June 7, 2011

BASF takes part in crop-loss reduction project in Africa

German chemicals group BASF SE has announced that it will participate in a project aiming to reduce crop loss in Kenya and Nigeria.

Four different approaches to controlling the parasitic Striga weed, which causes the crop loss, will be implemented and evaluated.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide a grant to fund the project.

It is expected that by 2014, when the project ends, more than 250,000 farmers will benefit from 50% higher corn yields and 100% higher cowpea yields, BASF said.

Currently, crop losses caused by Striga in Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated at some US$1.2 billion.

Other participants in the project are the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).