Kitale maize : the limits of success

This report examines the impact of A.I.D.'s support to maize breeding projects in Kenya, which aimed to make regular improvements in hybrid maize through development of a breeding methodology and to create an institutional capacity in East Africa for maize research. The evaluation is particularly concerned with the spread of improved hybrid technology and its impact on economic growth, equity, and government policy. Most of the breeding program for high potential areas was a success -- yields improved by 25% under research station conditions and, by 1972, the new maize seed had increased yields by one million tons. The private sector was crucial in the rapid diffusion of hybrid maize specifically adapted to the different regional climates. The new seed was of greatest value to those farmers with sufficient land, labor, and capital to fully utilize the innovation, but it also allowed numerous smallholders to improve their food security. The projects' successes, however, were limited by their concurrent failures. The majority of the poor did not participate in achieving the high yields made possible by the improved technology. Research to improve maize protein quality and to develop varieties in low rainfall areas was not successful; neither were efforts to create a regional maize research capacity. The Government of Kenya failed to adjust pricing and marketing systems to problems of abundance and did not insure availability of critical inputs, e.g., fertilizer and credit. Even more importantly, the planned development of an indigenous, ongoing maize research capacity, including training aspects, did not occur. It was learned that the simplicity and viability of the hybrid seed contributed most to its success; equity cannot be expected to arise from technological improvements; and the long-term continuity of foreign experts, which ensured the breeding program's success, did not allow institutionalization of the research capability. An 118-item bibliography (1963-79) is appended.