is modest: 15% of the region's total
maize area is planted to hybrids,
32% to improved varieties, and 53%
to local varieties (CIMMYT 1987).
Yields in West Asia and North
Africa are high compared to those
in the rest of the developing world,
mainly because yields are high in
Egypt, which accounts for half of
the region's production. Since
1961-65, maize yields have grown
at an annual rate of about 2.4%.
Because area planted to the crop
has increased very little, the
growth rate of total maize produc-
tion only slightly exceeded growth
in yields during the past two
decades.

Sub-Saharan Africa-In 1984-88,
nearly 15 million hectares were
planted to maize in sub-Saharan
Africa. This represented about 19%
of developing world maize area but
accounted for only 10% of the
developing world maize crop. Maize


yields in Africa barely exceed
1.2 t/ha, by far the lowest in the
world, and since 1961-65 have
grown at an average rate of just
0.8% per year from a low initial
base. Largely because of the low
rate at which yields increased, pro-
duction grew at a modest rate
between 1961-65 and 1984-88.
Significantly, production growth
rates have declined considerably
during the most recent period for
which data are available, increas-
ing at a rate of just over 2% per
year from 1973-77 to 1984-88.

Several factors contribute to low
maize yields in Africa. Much maize
in Africa is grown at low density in
mixed stands with one or more as-
sociated crops, including cassava,
sorghum, pumpkin, squash,
cowpea, groundnut, yam, and sweet
potato. Mixed cropping lowers
maize yields, but it helps farmers
increase the overall productivity of


Yield (t/ha)
3.2


the resources invested in agriculture
and reduces losses if any one crop
fails. While mixed cropping is the
primary reason for low maize yields,
other factors (discussed later in this
report) also come into play. For
example, land is still relatively
abundant in sub-Saharan Africa
compared to other regions of the
developing world; farmers take
advantage of easy access to land by
farming extensively rather than in-
tensively, using low levels of pur-
chased inputs, especially fertilizer.
Also, many African farmers continue
to plant unimproved local varieties.
In 1985/86, only 16% of the maize
area in Africa was planted with
hybrids, virtually all of it in eastern
and southern Africa, and an addi-
tional 15% of maize area was planted
with improved open-pollinated
materials (CIMMYT 1987).

Maize Production
in Regions of Africa
Maize production varies greatly
among the major subregions of
Africa (Table 4 and Figure 5).
Among sub-Saharan Africa's four
major regions (see Annex 2, p. 69, for
a list of countries in each region),
southern Africa is by far the great-
est producer and consumer of maize.
The region's extensive maize area
surpassed 6.4 million hectares in
1984-88 after growing at an average
annual rate of 1.4% since 1961-65.
Although yields are modest, total
production has grown at an average
annual rate of 2.8% since 1961-65
and currently stands at just under
8 million tons-96% of the region's
maize requirement.


0 8gP


I


 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 19
Source: Calculated from FAO data.

Figure 4. Evolution of maize yields by developing country region,
1961-88.


SIn 1984-88, farmers in eastern
 Africa planted maize on about 4.6
 Million hectares. Although still low
86 by global standards, eastern African


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