ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É

Maize variety GM-6 brings £55 million of benefits to more than 300,000 resource-poor farmers in Western India

GM-6, a new maize variety developed through innovative ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É crop breeding research (pioneering the use of participatory plant breeding) was released in three states in Western India between 2002 and 2005. Since its release, GM-6 cultivation has rapidly grown to a cumulative area exceeding 2M hectares, of which 54% (more than 1M ha) was during 2008–2013, with a major positive impact on the welfare and prosperity of at least 330,000 households per year. Because of its advantage under drought and on poor soils, GM-6 has average grain yields 28% higher than the best available alternative varieties, providing 360,000 t of additional food grain during 2008–2013 with a total net present value to these farm households of an average of at least £9M per year. For more information contact Prof John Witcombe or Dr Katherine Steele.