were enhanced by the project: three project team members attended a seminar on agronomic statistics organized in Bujumbura by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993, and one team member completed a PhD. Training of extension workers and additional staff for the national maize and pea research program was limited by budgetary constraints, as was the production of improved seed for wide distribution.

Recipient Institution(s)