FABI postdoctoral Fellow Dr Godfrey Kgatle chaired a national maize cultivar evaluation trial (MCET) lecture on 3 November. Policy and Research Officer at the South African National Seed Organization (SANSOR) Dr Magdeleen Cilliers and Economist: Industry Services at Grain SA, Ms Petru Fourie discussed the significance of the trials as well as trends and the legalities of maize production in South Africa.  

SANSOR and Grain SA are key players in the trials and their relationship with FABI as well as with partners in academia, government and the grain industry culminated in the launch of the Grain Research Programme in August. The launch followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between FABI and SANSOR two years ago to develop an insect rearing capacity and a project on the African maize stalk borer.

FABIans have, since 2019, helped to sort and pack seeds for the national maize cultivar evaluation trials. The aim of the trials is to identify maize cultivars that are most suitable for growth conditions in South Africa to increase farmers’ yields. More than 30 students packaged 1,000kg of maize seed into 2,420 bags in September. FABI is currently planning maize field trials linked to these national trials that will be planted at the University of Pretoria’s experimental farm and in the Eastern Cape.