{"id":12991,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/new-varieties-to-boost-maize-output-in-west-and-central-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:45:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:45:04","slug":"new-varieties-to-boost-maize-output-in-west-and-central-africa","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/new-varieties-to-boost-maize-output-in-west-and-central-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"New varieties to boost maize output in West and Central Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maize production in West and Central Africa is set to get a much-needed boost with the release of improved varieties by the Nigeria National Variety Release Committee. The varieties address many of the major constraints to maize production such as drought, low soil fertility, pests, diseases, and parasitic weeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_9500\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9500\" style=\"width: 230px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9500 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image_gallery-5.jpg\" alt=\"Maize and other grains\" width=\"230\" height=\"153\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9500\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maize and other grains being sold at a farmers&#8217; market in Nigeria.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers developed the varieties through conventional plant breeding by tapping naturally-available traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The varieties were developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in partnership with the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&amp;T) of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife, Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The released maize include 13 open-pollinated varieties of extra-early-, early-, intermediate-, and late-maturity with resistance to the parasitic weed <em>Striga hermonthica<\/em> and stem borers, tolerance to drought, and with good adaptation to sub-optimal soil nitrogen. Four hybrids with drought-tolerance have also been released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The committee also approved two <em>Striga<\/em>-resistant and two white and two yellow productive hybrids developed at IITA in partnership with Premier Seeds Nigeria Limited. The company will commercially produce and market these hybrids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abebe Menkir, IITA maize breeder, says that the release of these varieties will hasten the adoption of improved maize cultivars by farmers in Nigeria, consequently increasing yields, raising farm incomes, and improving food security. The release of the improved varieties has sparked renewed optimism for maize farming in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese varieties have the potential to provide farmers with opportunities to overcome the challenges to maize production in West and Central Africa,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maize farmers often suffer from infestation of parasitic weeds and prolonged droughts, rendering their fields harvestless and farming households with little food and insufficient income for most of the year. Low soil fertility is often as devastating as droughts, while stem borers in the forest regions also hurt productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every year, IITA distributes improved open-pollinated varieties and hybrids to national partners and the private sector within and outside of WCA through regional trials. These trials have been used as vehicles for selecting promising varieties and hybrids adapted to specific conditions in the different countries for extensive testing and later release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Abebe Menkir, <a>a.menkir@cgiar.org<\/a><br>S\u00e9lectionneur de ma\u00efs<br>IITA-Ibadan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeffrey T. Oliver, <a>o.jeffrey@cgiar.org<\/a><br>Charg\u00e9 de communication d'entreprise (international)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Godwin Atser, <a>g.atser@cgiar.org<\/a><br>Charg\u00e9 de la communication d'entreprise (Afrique de l'Ouest)<br>Bureau de la communication<br>IITA \u2013 Si\u00e8ge<br>Ibadan, Nig\u00e9ria<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">URL : <a>www.iita.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong><br>Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people&#8217;s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maize production in West and Central Africa is set to get a much-needed boost with the release of improved varieties by the Nigeria National Variety Release Committee. The varieties address many of the major constraints to maize production such as drought, low soil fertility, pests, diseases, and parasitic weeds.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[32],"news-type":[],"hub":[61],"crop":[68],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[188],"class_list":["post-12991","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","hentry","location-nigeria","hub-western-africa","crop-maize","item-year-188"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New varieties to boost maize output in West and Central Africa - IITA<\/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:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/new-varieties-to-boost-maize-output-in-west-and-central-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New varieties to boost maize output in West and Central Africa - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maize production in West and Central Africa is set to get a much-needed boost with the release of improved varieties by the Nigeria National Variety Release Committee. 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