Three New Maize Hybrids for Afghanistan

Abstract

Afghanistan grows maize in about 0.15 m ha with an annual production hovering around 300,000 tonnes. The country does not have any officially released commercial maize hybrid and relies only on open pollinated varieties for cultivating maize. The countries in region enjoy much higher productivity levels ranging from 3.5 to 5.00 tonnes per ha compared to 2.2 tonnes per ha of Afghanistan. Several maize hybrids were introduced from CIMMYT to test them for adaptation and yielding ability in Afghanistan for the purpose of releasing them in the country. The three public sector maize hybrids described in this communication were tested at several locations viz., Nangarhar province, Kabul, Baghlan and Helmand in Afghanistan during 2012 to 2014 crop seasons. The hybrids/inbreds bred by CIMMYT were tested against the currently grown open pollinated (OP) varieties and they yielded on an average 31 to 38% higher than the currently popular open pollinated maize varieties. The hybrids were released for commercial cultivation in 2014.

Economic Analysis of Smallholder Maize Producers: Empirical Evidence From Helmand, Afghanistan

“…Most of the small framers hold very low productivity due to high inefficiencies (technical, allocative and economic). Some studies have identified the problems, such as lack of capital, fluctuated prices, shortage of crop storage facility, ineffective agronomic methods, poor management practices, low quality seeds, high cost of inputs and sudden changes in temperature, that affect the efficiency and result in low productivity of farming (Ahmadzai, 2017;Mangal et al, 2017;Rajiv Sharma, 2018). Several studies also highlighted many issues, like mismanagement practices at farm, high fragmentation of land, poor availability of credit, high costs of inputs, low adoption of advanced agricultural technology, low education level for farmers, lack of extension services, poor roads and infrastructure, are main impediments for the improvement of agricultural production in Afghanistan (Bell, 2012;Jilani et al, 2013;Maletta & Favre, 2003;Tavva et al, 2017;Thomas & Ramzi, 2011).…”