BASF partners with leading research institutes to reduce crop loss from Striga weed in Africa

BASF and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) announced a four-year project to reduce crop loss due to the parasitic Striga weed (Striga hermonthica and S. gesnerioides) from the maize and legume fields of Kenya and Nigeria.

Striga presents a serious threat to the economic and social viability of the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, causing crop losses of up to $1 billion in maize and cowpeas alone. These losses are devastating in a region where four out of five people depend on agriculture for food, income and employment. By project end in 2014, organizers estimate that over 250,000 individual farmers will potentially see up to 50% higher maize yields (2.25 tons/ha) and 100% higher cowpea yields (over 1 t/ha).

Funding for the project comes from a four-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IITA to implement and evaluate four different approaches to controlling the parasitic weed. After a two-year evaluation period, the project will scale-up the most effective approaches and work to promote these further.
 
BASF is making an in-kind donation of research and development resources and is also providing technology access to its StrigAway® production system to support the development and testing of one approach.
 
"Previous initiatives have used single bullet approaches such as hand weeding or conventional herbicides,” says Dr. Alpha Kamara, acting project manager and systems agronomist at IITA. “The current initiative uses diverse technologies in an integrated way. BASF’s technology is one potential solution because it attacks this parasitic weed where it lives and grows: underground. But success will also depend on getting the right infrastructure and training in place,” Kamara adds. One problem has been that many farmers and seed dealers in SSA either cannot access or properly store high-quality seeds coated with BASF’s herbicide. These are services that farmers in developed countries generally take for granted.
 
When maize seed germinates, it stimulates the Striga weed to grow and attaches itself to the crop root underground. The integrated StrigAway system prevents this attachment. It relies on a naturally-occurring herbicide tolerance in certain maize types, which allows the herbicide StrigAway to be coated on the seed. The herbicide coating then neutralizes the weed before it can cause any damage. As part of its commitment to product and environmental stewardship, BASF will also oversee regular on-site training in order to ensure proper handling and quality control.
 
The StrigAway system also emphasizes intercropping and crop rotation with legumes. Dr. Ousmane Boukar, principal cowpea breeder for IITA, explains, “Cowpea rotation with cereals is essential to improving soil fertility and sustainability of various cropping systems. Cowpeas contribute to reducing poverty, improving nutrition and health, and sustaining the natural resource base.”
 
The lessons and best practices obtained from these initiatives in Kenya and Nigeria will provide scaling out strategies for other Striga-plagued countries, including Tanzania, Malawi, and Uganda. Scott Peoples, global marketing manager, BASF Crop Protection, believes the assistance from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation brings the necessary attention and focus to a project that has been seven years in the making. “We have been working hard to refine the technical nature of the product and project,” he says, “and development test results have shown the potential to triple yields in some of the hardest-hit areas.”
 
BASF, along with its partner institutions, believes that this joint commitment to supporting sustainable and economically-viable agriculture will significantly reduce Striga infestations and provide the technical and practical foundation for considerably higher yields in the years to come.