Growing need for food is reason for more biodiversity
Deep within southern Ethiopiaâs agroforestry landscapes, where farmers grow grain and keep cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys, researchers counted more than 4,100 birds as part of an assessment on agricultural productivity and biodiversity.
The researchers also counted some 4,473 individual trees from 52 tree species in the same study, which they believe is the first to link key indicators of biodiversity to more than one indicator of agricultural productivity, considering three products people in rural communities value most: fodder, fuel and food.
This has led to two important new conclusions: that encouraging biodiversity on and around agricultural land likely increases its productivity, and that measurements of productivity must be broadened to include what matters for local livelihoods.
Too often, agricultural productivity is measured through a very narrow lens, such as âmereâ crop yields alone. But, according to the study, that has âdisregarded local perspectives of what is actually important to people in terms of ecosystem services.
Take, for instance, trees: in addition to potentially growing food, they also benefit crop yield by controlling erosion; capture nutrients for the soil through their roots; help regulate the climate; and provide habitats for animals and insects, including natural enemies of crop pests. The study found that in this region of Ethiopia, agricultural productivity was higher in areas with heavy tree cover than in landscapes where trees had been removed for more crop space.
âWe need to understand what would be the best way to produce food with minimum negative consequences on biodiversity,â says lead researcher FrĂ©dĂ©ric Baudron, challenging the assumption of trading one for the other in faith that agricultural intensification and biodiversity conservation can be achieved at once.
This study comes amid concerns that a rising demand for food and fuel to serve the worldâs growing population â projected to reach 9 billion by 2050 â will drive greater agricultural expansion and intensification.
The proliferation of both would likely cause real harm to landscapes and biodiversity, threatening the essential natural constituents of the worldâs ability to feed itself, warns Baudron. âThat has serious implications for the sustainability of our global food production system,â he says. âWe need biodiversity as an essential input.â
He also raises the issue of justice. Biodiversity loss hits hardest the millions of small farmers in developing countries â who make up the majority of farmers worldwide â because they depend almost exclusively on ecosystem services, and not external inputs, for production. And the resulting edible output is crucial for everyone; family farms produce more than 80 percent of the worldâs food in value terms, according to FAO statistics.
Baudron says the studyâs findings play into how small family farms should be managed through policy and in major restoration efforts, given that tree placement and configuration have enormous implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services it provides.
In other words, biodiversity shouldnât be a bonus of productive landscapes. The study suggests, rather, that productive landscapes should be designed to make the most of all of the services provided by biodiversity.
The work was part of âThe Agrarian Change Projectâ, with funding from the United Kingdomâs Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat.
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How gender equity and social inclusion are improving the lives of rural families in Africa
Women have the potential to be drivers of agricultural transformation in Africa, holding the key to improving their familiesâ livelihoods and food security. However, constraints such as lack of access to initial capital, machinery, reliable markets, and knowledge and training are difficult to overcome, leading to restricted participation by women and young people in agricultural systems in Africa.
A new video from the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project highlights the importance of gender equity and social inclusion to achieving project impacts and outcomes, helping to drive transformative change towards securing a food-secure future for Africa. Case studies and interviews with women and men farmers â including young people â detail how SIMLESAâs approach has re-shaped their maize-based farming lives.
The video is aligned with the theme for International Womenâs Day 2019, âThink Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change,â which places the spotlight on innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.
âThis video is intended to educate the agricultural community and wider public on the importance of applying sustainable intensification agricultural practices and technologies in order to bridge the gender gap in agricultural productivity and achieve agricultural transformation for smallholder farmers in Africa,â said Rahma Adam, Gender and Development Specialist with CIMMYT in Kenya. âWe hope stakeholders will be able to see the benefits of these practices and technologies, and work towards finding ways to implement them into their agricultural practices or programs.â
Launched in 2010, SIMLESA is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is implemented by national agricultural research systems, agribusinesses and farmers in partner countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
Putting equal opportunities at the center
Following a participatory research for development approach, the SIMLESA team works alongside farmers and partner organizations to achieve increased food production while minimizing pressure on the environment by using smallholder farmersâ resources more efficiently and empowering women, men and young people to make decisions.
The SIMLESA project achieves impact by integrating gender sensitivity into all project activities and developing a deep understanding of social contexts and factors that constrain access to, and adoption of, improved technologies. Initiatives are able to reach all individuals in the projectâs target communities, leaving no one out.
âThe benefits of fostering equal opportunities for women, men and young people through SIMLESAâs work are enormous,â said Adam. Equal opportunities mean better access to information, markets, and improved varieties of seeds; participation in field trials, demonstrations and training; and the provision of leadership opportunities in local innovation platforms.
Central to the success of the SIMLESA project is the concept of Agricultural Innovation Platforms. âBeing members of these platforms, farmers can access credits, which they can use to purchase farm inputs,â explained Adam. âThey are able to take part in collective marketing and get a better price for their crops. The Agricultural Innovation Platforms also facilitate training on better agribusiness management practices and the sharing of ideas about other productive investment opportunities to better farmersâ lives. All these benefits were hard to come by when the women and youth farmers were farming on their own without being associated to the SIMLESA project or part of the platforms.â
The words of Rukaya Hasani Mtambo, a farmer from Tanzania, are a testimony to the power of this idea. âAs a woman, I am leader of our group and head of my household. I always encourage my fellow women, convincing them we are capable. We should not underestimate what we can do.â
To watch the full video, click here.
To watch other videos about the SIMLESA project, click here.
Tribal women in India find value in maize cultivation
Maize is a staple crop that requires a limited amount of water and inputs, and earns farmers a profit, thanks to its growing demand as food and feed for livestock. Adivasi women farmers in Indiaâs Odisha state are increasing their yields by applying improved maize intensification technologies.
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is providing technical support to the Association for Development Initiatives, which implements the Odisha Primitive Tribal Group Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement Program (OPELIP) and the Odisha State Department of Agriculture at Gudugudia in Mayurbhanj.
âCSISAâs technical support to the women, focusing on improved maize cultivation techniques, helped the women improve their understanding, their capacity and their yields,â said Wasim Iftikar, Research Associate at CIMMYT. Improved maize hybrids, precision nutrient management techniques and improved weed management practices have helped the women increase their yields. This year the group harvested more than 3,300 kg from seven acres of land.
âWe never thought we could earn money and support our families through maize cultivation. This is an eye-opener for us. We are planning to increase the area of cultivation for maize and will convince our family members and other women to join us,â says farmer Joubani Dehuri.
To view a photo essay recognizing these women and their work in honor of International Womenâs Day 2019, please click here: https://adobe.ly/2ED9sns
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is a regional initiative to sustainably increase the productivity of cereal-based cropping systems, thus improving food security and farmersâ livelihoods in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. CSISA works with public and private partners to support the widespread adoption of resource-conserving and climate-resilient farming technologies and practices. The initiative is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). It is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
New publications: Identifying common genetic bases for yield, biomass and radiation use efficiency in spring wheat
For plant scientists, increasing wheat yield potential is one of the most prevalent challenges of their work. One key strategy for increasing yield is to improve the plantâs ability to produce biomass through optimizing the conversion of solar radiation into plant structures and grain, called radiation use efficiency (RUE). Currently, the process is 30-50% less efficient in wheat than in maize.
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) wheat physiologist Gemma Molero, in collaboration with Ryan Joynson and Anthony Hall of the Earlham Institute, has been studying the association of RUE related traits with molecular markers to identify specific genes associated with this trait.
In December 2018, her team published their results in the article âElucidating the genetic basis of biomass accumulation and radiation use efficiency in spring wheat and its role in yield potential,â shedding light on some of the genetic bases of biomass accumulation and RUE in a specially designed panel of lines that included material with diverse expression of RUE over the wheat crop cycle.
Over the course of two years, Molero and fellow researchers evaluated a panel of 150 elite spring wheat genotypes for 31 traits, looking for marker traits associated with yield and other âsinkâ-related traits, such as, grain number, grain weight and harvest index, along with ââsourceââ-related traits, such as RUE and biomass at various growth stages. Â Many of the elite wheat lines that were tested encompass âexoticâ material in their pedigree such as ancient wheat landraces and wheat wild relatives.
The scientists found that increases in both net rate of photosynthesis and RUE have the potential to make a large impact on wheat biomass, demonstrating that the use of exotic material is a valuable resource to help increase yield potential. This is the first time that a panel of elite wheat lines has been assembled using different sources of yield potential traits, and an important output from a large global endeavor to increase wheat yield, the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP).
âWe identified common genetic bases for yield, biomass and RUE for the first time. This has important implications for wheat researchers, breeders, geneticists, plant scientists and biologists,â says Molero.
The identification of molecular markers associated with the studied traits is a valuable tool for wheat improvement. Broadly speaking, the study opens the door for a series of important biological questions about the role of RUE in yield potential and in the ability to increase grain biomass.
In order to accommodate worldwide population increases and shifts in diet, wheat yield needs to double by 2050 â and genetic gains in wheat, specifically, must increase at a rate of 2.4 percent annually. Increasing biomass through the optimization of RUE along the wheat crop cycle can be an important piece in the puzzle to help meet this demand.
Read the full study here.
Check out other recent publications by CIMMYT researchers below:
- A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid detection of toxigenic Fusarium temperatum in maize stalks and kernels. 2019. Liuying Shan, Hafiz Abdul Haseeb, Jun Zhang, Dandan Zhang, Jeffers, D.P., Xiaofeng Dai, Wei Guo. In: International Journal of Food Microbiology v. 291, p. 72-78.
- Adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties under rainfall stress in Malawi. 2019. Katengeza, S.P., Holden, S.T., Lunduka, R. In: Journal of Agricultural Economics v. 70, no. 1, p. 198-214.
- Alternative use of wheat land to implement a potential wheat holiday as wheat blast control : in search of feasible crops in Bangladesh. 2019. Mottaleb, K.A., Singh, P.K., Xinyao He, Akbar Hossain, Kruseman, G., Erenstein, O. In: Land Use Policy v. 82, p. 1-12.
- Business models of SMEs as a mechanism for scaling climate smart technologies : the case of Punjab, India. 2019. Groot, A.E., Bolt, J.S., Jat, H.S., Jat, M.L., Kumar, M., Agarwal, T., Blok, V. In: Journal of Cleaner Production v. 210, p. 1109-1119.
- Climate change impact and adaptation for wheat protein. 2019. Asseng, S., Martre, P., Maiorano, A., Rotter, R., OâLeary, G.J., Fitzgerald, G., Girousse, C., Motzo, R., Giunta, F., M. Ali Babar, Reynolds, M.P., Kheir, A.M.S., Thorburn, P.J., Waha, K., Ruane, A.C., Aggarwal, P.K., Mukhtar Ahmed, Balkovic, J., Basso, B., Biernath, C., Bindi, M., Cammarano, D., Challinor, A.J., De Sanctis, G., Dumont, B., Eyshi Rezaei, E., Fereres, E., Ferrise, R., Garcia-Vila, M., Gayler, S., Yujing Gao, Horan, H., Hoogenboom, G., Izaurralde, R.C., Jabloun, M., Jones, C.D., Kassie, B.T., Kersebaum, K.C., Klein, C., Koehler, A.K., Bing Liu, Minoli, S., Montesino San Martin, M., Muller, C., Soora Naresh Kumar, Nendel, C., Olesen, J.E., Palosuo, T., Porter, J.R., Priesack, E., Ripoche, D., Semenov, M.A., Stockle, C., Stratonovitch, P., Streck, T., Supit, I., Fulu Tao, Van der Velde, M., Wallach, D., Wang, E., Webber, H., Wolf, J., Liujun Xiao, Zhao Zhang, Zhigan Zhao, Yan Zhu, Ewert, F. In: Global Change Biology v. 25, no. 1, p. 155-173.
- Corrigendum to âgreenhouse gas emissions from agricultural food production to supply Indian diets : implications for climate change mitigationâ [agric. ecosyst. environ. 237 (2017) 234â241]. 2019. Vetter, S.H., Sapkota, T.B., Hillier, J., Stirling, C., Macdiarmid, J.I., Aleksandrowicz, L., Green, R., Joy, E.J.M., Dangour, A.D., Smith, P. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 272, p. 83-85.
- Cost-effective opportunities for climate change mitigation in Indian agriculture. 2019. Sapkota, T.B., Vetter, S.H., Jat, M.L., Smita P.S. Sirohi, Shirsath, P.B., Singh, R., Jat, H.S., Smith, P., Hillier, J., Stirling, C. In: Science of the Total Environment v. 655, p. 1342-1354.
- Crop season planning tool : adjusting sowing decisions to reduce the risk of extreme weather events. 2019. Perondi, D., Fraisse, C.W., Staub, C.G., Cerbaro, V.A., Barreto, D.D., Pequeño, D.N.L., Mulvaney, M.J., Troy, P., Pavan, W.O. In: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture v. 156, p. 62-70.
- Microsatellite analysis and urediniospore dispersal simulations support the movement of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici from Southern Africa to Australia. 2019. Visser, B., Meyer, M., Park, R.F., Gilligan, C.A., Burgin, L., Hort, M.C., Hodson, D.P., Pretorius, Z.A. In: Phytopathology v. 109, no. 1, p. 133-144.
- Opportunities for wheat cultivars with superior straw quality traits targeting the semi-arid tropics. 2019. Joshi, A.K., Barma, N.C.D., Abdul Hakim, M., Kalappanavar, I.K., Vaishali Rudra Naik, Suma S. Biradar., Prasad, S.V.S., Singh, R.P., Blummel, M. Field Crops Research v. 231, p. 51-56.
- Spider community shift in response to farming practices in a sub-humid agroecosystem of southern Africa. 2019. Mashavakure, N., Mashingaidze, A.B., Musundire, R., Nhamo, N., Gandiwa, E., Thierfelder, C., Muposhi, V.K. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 272, p. 237-245.
Farmers key to realizing EAT-Lancet report recommendations in Mexico, CIMMYT highlights
MEXICO CITY (CIMMYT) â The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was invited to discuss the findings of the EAT-Lancet Commission report and its implications for Mexico, during a launch event hosted by Mexicoâs Health Department on March 4, 2019.
The report, published earlier this year, aims to offer an in-depth scientific analysis of the worldâs food production systems and their impact on the planet and human health. It proposes a âplanetary health dietâ that balances nutrition with sustainable food production.
âOur first objective was to develop healthy diets for the 10 billion people who will inhabit the planet in 2050â, said Juan Ăngel Rivera Dommarco, Director General of Mexicoâs Public Health Institute and member of the EAT-Lancet Commission. According to Dommarco, the healthy diet recommended for Mexico had to increase the intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains to avert chronic diseases and combat malnutrition and obesity.
The report also makes several recommendations to reduce the environmental impact of food production, taking into account planetary boundaries. âThe world needs to sustainably intensify food production and to produce basic foodstuffs of higher nutritional valueâ, said Fabrice DeClerck, EATâs Science Director.
âIf anybody is able to manage the complex systems that will sustainably yield the volume of nutritious food that the world needs, thatâs the farmerâ, said Bram Govaerts, Director of Innovative Business Strategies at CIMMYT. âIn Mexico, more than 500 thousand farmers already innovate every day and grow maize, wheat and related crops under sustainable intensification practices that CIMMYT and Mexicoâs Agriculture Department promote with MasAgroâ.
VĂctor Villalobos ArĂĄmbula, Mexicoâs Secretary of Agriculture, said that the EAT-Lancet Commission report recommendations were very much in line with the strategic public policies that Mexico plans to implement in the coming years.
International Womenâs Day 2019: Women in seed systems in Africa
The maize seed sector in eastern and southern Africa is male-dominated. Most seed companies operating in the region are owned and run by men. Access to land and financial capital can often be a constraint for women who are keen on investing in agriculture and agribusiness. However, there are women working in this sector, breaking social barriers, making a contribution to improving household nutrition and livelihoods by providing jobs and improved seed varieties.
The Gender team within the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT) Socioeconomics Program conducted interviews with women owners of seed companies in eastern and southern Africa. They shared information on their background, their motivation to start their businesses, what sets their companies apart from the competition, the innovative approaches they use to ensure smallholder farmers adopt improved seed varieties, the unique challenges they face as women in the seed sector and the potential for growth of their companies. The resulting stories will be published as a report in May 2019.
These women in leading roles serve as mentors and examples to both male and female employees. In honor of International Womenâs Day, held March 8, 2019, CIMMYT would like to share some of their stories to recognize these women â and many others like them â and the important work they do in seed systems in Africa.
Sylvia Horemans
Sylvia Horemans started Kamano Seeds in April 2004 together with her late husband Desire Horemans. The company derives its name from a stream that runs through their farm in Mwinilinga, Zambia. Kamano means a stream that never dries, aptly describing the growth the company has enjoyed over the years, enabling it to capture 15 percent of the countryâs seed market share. Sylvia became the companyâs Chief Executive Officer in 2016.
âThe initial business was only to sell commercial products but we realized there was a high demand for seed so we decided to start our own seed business,â says Sylvia. âWe work with cooperatives which identify ideal farmers to participate in seed production.â
The company takes pride in the growth they have witnessed in their contract workers. âMost farmers we started with [now] have 20 to 40 hectares. Some are businessmen and have opened agrodealer shops where they sell agricultural inputs,â Sylvia announced.
Kamano prides itself in improving the lives of women smallholders and involving women in decision-making structures. âWe empower a lot of women in agriculture through our out-grower scheme,â says Sylvia. She makes a deliberate effort to recruit women farmers, ensuring they receive payment for their seeds. âWe pay the women who did the work and not their husbands.â
To read the full story, please click here.
Zubeda Mduruma
Zubeda Mduruma, 65, is a plant breeder. She took to agriculture from a young age, as she enjoyed helping her parents in the family farm. After high school, Zubeda obtained a bachelorâs degree in Agriculture. Then she joined Tanzaniaâs national agriculture research system, working at the Ilonga Agricultural Research Institute (ARI-Ilonga) station. She then pursued her masterâs in Plant Breeding and Biometry from Cornell University in the United Stations and obtained a doctorate in Plant Breeding at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, while working and raising her family. âI wanted to be in research, so I could breed materials which would be superior than what farmers were using, because they were getting very low yields,â says Zubeda. In the 22 years she was at Ilonga, Zubeda was able to release 15 varieties.
Aminata Quality Seeds is a family business that was registered in 2008, owned by Zubeda, her husband and their four daughters. Aminata entered the seed market as an out-grower, producing seed for local companies for two years. The company started its own seed production in 2010, and the following year it was marketing improved varieties. âI decided to start a company along the Coast and impart my knowledge on improved technologies, so farmers can get quality crops for increased incomes,â says Zubeda.
Zubeda encourages more women to venture into the seed business. âTo do any business, you have to have guts. It is not the money; it is the interest. When you have the interest, you will always look for ways on how to start your seed business.â
To read the full story, please click here.
Grace Malindi
Grace Malindi, 67, started Mgomâmera in Malawi in 2014 with her sister Florence Kahumbe, who had experience in running agrodealer shops. Florence was key in setting up the business, particularly through engagement with agro-dealers, while Graceâs background in extension was valuable in understanding their market. Grace has a doctoral degree in Human and Community Development with a double minor in Gender and International Development and Agriculture Extension and Advisory from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States. Mgomâmera is a family-owned enterprise. Graceâs three children are involved in the business, serving as directors.
Mgomâmera distinguishes itself from other seed companies because of its focus on maize varieties that have additional nutritive value. The company uses the tagline âCreating seed demand from the table to the soil.â It educates farmers not only on how to plant the seed they sell, but also on how to prepare nutritious dishes with their harvest. The company stocks ZM623, a drought-tolerant open-pollinated variety, and Chitedze 2, a quality protein maize. In the 2019 maize season it will also sell MH39, a pro-vitamin A variety. In addition, they are looking forward to beginning quality protein maize hybrid production in the near future, having started the process of acquiring materials from CIMMYT.
Grace observes that women entrepreneurs are late entrants in seed business. âYou need agility, flexibility and experience to run a seed business and with time you will improve,â says Grace, advising women who may be interested in venturing into this male-dominated business.
To read the full story, please click here.
A new beginning for CIMMYTâs Seed Health Unit
Twenty years flew by for Monica Mezzalama, now former Pathologist and Head of the Seed Health Unit at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). At the end of January 2019, she made her way back to her hometown of Turin, Italy. Looking back at her tenure, Monica told us she felt âoverwhelmedâ by the opportunities that CIMMYT has given her.
Founded in 1988, the CIMMYT Seed Health lab began with five employees, eventually expanding to eight people. With Mezzalama at the helm since 2001, the unit has become a crucial part of CIMMYT’s operation in conducting global and national germplasm exchanges. Some would say that seed distribution is the âlifebloodâ of CIMMYT.
Around the world, CIMMYT is known as a reliable distributor of seeds. According to Mezzalama, this is crucial not only for farmers but for other researchers. Without proper regulatory precautions, one can jeopardize the work of others when handling pathogens that can affect seeds.
CIMMYT distributes seed in collaboration with more than 100 countries worldwide, many of which donât receive support or seed from any other institution. According to Mezzalama, âCIMMYTâs reputation is on the line,â if healthy, quality seed is not delivered. Under Mezzalamaâs watch there were never such problems with CIMMYT seeds.
Seeds are judged on appearances and must be good-looking as well as healthy. âPresentation standards are key because genetics arenât immediately seen when the seeds are delivered,â Mezzalama states. If unattractive seed is discarded, then money is metaphorically being thrown away. Beyond saving money, quality seed control conducted by the Seed Health Unit helps keep data fresh and research up to date.
Good seed health depends on leadership like that from Mezzalama. Among the accomplishments of her two-decade tenure at CIMMYT, she formed and led a team that has responded quickly and effectively to emerging maize and wheat disease epidemics. In the midst of finding solutions to phytosanitary and biosafety challenges, she also took time to mentor young scientists and colleagues.
Monica Mezzalama will be moving on to the University of Turin in Italy to take on a new challenge in the academic world as a professor of Phytopathology. She expressed sadness at leaving CIMMYT, but gratitude at the opportunities CIMMYT has given her to grow professionally and the freedom to explore and experiment within her laboratory.
Mezzalamaâs work and the team she leaves behind provide a strong base for continued safeguarding of CIMMYTâs international seed distribution efforts under her successorâs leadership. Down the road, Mezzalama hopes to maintain collaboration with CIMMYT in sustainable agricultural efforts.
Drought-tolerant hybrid seed offers farmers reprieve from hunger
MACHAKOS, Kenya (CIMMYT) â The scorching heat from the sun does not stop Mary Munini, a middle-aged smallholder farmer in Vyulya, Machakos County, from inspecting her distressed maize crop. Traces of worry cloud her face. âI will not harvest anything this season,â she says, visibly downcast.
Like many other smallholder farmers spread across the water-stressed counties of Machakos, Makueni and Kitui, in Kenyaâs lower eastern region, Munini is staring at a massive crop loss. Prolonged dry spells have for years threatened the food security and livelihoods of many rural families in the region who depend entirely on rain for their agricultural production. Here, most smallholder farmers typically plant farm-saved maize seeds, which lack the attributes to tolerate harsher droughts, extreme heat or water stress. With such conditions, farmers can hardly harvest any maize.
âWe just had a little rain at the start of planting. Since then, we have not had any more rain. As you can see, my maize could not withstand the extended dry spell,â says Munini. Like her, over 80 percent of Kenyans depend on maize as their main staple food to supply their dietary requirements, especially in rural areas.
In a neighboring farm, the situation is different. The owner, Gitau Gichuru, planted the SAWA hybrid, an improved maize seed variety designed to withstand drought conditions. This variety was developed by scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and promoted to Kenyan farmers by Dryland Seed, a local seed company. This initiative to improve maize farmersâ climate resilience in the region was possible thanks to the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project. With the right agronomic practices, the SAWA hybrid can return a yield advantage of up to 20 percent compared to other popular drought-tolerant hybrids in the region, according to Dryland Seedâs managing director, Ngila Kimotho.
âThis variety has become so popular in this region that we have decided to make it our flagship brand. There are occasions when the demand is so high that we run out of stock,â Kimotho says.
Reaping the benefits
The company distributes improved seeds through a network of about 100 agrodealers across Kenya. One of the most effective ways to promote drought-tolerant hybrids such as SAWA is demonstration plots managed by lead farmers, who can showcase to their peers the hybridâs performance under recommended agronomic practices. Most of the demo farms are located by the roadside for better visibility to road users, who frequently stop and ask about the healthy-looking maize crop. Field days have also had a positive effect of creating awareness and getting farmers to adopt the SAWA hybrid and other improved seed varieties. Farmers attending field days are ordinarily issued with small seed packs as samples to try out on their farms.
Gichuru, who planted the SAWA hybrid maize seed for the first time last season, is happy with the results. âI decided to try it on a portion of the land that is sandy. We have only had some little rain, twice or so, at the time of planting and during the vegetative state. To be honest, I didnât expect the crop to amount to anything. But, as you can see, I am looking forward to a good harvest,â Gichuru says.
Doris Muia, a mother of three who has planted the hybrid for two years at her farm, is equally happy with the outcome. She says her household will never lack food and she hopes to get additional income from the sale of the surplus maize produce.
âWhen we see how the varieties that we have developed such as the SAWA hybrid are putting smiles on farmersâ faces, this makes us very happy,â expresses Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT Regional Representative for Africa.
For some farmers, however, it is hard to gather the money to buy improved seed varieties. The little income Munini earns from her small shop goes towards supporting her childrenâs education, and she often has nothing left to buy improved hybrid seed varieties, despite being aware of the advantages. In other instances, some farmers often buy small portions of the improved maize variety and mix it with farm-saved seed stock or poor-quality seeds from informal sources.
âThe expectation is that if one variety succumbs to drought or severe heat, the next variety may survive. However, with proper agricultural practices, hybrids such as SAWA can cope well against such climate stresses, thereby improving the smallholdersâ livelihood and food security,” concludes Mugo.
The Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project seeks to develop maize cultivars with tolerance and resistance to multiple stresses for farmers, and support local seed companies to produce seed of these cultivars on a large scale. STMA aims to develop a new generation of over 70 improved stress tolerant maize varieties, and facilitate production and use of over 54,000 metric tons of certified seed.
The STMA project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID.
New publications: Gender and agricultural innovation in Oromia region, Ethiopia
Despite formal decentralization, agricultural services in Ethiopia are generally âtop-down,â claim the authors of a recently published paper on gender and agricultural innovation. âExtension services,â they explain, âare supply-driven, with off-the-shelf technologies transferred to farmers without expectation of further adaptation.â
Drawing on GENNOVATE case studies from two wheat-growing communities in Ethiopiaâs Oromia region, the authors examine how a small sample of women and men smallholders attempt to innovate with improved wheat seed, row planting, and the broad bed maker, introduced through the Ethiopian agricultural extension system. They also introduce the concept of tempered radicals, an analytic lens used to understand how individuals try to initiate change processes, and assess whether this can have validity in rural settings.
As the authors demonstrate through their literature review on cultural norms in the region, there are powerful institutional gender constraints to change processes, which can be punitive for women.
Ethiopian women smallholders are particularly disadvantaged because they have limited access to productive assets such as irrigation water, credit and extension services. Therefore, they find it harder to implement innovations. The study asserts that strategies to support innovators, and women innovators in particular, must be context-specific as well as gender-sensitive.
Read the full article âGender and agricultural innovation in Oromia region, Ethiopia: from innovator to tempered radicalâ in Gender, Technology and Development.
Development of research methodology and data collection was supported by the CGIAR Gender and Agricultural Research Network, the World Bank, the Government of Mexico, the Government of Germany, and the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat. Data analysis was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Check out other recent publications by CIMMYT researchers below:
- Alternative use of wheat land to implement a potential wheat holiday as wheat blast control: in search of feasible crops in Bangladesh. 2019. Mottaleb, K.A., Singh, P.K., Xinyao He, Akbar Hossain, Kruseman, G., Erenstein, O. In: Land Use Policy v. 82, p. 1-12.
- Applications of machine learning methods to genomic selection in breeding wheat for rust resistance. 2019. GonzĂĄlez-Camacho, J.M., Ornella, L., Perez-Rodriguez, P., Gianola, D., Dreisigacker, S., Crossa, J. In: Plant Genome v. 11, no. 2, art. 170104.
- Genetic diversity and population structure of synthetic hexaploid-derived wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) accessions. 2019. Gordon, E., Kaviani, M., Kagale, S., Payne, T.S., Navabi, A. In: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution v. 66, no. 2, p. 335-348.
- Genomic-enabled prediction accuracies increased by modeling genotype Ă environment interaction in durum wheat. 2019. Sukumaran, S., JarquĂn, D., Crossa, J., Reynolds, M.P. In: Plant Genome v. 11, no. 2, art. 170112.
- Improved water-management practices and their impact on food security and poverty: empirical evidence from rural Pakistan. 2019. Ali, A., Rahut, D.B., Mottaleb, K.A. En: Official Journal of the World Water Council Water Policy v. 20, no. 4, p. 692-711.
- Integrating genomic-enabled prediction and high-throughput phenotyping in breeding for climate-resilient bread wheat. 2019. Juliana, P., Montesinos-Lopez, O.A., Crossa, J., Mondal, S., Gonzalez-Perez, L., Poland, J., Huerta-Espino, J., Crespo-Herrera, L.A., Velu, G., Dreisigacker, S., Shrestha, S., Perez-Rodriguez, P., Pinto Espinosa, F., Singh, R.P. In: Theoretical and Applied Genetics v. 132, no. 1, p. 177-194.
- Pre-harvest management is a critical practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize. 2019. Mahuku, G., Nzioki, H., Mutegi, C., Kanampiu, F., Narrod, C., Makumbi, D. In: Food Control v. 96, p. 219-226.
- Root-lesion nematodes in cereal fields: importance, distribution, identification, and management strategies. 2019. Mokrini, F., Viaene, N., Waeyenberge, L., Dababat, A.A., Moens, M. In: Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection v. 126, no. 1, p. 1-11.
- Spider community shift in response to farming practices in a sub-humid agroecosystem of southern Africa. 2019. Mashavakure, N., Mashingaidze, A.B., Musundire, R., Nhamo, N., Gandiwa, E., Thierfelder, C., Muposhi, V.K. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 272, p. 237-245.
- Threats of tar spot complex disease of maize in the United States of America and its global consequences. 2019. Mottaleb, K.A., Loladze, A., Sonder, K., Kruseman, G., San Vicente, F.M. In: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change v. 24, no. 2, p. 281â300.