Blogs – Page 154

First international training workshop on farming systems analysis in India

Written by on June 9, 2015. Posted in News.

The international training workshop “Approaches for integrated analysis of agricultural systems in South Asia: Field, to farm, to landscape scale,” jointly organized by CIMMYT and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), was held at Karnal, Haryana, India, during 18-23 May. The workshop targeted farming systems and agricultural development researchers in South Asia and provided an overview of the approaches and tools used to assess agricultural systems.

Workshop participants and facilitators. Photo: CIMMYT

Compared to the rest of the world, South Asia’s natural resources are 3-5 times more stressed due to population and economic pressures. Several agricultural technologies and practices have been developed to address resource management challenges. However, researchers need to conduct specialized analyses of complex farming systems to find out which technologies are appropriate for farmers.

The training workshop allowed participants to share their experiences in the field and create better methods to ensure successful interventions. P.C. Sharma, Head of the Crop Improvement Program, CSSRI, commenced the workshop and greeted the participants, who comprised 30 young researchers from national research institutions and universities in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Santiago López Ridaura, CIMMYT Global Conservation Agriculture Program Systems Agronomist, presented workshop objectives, which included introducing participants to integrated farming systems analysis as well as to modeling tools and technology designed for specific farming communities.

“This course is the first of its kind in the region,” emphasized M.L. Jat, CIMMYT Cropping Systems Agronomist. “It is unique, demand-driven and organized to strengthen the capacity of young researchers in the region so that they may more effectively help build livelihood security for smallholder farmers.”

D.K. Sharma, CSSRI Director, stressed the need for systems research in the region and how partnerships with centers ike CIMMYT have helped to successfully implement conservation agriculture, sustainable intensification and other practices. Sharma also described CSSRI’s farmer participatory model, which provides farmers with land for cultivation against their annual compensation, thereby improving livelihoods.

A book on sustainable intensification was released. Photo: CIMMYT

Workshop attendees participated in modeling, analysis and participatory exercises that helped them to better understand the challenges of technology adoption in the field. Participants also visited farms, where they learned farmers’ needs first-hand and observed the complexity of different farming systems.

The workshop was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) project of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research’s (ACIAR). Other attendees included Mahesh Gathala, CIMMYT Cropping Systems Agronomist and SRFSI Project Leader; Jeroen Groot, Wageningen University Farming Systems Modeling Specialist; David Berre, CIMMYT Farming Systems Agronomist; Timothy Krupnik, CIMMYT Agronomist; and Alison Laing, Cropping Systems Modeler at ACIAR CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship.

WPEP strengthens farmer knowledge of wheat seed production in Pakistan

Written by on June 9, 2015. Posted in News.

Seed certification officer introducing certified seed production, Swabi District, KP Province. Photo: Bashir Ahmed/Programme of Agriculture Research System in KP Province

The Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP), led by CIMMYT and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), held technical training sessions on wheat seed production from March to May 2015 for farmer enterprise groups (FEGs) in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province. The training was held in collaboration with the Outreach Programme of the Agriculture Research System in KP Province, which formed the FEGs, each comprising 30-35 persons including farmers, seed dealers and seed company representatives.

Wheat ranks first among the food crops of KP Province and is grown mainly on a rainfed area covering 0.729 to 0.776 million hectares. Compared to the rest of Pakistan, KP Province has low yields due to water scarcity, weak extension services and low adoption of recommended technologies, including improved varieties. The public seed sector produces only 5-8 percent of all wheat seed planted in the province, leaving a large gap for private sector investment in wheat seed production and improvement.

More than 92 percent of farmers plant their own wheat seed, which is of inferior quality. Farmers need to be trained to produce quality seed to plant in their own fields and share with neighboring farmers. In response, WPEP has engaged all wheat breeders at KP partner institutes and seed regulatory agencies to enhance production of early generation seed of both advanced lines and released varieties. WPEP also carries out seed demonstrations and variety popularization trials in farmers’ fields to create awareness about new varieties and production technologies.

Training participants at the Agriculture Research Institute Tarnab, Peshawar. Photo: Bashir Ahmed/Programme of Agriculture Research System in KP Province

Five training courses were held at the Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI), Pirsabak, the Agriculture Research Stations at Buner and Mansehra, and Bamkhail-Swabi and Tarnab-Peshawar Research Institutes. The training enabled FEGs to learn of quality seed and update their knowledge on seed production, seed laws, seed storage, the most recent high-yielding varieties, available seed sources and varietal identification. They also learned about wheat stem rust disease and rust resistant varieties that have been planted in KP by public and private seed companies and also on farmers’ fields. Other subjects included varietal testing and evaluation, the release, registration and approval system, variety maintenance, and production of pre-basic and basic certified seed.

Trained FEGs are expected to become registered private or public sector seed growers in the future. Building the capacity of FEGs will strengthen farming communities, improve farmers’ incomes and increase wheat productivity throughout the KP region.

UAVs provide researchers in NW China with a new view of agriculture

Written by on June 8, 2015. Posted in Features.

The DJI Spreading Wings S900 Hexo-copter fitted with an MKII Canon SLR Visual Camera flying over winter wheat near Wuzhong City, China. Photo: Jack McHugh/CIMMYT — The DJI Spreading Wings S900 Hexo-copter fitted with an
MKII Canon SLR Visual Camera flying over winter wheat
near Wuzhong City, China. Photo: Jack McHugh/CIMMYT

We have come a long way when it comes to obtaining aerial images of our research sites. My colleagues and I once used helium-filled balloons and twin cameras to obtain infrared and color images in an all-day operation; now we use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fitted with high-resolution lenses and multispectral cameras to take dozens of images over large areas in a matter of minutes.

Farmers and researchers need to know every square meter of their fields, to determine spatial variability, take remedial action and implement adaptive controls and responses. UAVs can achieve this without anyone setting foot in the field. In an era where we are time- and resource-poor, we can accurately assess the health of entire fields in mere minutes, which could have an enormous impact on agriculture.

However, in Northwestern China, the notion of using UAVs to take aerial pictures in an agricultural setting evokes suspicion, elicits numerous questions and is extremely novel.

The way it was in 2007. Troy Jensen and Amjed Hussain of the University of Southern Queensland, utilizing a helium-filled balloon for aerial imagery of a cabbage research trial in SE Queensland. Photo: Troy Jensen — The way it was in 2007. Troy Jensen and
Amjed Hussain of the University of Southern
Queensland, utilizing a helium-filled balloon
for aerial imagery of a cabbage research trial
in SE Queensland. Photo: Troy Jensen

As a result, we have to provide detailed explanations and gain permission from a number of local authorities before we can undertake what is a simple non-invasive task that would normally go unnoticed on a farm in Australia or Mexico.

CIMMYT-China’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) and the Ningxia Academy of Agricultural Sciences obtained permission from the Wuzhong City Agricultural Mechanization Bureau to fly a UAV. Earlier this month, my colleague Mr. Zhang Xuejian, Director of the Information Research Institute, enlisted a local UAV operator to take images of conservation agriculture, relay cropping and wheat variety trials at a demonstration site near Wuzhong City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Although the Information Research Institute has a fixed-wing UAV with sophisticated imagery equipment, the system is somewhat dated and requires extensive documentation, a landing strip and up to six operators. However, the GCAP-Ningxia Academy of Agricultural Sciences collaboration recently demonstrated the flexibility, capability and efficiency of a modern, multi-rotary wing UAV that rapidly produces imagery and readily displays agronomic traits, farm management and genetic responses not easily appreciated or identified at ground level. Given the success of this demonstration, we will seek funding to buy a new aircraft and develop proximal sensing and imagery within the region.

Smallholder farmers need accurate, inexpensive, readily-available data to increase production, but have traditionally not had access to precise spatial information due to time, money and labor constraints. UAVs can collect visual, thermal and hyperspectral data, which when analyzed provide a broad range of information that would otherwise be unavailable. UAV imagery can also focus on specific biotic and abiotic issues such as diseases, crop stress and farm management. UAV technology would provide breeders and agronomists in NW China not only a new view of agriculture, but also a new path to achieving increased production and food security, while conserving natural and human resources.

HTMA offers stress-resilient maize hybrids to meet Bangladesh’s growing demand

Written by on June 8, 2015. Posted in News.

CIMMYT’s Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project held a hybrid maize field day during 21-22 April at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute’s (BARI) Regional Agricultural Research Stations (RARS) in Khoirtola, Jessore and Gazipur. The event was attended by over 60 participants, including local maize farmers, Bangladeshi seed company representatives, agricultural input dealers, Bangladesh government seed system officers and BARI maize researchers.

Rafiqul Islam Mondal, BARI Director General, addressing the participants in HTMA’s hybrid field day held in Jessore, Bangladesh. Photo: BARI. — Rafiqul Islam Mondal, BARI Director General, addressing the participants
in HTMA’s hybrid field day held in Jessore, Bangladesh. Photo: BARI.

Maize is the third most important food crop in Bangladesh after rice and wheat, covering from 3,000 hectares (ha) in 1990 to over 300,000 ha at present. This growth is largely demand driven, as maize is used both as feed (poultry, fish and cattle) and food. Annual maize demand in the country is approximately two million tons, with domestic production meeting only about 14% of that. Almost all maize grown is hybrid maize, and about 6,500 metric tons of hybrid seed are required annually. However, only about 15% of annual seed demand is met by domestic seed production; the rest is imported, mainly from India. Bangladesh must enhance domestic sources of hybrid seed to meet demand more reliably and at a lower cost.

To accelerate hybrid maize production and address climate-change effects, BARI joined HTMA in developing and deploying high-yielding, climate-resilient hybrids for stress-prone ecologies across the region. Under the project, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), every two years a new wave of products is available for on-farm testing and deployment. The most recent hybrids were planted at four locations in Bangladesh, including BARI research stations.

HTMA project details and progress were shared with participants during a pre-field visit session by Sirajul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of BARI-RARS, Jessore. CIMMYT maize breeder P.H. Zaidi discussed HTMA’s potential impact and importance in addressing climate change effects, especially in Bangladesh. Salahuddin Ahmad, BARI’s Principal Scientific Officer, gave an overview of the 24 HTMA hybrids, plus four popular commercial hybrids and two BARI hybrids that were planted in the field. Participants then visited the field sites and evaluated the HTMA hybrids, scoring each one by preference. Of the 30 hybrids, the top 8 were from HTMA. Many participants, including Nurul Hoque, Additional General Manager of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Nasir Uddin Khan, DAE Additional Director, Jessore Region, and Jalal Uddin, BARI Director of Research, expressed the need to increase domestic maize production to minimize imports and maintain food security and self-sufficiency.

Sadananda explained the importance of public and private sector partnerships for successful development and deployment of the HTMA hybrids. T.P. Tiwari also stressed the need for maize diversification to achieve sustainable production and the need to develop salt tolerant varieties. B.R. Banik, BARI Training and Coordination Director, said the newly developed HTMA hybrids will help Bangladesh deal with climate change effects currently and in the future.

Rafiqul Islam Mondal, BARI Director General, highlighted HTMA’s progress and the need to explore the potential for cultivating maize in unutilized areas to boost production.

“It is truly exciting to see the enthusiasm of stakeholders,” said Mohammad Amiruzzaman, Chief Scientific Officer of BARI’s Plant Breeding Division, in his concluding remarks. “We will work on finalizing the best-bet products, officially register and then deploy them in collaboration with our seed company partners.”

Other participants included representatives from Lal Teer Seed Ltd., Supreme Seed Company Ltd., ACI Ltd., Krishi-bid Group, Monsanto Bangladesh Ltd., Syngenta, Petrochem Ltd., the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), Katalyst, BADC and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). CIMMYT representatives included T. P. Tiwari, CIMMYT-Bangladesh Country Liaison Officer, P.H. Zaidi, Senior Maize Physiologist and HTMA Project Leader, and A.R. Sadananda, Seed System Specialist.

CIMMYT receives “Excellence Through Stewardship” certification

Written by on June 8, 2015. Posted in News.

CIMMYT has been awarded an Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS) certificate of achievement for successfully completing the ETS audit requirements for its operations in Mexico and Kenya. ETS is a global, not-for-profit industry-coordinated organization dedicated to “promote the responsible management of agricultural technology, through encouraging product stewardship and quality management systems practices and by educating the public.” The ETS audit was an independent third-party review of CIMMYT’s quality management system and standard operating procedures (SOP) for transgenic research. “The successful ETS certification is an important milestone in implementing and modeling – teaching and demonstrating – responsible stewardship of transgenic research,” according to Kevin Pixley, Director of CIMMYT’s Genetic Resources Program. CIMMYT is the first CGIAR center to achieve ETS certification.

CIMMYT has had a clear policy guiding its work in transgenic crops since the mid 2000s. Principles include respecting sovereignty and safety and assisting partners to responsibly avail the technologies, if their countries have the legal framework and regulatory capacity and if they request CIMMYT collaboration or assistance. Transgenic research is a small part of CIMMYT’s breeding portfolio and no CIMMYT-derived wheat or maize variety currently sown by farmers is transgenic. CIMMYT’s involvement in transgenic research can help ensure that transgenic crops remain an accessible option for resource-poor farmers.

New technologies to increase coffee-maize system profitability

Written by on June 8, 2015. Posted in Features.

To demostrate the advances of the project “Increasing the profitability of maize-coffee systems” conducted by CIMMYT in Colombia over the past 10 years in collaboration with the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Producers (FEDERECAFE, Spanish acronym), two field days were held at the Paraguaycito–Quindío (29 April) and La Catalina–Risaralda (7 May) Experiment Stations belonging to CENICAFE, FEDERECAFE’s research unit. At these events, attended by 158 representatives of the Local Coffee Growers’ Committees and the National Federation of Cereal Growers (FENALCE, Spanish acronym), the latest advances in the areas of climate change, agronomy and genetic improvement were presented.

Agronomy

In the field of agronomy, there were demonstrations on how to use a manual maize planter and the GreenSeeker sensor. These inventions are available to farmers today thanks to the work and perseverance of Bill Raun and his colleagues at Oklahoma State University, USA.

In the 1980s, when Bill was working for CIMMYT’s Agronomy Program for Central America, he realized the risks farmers faced when growing maize. The seed was treated with insecticides and fungicides to protect it and promote germination and crop establishment. Farmers would take the seed in their bare hands and put it into the soil, in holes made with the help of a stick; they did not use gloves or any kind of protection.

More than 20 years later, farmers finally have a manual planter. The most important parts of the planter are a plastic tube where the seed is placed, a cylinder that regulates seed drop and a device at the end of the planter that passes the seed from the plastic tube into the soil. During the sowing demonstrations, the attendees observed the excellent germination of a plot sown with the planter the previous week. The planter can also be used for fertilization and is ideal for planting maize on the very steep slopes where coffee is grown and where mechanization is not possible. Most of the region’s coffee growers are small-scale farmers whose land holdings average 1.54 hectares.

Argemiro Moreno, former CENICAFE scientist, spoke on efficient nitrogen use for maize crops in Colombia’s coffee growing region. He also explained the basics of GreenSeeker use to calculate the precise amount of nitrogen that plants need for maximum growth and production and to avoid polluting the atmosphere or the ground water through excess fertilizer use. There was also a demonstration of how to use the GreenSeeker in the field and for converting the readings into fertilizer dosage recommendations (by cell phone at www.nue.okstate.edu).

Genetic improvement––biofortified maize

As Luis Narro, CIMMYT-Colombia, explained during both field days, biofortification uses conventional breeding to develop varieties with higher content of micronutrients such as iron, zinc and provitamin A. Normal maize grain contains, on average, 20 ppm Zn and 2 ppm pro-vitamin A, whereas biofortified maize being developed at CIMMYT with support by HarvestPlus contains 32 ppm Zn (white maize) and 8-10 ppm provitamin A (orange maize).

As a HarvestPlus activity, 81 white experimental hybrids with high zinc content and 81 orange hybrids with high provitamin A content are being evaluated in Colombia’s coffee growing region. Preliminary results at La Catalina Experiment Station indicate that the best hybrid with high Zn content (8.9 t/ha) yielded 10% more than the normal (check) hybrid and showed less ear rot and less tar spot damage. The yield of the best hybrid with high provitamin A content was 5.4 t/ha, similar to that of the normal check.

At the same time, the HarvestPlus team at CIAT, in collaboration with small food product manufacturers in Colombia’s Cauca Valley, are conducting pilot studies aimed at developing food products from biofortified maize, as well as sensory studies and studies on micronutrient retention and on shelf life. Consequently, it’s very possible that cropping and consumption of biofortified maize will be promoted in Colombia’s coffee region as an alternative for improving food security.

* This is the second part of a two-part report; the first was published in the previous issue of the CIMMYT Informa.

Impact in farmers’ fields is the driving force of science and innovation in agriculture, says new CIMMYT DG Martin Kropff

Written by on June 8, 2015. Posted in Features.

Agricultural research for development must reconcile approaches that place resource-poor farmers at the center, said CIMMYT’s new Director General addressing staff at CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City on his first day in the new job.

“Our mission at CIMMYT is to use science and innovation to improve livelihoods, particularly in the developing world. Research projects must be centered on the impact in farmers’ fields,” said Kropff, who joined CIMMYT this week from Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, where he was Rector Magnificus and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board.

The world of agricultural research for development is changing; yields need to increase but increases alone are insufficient, added Kropff. A joint approach based on innovations in breeding, solid agronomy based on precision farming, systems research and innovations in the value chain are all essential to have the greatest impact in farmers’ fields, Kropff continued.

“CIMMYT’s scientific expertise is unparalleled in the public sector, with expertise in breeding, sustainable intensification, genomics, statistics and the social sciences,” Kropff said.

“CIMMYT is the flagship institute within the CGIAR and must be at the forefront of new reforms,” he said. One of his top priorities will be to align CIMMYT with the new CGIAR Strategic Results Framework and the CGIAR Research Programs (CRP reforms). The CGIAR is a 15-member consortium of international agricultural researchers of which CIMMYT is a member and leads the CRPs on MAIZE and WHEAT. Prior to joining CIMMYT, Kropff was member of the Consortium Board.

Standing with his wife, Nynke Nammensma, Kropff opened his address in Spanish to applause. “My job is to listen to you, and hear your vision for CIMMYT as we start a new phase of our journey together,” he said. “It’s important to have a direct connection with all staff and a visible presence”.

Local innovations help meet farmers’ needs in Bihar

Written by on June 2, 2015. Posted in Features.

During a pilot program with members of the Kisan Sakhi Group in Muzzafarpur, Bihar nearly 350 women farmers were trained on operating the Diesel Engine Powered Open Drum Thresher. In this picture, Suryakanta Khandai (center), postharvest specialist, IRRI, is conducting a demonstration for two of the women’s self-help groups (SHGs) that have expressed interest in purchasing four machines next season.

In India, farmers with large landholdings from prosperous agricultural states like Punjab can buy expensive and sophisticated machines for farm operations. However, resource-poor farmers with smaller landholdings from states such as Bihar may not have funds to buy these machines. “A huge bottleneck exists in terms of time wasted in harvesting and threshing that is preventing timely sowing of crops,” said Scott Justice, agriculture mechanization specialist, CIMMYT.

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is working to ensure that farmers all along the spectrum of landholdings have access to differently priced and scale-appropriate machinery based on their specific requirements. One of the ways CSISA does this is by improving existing designs of harvest and postharvest machinery to better meet local needs.

For shelling maize, farmers in Bihar could either purchase a very large, highly productive machine that costs approximately US$ 786 or use a handheld maize sheller that is cheap but can only shell 15 – 20 kg per hour. A medium-sized mechanized single cob maize sheller brought to Bihar from Nepal broke the cobs because the sheller had been optimized for Nepal’s hybrid varieties that had longer and thinner cobs. Farmers in Bihar need their cobs to remain intact so they can be used as fuel for their stoves. According to Justice, “These lightweight and affordable shellers are relatively new entrants on the scene. Their simple designs mean that they can be made easily by local manufacturers.” More importantly, they can also be modified as required.

CSISA worked with a local fabricator to modify the existing design and created an electric motor powered double cob maize sheller, which can shell 150 kg maize per hour and consumes only 2 – 4 units of electricity. Priced at US$ 126, the machine is also fairly affordable. “In fact, half the cost of the machine is that of the electric motor alone. For farmers who already own one, the machine would merely cost US$ 63,” said Suryakanta Khandai, postharvest specialist, IRRI, who works for CSISA in Bihar.

Similarly, until recently, farmers in Bihar only had two options for mechanized rice threshing – the very large axial flow thresher that can cost up to US$ 2,700 after subsidy or the compact pedal-powered open drum thresher that has very low capacity and is difficult to operate for extended periods of time.

“Farmers clearly needed a medium-sized, affordable, efficient and portable mechanical rice thresher,” said Khandai. But to build a truly relevant product understanding the shortcomings of the existing options was critical. “The existing models also lacked winnowing or bagging functions, which were included in the new design. Besides giving it wheels, we also decided to use a diesel engine to power the machine to allow for threshing in the field immediately upon cutting, which would help reduce losses.” The result was the diesel engine powered open drum thresher.

It costs US$ 23.96 to hire one person to manually thresh 1 acre of rice in 7 days. Using the diesel engine powered open drum thresher, however, the same area can now be covered in just over four hours at a total cost of US$ 10.54.

Since modifying these medium-sized machines does not offer sufficient profit margin for larger manufacturers and retailers, CSISA approached local fabricators to fill this gap. The maize sheller was customized in cooperation with Dashmesh Engineering, which sells the machine at a profit of US$ 11–13. “Profits help ensure that the fabricators put in efforts on their own to scale out the machines. Other dealers have also expressed interest in the maize sheller, which is great because having multiple fabricators involved ensures that the pricing remains competitive,” said Khandai.

Justice added, “Equipment like powered open drum threshers for rice are very simple but they have not spread very widely. I feel these should now also be promoted with owners of two-wheel tractors and mini tillers in India and Nepal.” Since the thresher can easily be adapted again to be powered by those engines, the cost of the machine can be brought down even further.

Sin in the seed: meeting of the minds to combat maize lethal necrosis

Written by on June 2, 2015. Posted in Features.

“We are all gravely concerned about the rapid spread of maize lethal necrosis [MLN], not just due to the wide prevalence of insect vectors that can transmit the MLN-causing viruses, but also due to production, distribution and cultivation of commercial seed contaminated with MLN pathogens,” said Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT’s Regional Representative for Africa, at the opening of the recently concluded three-day International Conference on MLN Diagnostics and Management in Africa. This captures a core message the conference – seed transmission is a primary means of MLN’s spread in East Africa.

Jointly organized by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), CIMMYT and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), the conference brought together scientists, regulators and policymakers from 17 African countries, USA and Mexico, to discuss how to effectively control seed transmission of MLN pathogens, especially to non-endemic countries.

MLN presents a new and unprecedented challenge to East Africa’s robust seed industry since it can be transmitted through infected seed. Needless to say, seed companies are crucial in limiting seed contamination and thus in stemming further spread of the disease. For this reason, major seed companies participated in the conference to help map feasible joint action to control transmission through seed. Companies in MLN-endemic areas of East Africa are already feeling the heat from the disease leading to massive production losses, increased production costs and reduced sales. “We have had to shut down almost all our maize-production sites in the endemic areas across eastern Africa because of major losses attributed to MLN,” said Kassim Owino from Seed Co, Kenya.

Officials at the opening of the MLN international conference in Nairobi. Left to right: George Bigirwa (standing, AGRA), Stephen Mugo (CIMMYT), Joe DeVries (AGRA), Felister Makini (KALRO) and Gary Atlin (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).

Seed poses a problem, but also presents a solution
“The seed sector can ensure that when a series of MLN-resistant varieties are developed, farmers benefit from the seed. But we must recognize the fact that in the case of MLN, the seed sector can also be a factor in its spread. So we need to work together to identify means of preventing spread,” remarked Dr. Joe DeVries, Director of AGRA’s Program for Africa’s Seed Systems.

Collective efforts will be required not only to control the spread of MLN but also to effectively manage the disease where already present, including developing and deploying new MLN-resistant varieties as a lasting solution. Ongoing research to develop MLN-resistant varieties is at the core of CIMMYT’s work in Africa and is being undertaken in close partnership with the private and public sectors including seed companies. The Africa RISING Project and the CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE have also supported these efforts. However, there are no quick solutions, and developing and disseminating MLN-resistant maize varieties will take several years.

In the meantime, seed companies and seed producers need to ensure that seed is MLN-free. To do this, they require support to train their personnel to recognize early infection in addition to adopting best practice on surveillance, diagnostics and management of MLN. CIMMYT’s MLN diagnosis and protocols and MLN-free seed production are examples of best practice. In parallel, regional phytosanitary bodies need to regulate and monitor production and movement of seed, especially into areas currently unaffected.

What next and what needs to be done?
The CIMMYT–KALRO MLN screening facility at Naivasha, Kenya, will continue to have a critical role in the ongoing research. This facility screens germplasm from transnational and national seed companies, and from national research programs. Conference participants visited the facility and witnessed MLN leaf sampling and ELISA diagnostics systems, as well as experimental maize hybrids demonstrating promising MLN tolerance. Seed companies were invited to send their germplasm for screening for the current cropping season.

Viewing experimental maize hybrids at the MLN screening facility with explanations from CIMMYT staff.

Other than a recent CIMMYT study on Kenya, there is little information on MLN incidence, distribution, severity and impact. More studies like this would help to quantify the magnitude of the disease.

The conference made important recommendations on joint action and regional protocols, summed up by Gary Atlin from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:, “Efforts to manage seed production within an environment that seems conducive to the spread of MLN are very important. There are strategies and tools available that can help manage the disease. We hope to get a clear picture of these strategies and how they can be applied in the region’s seed systems, to safeguard the maize-seed supply for African farmers and ensure delivery of germplasm continues in the positive direction it has been moving.”

Some of the presentations from the conference are on SlideShare.

The conference was widely reported in national and regional newspapers and television, as indicated by the links below.

Links

Conference press release
BBC Science in Action, 3rd chapter, ‘Disease hurts African Maize’ (audio clip accessible until January 15, 2016)
Videos on MLN – A farmer’s plea | MLN in East Africa | Audio slideshow from SciDev.Net | MLN in Tanzania
March 2015 regional training workshop and slides
Factsheets – MLN in Kenya and Tanzania | MLN Screening Facility

Durum wheat production in Pakistan: keeping up with changing demands

Written by Mike Listman on June 1, 2015. Posted in News.

Two wheat breeders evaluating durum wheat lines in National Uniform Yield Trial at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan. Photo: Attiq Ur Rehman/Cimmyt. — Two wheat breeders evaluating durum wheat lines in National Uniform Yield Trial at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan.
Photo: Attiq Ur Rehman/Cimmyt.

In response to rapidly-changing food preferences in Pakistan, including a latent unmet demand for pasta products, CIMMYT-Pakistan has been working to develop the country’s durum wheat market and varieties that satisfy the required grain quality attributes, in addition to high yields and disease resistance.

According a 2014 study by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Pakistan is urbanizing at an annual rate of 3 percent—the fastest pace in South Asia. “More Pakistanis are living in cities than ever before,” said Krishna Dev Joshi, CIMMYT wheat improvement specialist. “As a result, demand for durum wheat products like macaroni or spaghetti is rising. But farmers are not growing durum wheat because there is no a clear price advantage or assured markets. At the same time, private investors will not develop new milling facilities or markets without guarantees of durum wheat grain supplies from farmers.”

To help break the impasse, CIMMYT has been testing and evaluating 925 durum wheat lines in Pakistan since 2011, and identified 40 durum wheat lines as having appropriate combinations of high yield, protein, yellowness and sedimentation. The yield stability of lines across locations and years indicates that durum wheat could be grown in environments similar to those of the trial sites, increasing the chances for uptake of this new crop. “One challenge, though,” said Joshi, “is that durum yields were only slightly higher than those of bread wheat, posing a challenge for the uptake by farmers of durum wheat.”

Activating Durum Markets from the Ground Up

The Center also led a 2014 durum value chain study involving 85 respondents including farmers, millers, the processing industry, restaurants, seed companies, grain dealers and consumers across five locations. They were queried regarding their awareness of durum wheat, as well its production, usage and future prospects in Pakistan. “A complete lack of durum milling technology is the main obstacle to commercializing this crop,” Joshi said.

Value chain actors themselves were only marginally aware of durum wheat and associated technologies. However, 60% of millers stated they would be willing to invest in durum wheat if it became an openly-traded commodity, policies fostered market price premiums, durum milling machinery could be acquired at subsidized rates and local and foreign manufacturers were linked.

For durum wheat production to take hold in Pakistan, milling technology would have to be adapted or farmers would have to find a niche in the international market. Government support is necessary in either case.

Despite these challenges, the durum wheat market is slowly being developed. The first national durum wheat workshop in Pakistan last September brought together farmers, millers, processing industries, dealers, seed companies, extension professionals, researchers and policy makers to share knowledge, experiences and ideas for a durum wheat value chain. The 10 best durum wheat lines are being evaluated in wheat trials across 9 locations right now.

CIMMYT representatives including Joshi will take part during 31 May-2 June in the international conference “From Seed to Pasta and Beyond: a Sustainable Durum Wheat Chain for Food Security and Healthy Lives,” with experts from around the world.

Australian visit to CIMMYT-Turkey strengthens decades-long collaboration

Written by on June 1, 2015. Posted in News.

The CIMMYT Australia ICARDA Germplasm Evaluation Project (CAIGE) organized a visit for Australian breeders to Turkey during 19 April-3 May. Participants learned about the germplasm evaluation and selection activities by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP, a joint enterprise of CIMMYT and the Government of Turkey), the CIMMYT-Turkey Soil Borne Pathogen (SBP) program and the Regional Rust Research Center.

Crown rot trials in Konya field. From left to right: Drs. Morgounov, Dababat, Dieters, Trethowan, Ed-wards, Kan, Mullan, and Moody.
Photo: SBP-CIMMYT-Turkey.

The CIMMYT-Turkey collaboration has helped farmers throughout Central and West Asia. It all began in 1965, when a farmer in southern Turkey planted a high-yielding variety from Mexico that yielded five tons per hectare– several times more than the Turkish varieties then being planted. Wheat varieties from Mexico and new agronomic practices allowed Turkey to double its wheat production in just a decade, marking the start of a Turkish “Green Revolution.”

Turkey has since become a leader in wheat research. Turkish scientists with IWWIP have led groundbreaking research on zinc deficiency in soils and developed varieties that not only perform well in such conditions but also contain enhanced levels of zinc in the grain. Turkey is also a focal point for collaborative research on the effect of soil-borne pathogens and pests on wheat, as well as developing resistant varieties.

The five Australian breeders experienced first-hand Turkey’s rich history and innovations in wheat research and development. The group first visited the Bahri Dagdas International Agricultural Research Institute-National Drought Center in Konya, where Mustafa Kan, Institute Director and IWWIP Coordinator, welcomed them and gave an overview of the Institute. Alexei Morgounov, IWWIP Leader, and Mesut Keser, ICARDA’s Office Coordinator in Turkey, also gave presentations. The group then visited the labs and greenhouse facilities, crown rot yield trials and IWWIP breeding programs.

The next day, the group visited the Transitional Zone Agricultural Research Institute in Eskisehir. Director Sabri Cakir gave an overview of the Institute, while Savas Pelin, Head of the Institute’s breeding program in Eskisehir, gave a general presentation of its programs and activities. Participants also attended an overview of SBP’s activities, including screening for nematodes and crown rot in growth rooms, greenhouses and fields.

On the third day, attendees visited the Agricultural Research Institute in Izmir and Turkey’s National Gene Bank. They were introduced to IWWIP’s breeding activities, including germplasm evaluation, synthetic winter wheat development, spring x winter crossing and soil borne pathogen screening. The group also visited the Regional Rust Research Center, led by ICARDA scientist Nazari Kumarzi, where they observed the stripe, leaf and stem rust evaluation nurseries and afterwards visited the national barley breeding program.

In Izmir, visitors reviewed the soil-borne pathogen research, screening methodologies and facilities at CIMMYT-Turkey. CAIGE Project Leader Richard Trethowan inspected the germplasm provided by Australia to CIMMYT-Turkey as part of the crown rot initiative, a sub-grant project with the University of Sydney funded through the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) aimed at transferring resistant genes into key elite varieties for rapid adoption by breeding programs. Visitors were also briefed about the intensive SBP-IWWIP collaboration, particularly on incorporating resistant sources into high-yielding winter and spring wheats.

The Australian breeders included Richard Trethowan, Professor at the University of Sydney; Daniel Mullan and David Moody, Wheat and Barley Breeders from Intergrain; Mark Dieters, Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and Ian Edwards, CEO of Edstar Genetics. CIMMYT participants included Alexei Morgounov, CIMMYT-Turkey Country Representative; Amer Dababat, Soil Borne Disease Pathologist and Gul Erginbas-Orakci, Senior Research Associate.

CSISA mechanization meets farmers’ needs in Bihar, India

Written by on June 1, 2015. Posted in Features.

“A huge bottleneck exists in terms of time wasted in harvesting and threshing that is preventing timely sowing of crops,” said Scott Justice, agriculture mechanization specialist, CIMMYT. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is working to ensure smallholder farmers have access to machinery based on their specific requirements by improving existing designs to meet local needs.”

For shelling maize, farmers in Bihar can either purchase a very large, efficient machine that costs approximately US $786 or use a cheap handheld sheller that can shell only 15-20 kilograms per hour. According to Justice, “these lightweight, affordable shellers are relatively new on the scene. Their simple design means that they can easily be made by local manufacturers and can also be modified as required.”

CSISA worked with a local manufacturer to modify the design of a medium-sized sheller and created a double cob maize sheller powered by an electric motor, which can shell 150 kg of maize per hour and consumes only 2-4 units of electricity. Priced at US $126, the machine is fairly affordable. “In fact, half the cost of the machine is that of the electric motor alone. For farmers who already own one, the machine would only cost US $63,” said Suryakanta Khandai, Postharvest Specialist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), who works for CSISA in Bihar.

During a pilot program with members of the Kisan Sakhi Group in Muzzafarpur, Bihar, nearly 350 women farmers were trained to operate the diesel engine-powered, open-drum thresher. In this picture, Suryakanta Khandai (center), IRRI postharvest specialist, conducts a demonstration for two women’s self-help groups interested in purchasing four machines next season. Photo: CSISA — During a pilot program with members of the Kisan Sakhi Group in Muzzafarpur, Bihar, nearly 350 women farmers were trained to operate the diesel engine-powered, open-drum thresher. In this picture, Suryakanta Khandai (center), IRRI postharvest specialist, conducts a demonstration for two women’s self-help groups interested in purchasing four machines next season.
Photo: CSISA

Until recently, farmers in Bihar only had two options for mechanized rice threshing –a very large axial flow thresher that can cost up to US $2,700 with subsidies, or a pedal-powered, open-drum thresher that has very low capacity and is difficult to operate for extended periods.

“Farmers clearly needed a medium-sized, affordable, efficient and portable mechanical rice thresher,” said Khandai. “The existing models lacked grain-separating or bagging functions, which we included in the new design. In addition to giving it wheels, we also decided to use a diesel engine to power the machine to allow for threshing in the field immediately upon cutting, which helps reduce losses.” The result was a diesel-powered, open-drum thresher.

It costs US $23.96 to hire one person to manually thresh one acre of rice and it takes seven days. However, the diesel-powered, open-drum thresher covers the same area in just over four hours, at a total cost of US $10.54.

Since the modified machines do not offer an attractive profit for larger manufacturers and retailers, CSISA approached local companies to fill the gap. The maize sheller was customized in cooperation with Dashmesh Engineering, which sells the machine at a profit of US $11–13. “Profits help ensure that the manufacturers are motivated to scale out the machines,” said Khandai.

Justice added, “Equipment like the diesel-powered, open-drum rice thresher is very simple but has not spread very widely. I feel these should now also be promoted to the owners of two-wheel tractors and mini tillers in India and Nepal.”

Well-positioned for next phase, CSISA India plans for monsoon cropping season

Written by on June 1, 2015. Posted in News.

As Phase II of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) draws to a close in India, it is well positioned for a Phase III, according to Andrew McDonald, CIMMYT Cropping Systems Agronomist and CSISA Project Leader speaking at the Objective 1 planning and evaluation meeting for the 2015 monsoon cropping season held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 22-24 April. The meeting was attended by CSISA’s Objective 1 teams from the Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu hubs, comprising diverse disciplinary experts from CIMMYT, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Phase II began in October 2012 and will be completed in October of this year. The external evaluation report, commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), commended the uniqueness of CSISA’s work with service providers and farmers, its staff’s dedication and the strong collaboration among CSISA partners. CSISA was established in 2009 to promote durable change at scale in South Asia’s cereal-based cropping systems, and operates rural “innovation hubs” throughout Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

The teams took a critical view of activities from the previous monsoon cropping season and highlighted priority areas for this year. “Sustainable intensification of cropping systems should be the centerpiece of our growth strategy. Rice followed by mustard followed by spring maize or green gram is a great system that can help us achieve 300% cropping intensity,” said R.K. Malik, CIMMYT Senior Agronomist and CSISA Objective 1 Leader. “We need to focus not only on how to create new service providers but also on how existing ones can be used as master trainers. This will help fill the gap of field technicians and further strengthen delivery,” Malik explained, regarding CSISA’s network of more than 1,800 service providers.

Andrew McDonald, CSISA Project Leader, speaks at CSISA’s planning and evaluation meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Ashwamegh Banerjee

Leading discussions on the Odisha hub, Sudhir Yadav, IRRI Irrigated Systems Agronomist, emphasized the importance of identifying the non-negotiable steps for successful technology implementation. “The performance of zero tillage, for example, depends on soil type, date of seeding and whether the crop is rainfed or receives supplementary irrigation,” said Yadav. CSISA successfully introduced zero tillage in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj District, where it has enabled crop intensification thanks to the retention of residual soil moisture.

The meeting served as a platform for representatives from Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Improved Rice-based Rainfed Agricultural Systems project to showcase lessons in managing rainfed rice systems in northern Bihar.

CSISA is currently in discussions with USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to design the technical program, and determine the scope, geography, duration and budget of Phase III.

Maize protects Colombian coffee from climate change

Written by on June 1, 2015. Posted in News.

The Eddy Covariance microclimate station in Paraguaycito takes meteorological data needed to predict climate variability. Phots: Claudio Romero Perilla.

Preliminary results have shown that a maize-coffee cropping system acts like a huge atmospheric carbon sink, capturing up to 60 times more carbon than a coffee-bean system during one cycle of the associated temporary bean crop. In addition, maize creates a more adequate micro-climate for coffee’s growth and development because it reduces air temperature, helps to maintain soil moisture and decreases daytime-nighttime soil temperature fluctuations. This has a buffer effect that benefits soil biochemical processes and improves crop productivity.

To demonstrate advances of the project “Increasing the profitability of maize-coffee systems” that CIMMYT has been conducting in Colombia for 10 years in collaboration with the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Producers (FEDERECAFE, Spanish acronym), two field days were held at the Paraguaycito–Quindío (29 April) and La Catalina–Risaralda (7 May) Experiment Stations belonging to CENICAFE, FEDERECAFE’s research unit. At these events, attended by 158 representatives of the Local Coffee Growers’ Committees and the National Federation of Cereal Growers (FENALCE, Spanish acronym), the latest advances in the areas of climate change, agronomy and genetic improvement were presented.*

At Paraguaycito, CENICAFE agronomists Myriam Cañon and Angela Castaño explain the effects of climate on the coffee-maize system.

On the subject of climate change, Angela Castaño, a Ph.D. student at Cauca University linked to CENICAFE, indicated that at the Paraguaycito Experiment Station, the performance of agro-ecosystem depends on energy-water-carbon dynamics, because its distribution is related to the production system. In the case of coffee, solar radiation, water and atmospheric carbon are distributed differently depending on whether the coffee is fully exposed to the sun, or if it is grown in association with other crops.

With the aim of studying energy-water-carbon dynamics in different coffee production systems, at Paraguaycito there is an Eddy Covariance micro-climate station that measures the sun’s energy and the amount of carbon and water vapor in the production system. Strategically placed sensors in the micro-climate station measure air and soil temperature and humidity, as well as the flow of latent heat (energy used for evapotranspiration) and of perceivable heat (energy used to heat the air). This information is used to study four types of agro-ecosystems that include growing temporary crops during the growth stage of coffee, namely, coffee with maize; coffee with common beans; coffee with pigeon-pea; and coffee under full sun exposure.

Myriam Cañon, Paraguaycito Station Coordinator, mentioned that the coffee-maize association reduces the number of coffee plants that die.

Diego Montoya, La Catalina Station Coordinator, explained that rain is now less frequent but more intense. This causes damage due to surface runoff on the steep terrain where coffee is grown in Colombia. However, there is less damage when coffee is cropped in association with maize because the soil is better protected by both crops.

This is the first of a two-part report; the second part will be published in the next issue of the CIMMYT Informa.

SUPER WOMAN: Asriani Anie Annisa Hasan protects local Indonesian maize varieties

Written by on May 29, 2015. Posted in Features.

AWARENESS-RAISING ON ISSUES AFFECTING AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND CULINARY ARTS

International Women’s Day on March 8, offers an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women worldwide. This year, CIMMYT asked readers to submit stories about women they admire for their selfless dedication to either maize or wheat. In the following story, Amanda Niode writes about her Super Woman of Maize, Asriani Anie Annisa Hasan of the Gorontalo Corn Information Center and Food Security Agency.

Asriani Anie Annisa Hasan is my maize superwoman.

Anie is a beautiful and warm-hearted woman, who is currently head of the Dissemination and Information Division at the Gorontalo Corn Information Center and Food Security Agency.

Gorontalo is a province located on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia on the Wallacea, borderline islands situated between the Asian and Australian bio-geographical regions characterized by great biodiversity of flora and fauna.

Anie is not known as an official who works behind her desk. She is very much involved in the cornfields and the livelihoods of farmers, taking pictures of newly harvested cornfields, driving a truck, or sitting on the floor chatting with corn farmers.

She informs farmers about native corn varieties found in Gorontalo, including those on the brink of extinction such as momala, motorokiki, bonia/badia and pulut (binthe pulo).

Additionally, Anie is very active on social media networks and always explains her corn-related activities in a fun way, One of her Facebook posts features two decorated corn cobs saying: “Corns fall in love today. Love maize.”

In another post, she wrote: “Sunday morning is usually laundry time, but now I should be chummy with the corn field.”

She is always on the forefront on any major corn-related activity, including the International Maize Conference, which was held in Gorontalo in 2012, and attended by corn experts from all over the world.

She works very hard to assist the Omar Niode Foundation, an organization working to raise public awareness about issues affecting agriculture, food and culinary arts. This work included attending an exhibition of Gorontalo local corns in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital.

Anie Annisa, is a passionate maize superwoman.