58 GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2017 WORLD STATUS AFRICA FARMERS’ PERSISTENT demand for early maturing, high-yielding, and stress tolerant maize varieties for northern Ghana has finally been met. Over the years, many farmers continue to record very low or no yields from their toil due to non-avail- ability of stress tolerant seed varieties. Today, the story has changed. Researchers at the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI) have released four new maize hybrids to increase availability of varieties with multiple tolerances to drought and Striga. The new hybrids are expected to address the prevalent low soil nitrogen, drought, and Striga stresses, in order to improve yields and liveli- hoods of smallholder maize farmers in that part of the country. The National Variety Release and Registration Committee (NVRRC) accepted the hybrids for commercial production, once approval is given by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Maize production in the Guinea and Sudan Savannah zones of Ghana is constrained by these stresses. At the farmer level, for instance, all three stresses can occur simultaneously, and the combined effect can cause yield loss of up to almost 100 per cent, leaving many farmers, mostly women, poorer than before. The four new varieties, which include two early and two extra-early maturing drought and Striga tolerant hybrids, will bring back some relief, and make farming a worthwhile effort to farmers, accord- ing to Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Appropriate use of the hybrids — which are generally appealing to farmers, traders, processors, and input dealers — will improve farmers’ resilience to climate change, as well as their productivity. The hybrids also have broad adapta- tion to other countries including Nigeria, Mali and Benin. —agra.org CHINA THE CHINESE MINISTRY of Agriculture recently granted approval for the import and food/feed use of Monsanto’s MON 87705 soybean. This approval is for a key compo- nent of Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans that produce low- saturate, high-oleic soybean oil. With this approval, Monsanto will now begin commercial preparation for the full-scale launch of Vistive Gold soy- beans in 2018. Vistive Gold soybeans contain the low-saturate, high- oleic trait that will enable food companies to produce foods with lower saturated fat levels and low levels of trans fat as compared to other cooking oils. Vistive Gold soybean oil has enhanced storage and processing stability, and an improved nutritional profile New traits and plant varieties are given the go-ahead in Ghana, China and Europe. Researchers have released four new maize hybrids in Ghana. Photo courtesy agra.org