Ethiopia, a leading grain producer in Africa, has marked 2025 as a pivotal year with the approval of three new maize (corn) varieties for commercial release. These varieties—MON810, MON87460, and MON89034—are engineered to withstand persistent pest attacks and frequent droughts, challenges exacerbated by climate change. Ethiopia becomes the fourth African country to approve these genetically modified maize varieties under the TELA Maize Project, a public-private partnership led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF). Researchers highlight that these varieties can increase yields by up to 60% compared to conventional varieties, offering a significant boost to food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
The TELA Maize Project, derived from the Latin word “tutela” meaning “protection,” symbolizes resilience in Africa’s grain industry. It aims to enhance food security by providing transgenic drought-tolerant and insect-protected maize varieties. The project targets at least seven African countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda—known for their vulnerability to prolonged dry spells and insect attacks. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya have already approved the TELA maize varieties for commercial release.
Tesfaye Disasa, Ethiopia’s TELA Maize Project country coordinator at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, described the approval of these new maize varieties as “a great success for Ethiopian agriculture, particularly for small-scale farmers who dominate the sector.” Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations indicate that Ethiopia’s average maize production between 2019 and 2023 was approximately 10.17 million tonnes, with a 2% increase in 2024 to 10.2 million tonnes. The growth in maize output is attributed to the adoption of improved hybrid seed varieties, better agronomic practices, and increased extension support.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted that farmers in major corn-growing regions are increasingly adopting high-yielding hybrid maize varieties due to their superior productivity, higher market returns, and improved resilience to pests and drought. These varieties also command favorable prices in local markets, further encouraging their widespread adoption. Some of Ethiopia’s most cultivated hybrid maize varieties include BH546, BH547, MH140, MH130, MHQ138, Melkassa-1Q, BH540, and BH543, each developed to suit specific ecological areas, including dry and marginal maize-growing regions.
For Ethiopia, the approval of the TELA maize varieties fulfills a decades-long dream of building resilient grains that can withstand prolonged droughts and protect small producers from losses. The new drought-tolerant and insect-protected maize varieties are expected to provide valuable economic, agronomic, and environmental benefits to farmers by helping them produce more reliable harvests under moderate drought conditions and better grain quality due to reduced insect damage.
The nationwide rollout of the genetically engineered maize varieties by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research was expected around mid-June 2025, particularly in the Rift Valley, where maize is an essential food crop. However, there has been a delay as government agencies harmonize the rollout strategy to benefit the most maize growers. Disasa emphasized that the Rift Valley region is a priority because it suffers the most from fall armyworm and stemborer infestations. These new TELA varieties will help farmers mitigate crop losses while reducing the cost and health risks associated with pesticide use.
Ethiopia is also projected to see a bumper maize crop in the marketing year 2025-26, according to the USDA. The approval of genetically engineered corn varieties is expected to significantly increase maize production. Maize consumption in Ethiopia is likely to modestly increase to 7.82 million tonnes in 2025-26, boosted by rising demand for both food and livestock feed. Approximately 85% of the maize produced in Ethiopia is for human consumption, reflecting its staple status and integration into various traditional dishes.
Ethiopia, the biggest livestock producer in Africa, is expected to see an increase in the use of maize as a feed grain. The country’s Policy Studies Institute (PSI) noted a persistent gap in the supply of animal feed, posing significant challenges for livestock producers. Projections by the USDA indicate growth in feed utilization due to rising demand from the livestock and poultry sectors, where corn is increasingly used as a feed grain.
Despite the progress, the biggest challenge to this new renaissance of Ethiopia’s maize sub-sector could be the persistent conflict in key corn-producing regions such as Oromia and Amhara. The USDA predicted that the unstable security situation, particularly across the corn-growing regions, will potentially impact the upcoming main harvest