QUALITY
PROTEIN MAIZE: HIGHER
YIELDS & TWICE AS MUCH USABLE PROTEIN
ORE
is currently conducting a pilot project designed to launch a high-protein,
high-yielding variety of corn to help alleviate malnutrition in Haiti.
Quality protein maize, or "QPM", originally developed at CIMMYT in
Mexico in the late 1990s, contains nearly twice as much usable protein
as other maize grown in the tropics and yields substantially more
grain than traditional corn.
Since 2000 ORE has been collaborating with CIMMYT on QPM trials in Camp Perrin. ORE has conducted two trial cycles and selected the material best adapted to Haiti. Our long-term objective is to introduce this corn to a wider public and demonstrate its nutritional benefits as well it ability to earn more income for farmers from its higher yields.
Field multiplication of two existing QPM lines
to produce foundation seeds
for hybrid seed production
The idea is to help Haiti develop its own seed-producing capabilities
for hybrid quality protein maize. This will help to make profitable
corn production possible for thousands of the farmers who plant
corn every year in Haiti. It will also improve food security and
as well as providing better nutrition for the needy sectors of the
population.
The second phase of our program will, if funding is available, involve
feeding programs. Grits processed from the QPM will be used to feed
a selected target group of women and children in the south of Haiti.
The results of the feeding program will be monitored to evaluate
and publicize the benefits of the improved nutritional values of
QPM.
QPM seeds have demonstrated yields
3-4 times higher than the nationwide average
QPM
- A MIRACLE CROP
International
Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) stated in 2002 that their
new corn "contains nearly twice as much usable protein as other
maize grown in the tropics and yields 10 percent more grain.
In recognition of this work, the World Food Prize Foundation today
tapped two scientists from the Mexico-based International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), where the research has been ongoing
for over three decades, as the 2000 recipients of the World Food Prize.
The new maize was developed through traditional plant breeding...
Researchers expect that by 2003, the number of hectares sown to QPM
will triple to approximately 3.5 million hectares
(8.75 million acres)."
Corn
is Haiti's major crops, planted on 47% of its arable land. According
to CIMMYT the QPM corn has the same protein value as milk.
A HIGH PROTEIN FEEDING PROGRAM
The proposed
feeding program will involve about 40 tons of corn grits (mayi moulen)
produced from the QPM material. The feeding and evaluation program will
target undernourished women and children in the local community. QPM
SEEDS WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE IN HAITI
ORE is planning
to produce the first stock of QPM seeds in early 2005 at its processing
facilities in Camp Perrin. Initial stocks of QPM Seeds will be limited,
but if we are able to obtain continued support for this program it will
be possible to produce large quantities of seeds for general release by
early 2006. OUR
SPECIAL THANKS TO FOKAL FOR THEIR HELP We
would like to offer our special thanks to FOKAL
(Fondation Connaissance et Liberté, The Open Society Institute
Haiti funded by Georges Soros) who provided the funding for the QPM
program in Haiti. It should be noted that FOKAL is one of the few institutions
in Haiti to have taken a serious interest in promoting this 'miracle crop'
which has been widely supported in many other third world countries. Despite
widespread malnutrition in Haiti, and the low yields from traditional corn,
there is little interest among agencies involved in Agriculture, Food Security
and Feeding Programs in improving Haiti's ability to produce its own supplies
of nutritional food.
MALNUTRITION IN HAITI Statistics show that over a quarter of Haitian children suffer from chronic malnutrition and a larger percentage of adults are undernourished. According to USAID-SISA (1995), 47% of Haiti's arable lands are planted with corn every year, but the average yields are 0.8 MT per hectare, the lowest in the hemisphere. The director of CIMMYT stated, "the problem is that diets high in maize lack two essential amino acids needed to prevent malnutrition. These remarkable new varieties look and taste like normal maize, but the nutritive value of their protein is nearly equivalent to cow's milk." The QPM corns will produce 3-4 MT per hectare.
Since 1985, the
Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment
has developed and operated fruit tree grafting and crop improvement programs
in rural Haiti.
During those years several international agencies have generously provided
the funding that made it possible to maintain continuity of our development
projects. These include USAID, the European Union, the Canadian Embassy,
Inter-American Development Bank and other contributors.
