Quality protein maize from Ghana

With assistance from the Atlanta-based Carter Center, a new type of corn seed has taken root in Ghana - an altered form of corn known as obatanpa, or "good nursing mother." Scientists, on the other hand, call it ?quality protein maize.? This corn yields more corn per acre and contains better protein.

The Carter Center worked in partnership with the Sasakawa Africa Association, led by agronomist Norman Borlaug. Scientists began developing this quality protein maize from a strain of Andean corn in the 1960s to have higher-than-normal levels of lysine and tryptophan. But it was difficult to get a variety that tasted as good as normal corn, resisted disease as well, offered as high a yield, or had the same appealing color and consistency.

The project was then revived in the 1980s, particularly in Ghana, where local experts developed a quality protein strain that matched traditional corn in taste, texture and color. At present, corn seeds have been taken from Ghana to be introduced in other countries in Africa.

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