Quality protein maize production and post-harvest handling handbook for East and Central Africa

Maize will continue to play a very important role in the livelihoods of most of the population in East and Central Africa (ECA) to meet households needs for food, feed and income. The development and release of quality protein maize (QPM) varieties, which contain high levels of protein has meant that it can be a substitute for the more costly sources of protein for human food such as meat and for fishmeal or artificial lysine used in the production of feeds for poultry and pig enterprises. The handbook was developed by NARS institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, DR. Congo, Uganda in partnership with the Knowledge Management and Upscaling Programme of ASARECA while promoting scaling out of the QPM technologies in these countries under a project known as Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA). This handbook is a comprehensive one-stop source of information on how QPM is grown using recommended practices to achieve genetic potential of the varieties. It also contains management options for economically important diseases and insect pests, post-harvest handling and utilization. The practices documented in this manual are based on practical experience of researchers in the region who worked with farmers to identify common problems in production of QPM and to validate the improved practices presented in it.  These can be applied to  other types of maize and areas within the region that broadly fall within the same mega-maize environment.