The WEMA project, a collaborative effort, strives to improve food security and livelihoods among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa by developing hybrid maize seed that uses water more efficiently and resists insect pests. The WEMA partnership works to develop seed (both conventionally produced and improved through biotechnology) for African farmers under the TELA™ and DroughtTEGO™ brands, respectively.

The collaboration makes the seed products available to African seed companies of all sizes, royalty free, so they can offer these hybrid seeds to smallholder farmers. Since the inception of the project in 2013, more than 90 conventional DroughtTEGO hybrids have been approved for commercial release in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many seed companies now license these new hybrids and make them commercially available to African farmers – without paying a royalty to Monsanto.

Farmers using DroughtTEGO hybrids have been able to harvest 20 to 35 percent more grain under moderate drought conditions as compared to the seeds they had historically planted.
Crosscorn has 2 varieties available in the WEMA range: CC 521, CC 623 .