Obatanpa quality protein maize (QPM)
Maíz Obatanpa de proteína de calidad (QPM)
- Date
- 1992 · confidence medium
- Place
- Fumesua, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana
- Credited to
- Crops Research Institute of Ghana, with CIMMYT
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
A quality protein maize variety rich in lysine and tryptophan, released in Ghana in the early 1990s. It improves child nutrition using a staple cereal and spread across many African countries.
The name means 'good nursing mother' in Twi. Credit for QPM is shared between CIMMYT breeders (Vasal and Villegas) and African national centres. The Ghanaian release date is 1992.
What it led to
- better child growth on maize-based diets
- QPM varieties adapted to other African countries
- the 2000 World Food Prize for the creators of QPM maize