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W4A Day Two: Policies, profits, and producing more wheat

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Conference-day-2An exhausting, productive day on Day Two of Wheat for Food Security in Africa. Participants arrived bright and early for expert presentations and round-table discussions on abiotic/biotic stresses, market and seed systems, wheat systems and quality, and country outlooks.

After lunch things got really interesting as participants gathered to discuss the key constraints  for having profitable, productive wheat systems in Africa, and how we can overcome these. One rapporteur from each group presented the findings and these will be consolidated tomorrow before we present the findings to key policy makers, ministers, and donors on Thursday. Here are some things I learnt today…

We can do more if we act together

And this applies on so many levels. Farmers in Africa generally produce crops from very small parcels of land. This discourages large investments on their behalf, because they will never be able to get large returns from just a small area. Some scientists suggested that farmers should join together and farm larger plots. The same applies for inputs such as fertilizer and seed. One of the reasons these things are so expensive in Africa is due to the high transaction costs; if farmer cooperatives bulk-bought these inputs, they would be able to pass on the savings to the farmers themselves. At a national level, participants called for a strengthening of seed systems, and this includes encouraging the involvement of the private sector. Finally, as Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, pointed out, whilst we have many regional agricultural organizations in Africa, such as ASARECA, CORAF, and CCARDESA, “they do not know each other”. If international trade, regulations, and wheat policies are to be improved, it is key that all these players work together.

A value chain is only as strong as its weakest link

Breeders work hard to develop new, disease resistant, high-yielding varieties, yet many farmers do not know about them, and the yield difference between experimental stations and farmers’ fields can be huge. This is not to say that farmers are at fault, or in fact that any one part of the value chain is. It comes back to the above point of working together. We need extension workers to inform farmers about new varieties and to disseminate the improved technologies for agronomy and farm mechanization. We need government support to fund these extension workers. We need policymakers to inform government of the needs of the agricultural sector. But as pointed out by Victor Kommerell, Program Manager for the WHEAT CRP, the research heads of national systems are policymakers, too. And it’s not just the politicians we want to influence and get their attention, it’s the millers, the seed companies, the grain traders, in fact, anyone with a vested interest in wheat should be listening to African researchers and learning about the huge market that exists on this continent.

There is a solution for wheat in Africa

It’s simple maths. Increased revenues and decreased production costs equal increased profits and greater incentives for growing wheat in Africa. Aside from the points mentioned above, it’s clear we need more research and knowledge, and for this knowledge to be shared between researchers, governments, extension workers, community leaders, farmers. Timely access to fertilizer is a major problem for Africa, but we could overcome this by increasing capacity in fertilizer production, assisting farmers with credit access, and ensuring that everyone who needs to use fertilizer knows exactly how much to use and when to apply it. Human capacity is also key and countries must invest in their own agricultural researchers and extension workers. And none of these things will be truly successful without effective communication at all levels.

With a whole day of discussions, it’s hard to do little more than scratch the surface in a 600-word blog. Hopefully you have a little insight into our progress in Addis Ababa,
and we’re looking forward to bringing you more updates from the conference on Thursday. Tomorrow you can still follow us as we go to the field – look for our twitter hashtag #W4A and join us as we visit research stations and farmers at Kulumsa and Debre Zeit. You can also read what other people have been saying about the conference; so far, we have had stories published on La Presse, Bloomberg, Reuters, Scientific American, Phys.org, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and Times Live.

CIMMYT trains Vietnamese scientists in doubled haploid technology

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Doubled haploid (DH) technology is increasingly utilized in maize breeding for achieving rapid genetic gains and speeding up product development. Several maize breeding programs within public institutions and small and medium private enterprises, especially in tropical maize growing countries, lag behind in using this technology. By disseminating newly developed tropical inducer lines, offering technical know-how to breeding programs, and conducting training courses, CIMMYT has been working to close this gap. CIMMYT also produced an elaborate training manual on DH technology (available for download at CIMMYT library repository).

The National Maize Research Institute (NMRI), Hanoi, Vietnam, is currently expanding its technical capacity to adapt the DH technology to its institutional needs. To assist NMRI in achieving this goal, CIMMYT has been offering training to its scientists. Three NMRI scientists were trained at CIMMYT-Mexico from January to May 2012. NMRI then organized a four-day training course during 10–12 September 2012, which was led by CIMMYT scientists Vijay Chaikam and Dan Jeffers and attended by 60 NMRI breeders/scientists. Mai Xuan Trieu (NMRI director general), Luong Van Vang (Maize Development Project director), Kha Le Quy (Maize Breeding Department head), and Dang Ngoc Ha (International Cooperation Department head) inaugurated the course with discussions about the challenges for maize production in Vietnam. Jeffers presented on future challenges for maize in Asia, CIMMYT’s vision for addressing these problems, and identification and management of prominent maize diseases in Southeast Asia. Chaikam’s presentations covered all the technical details of DH technology and the components required for establishing a successful DH breeding program. Jeffers and Chaikam also visited Song Boi experimental station in Hoa Binh province to assess its suitability for DH operations.

During the closing ceremony, Mai Xuan Trieu and Luong Van Vang expressed their gratitude to Thomas Lumpkin (CIMMYT director general), Marianne BĂ€nziger (CIMMYT deputy director general), and B.M. Prasanna (Global Maize Program director) for their efforts in forging collaboration with NMRI and the support provided to adapt DH technology in maize breeding programs.

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Conservation agriculture: the future of farming in western Kenya

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A-trial-plot-with-a-well-established-DesmodiumLonger periods of drought and erratic and below-average rainfall in western Kenya have been making farming increasingly difficult over the years. In combination with declining soil fertility and deep-rooted practices of low-farm input application, agricultural productivity in the region has been on steep decline, leaving many farmers desperately staring at famine. However, with introduction of conservation agriculture (CA) via the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative in 2010, Kenyan farmers regained hope.

SIMLESA activities are implemented in western and eastern regions by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) with technical support from CIMMYT and financial assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Over the last two years, SIMLESA has been conducting on-farm trials using CA techniques: minimum tillage, crop residue management, intercropping/crop rotation (with maize and beans or desmodium), and participatory variety selection trials. Members of Tumaini Farmers Field School, Bungoma County, western Kenya, have been using these techniques. “We were in a desperate situation. Maize for us is not only our staple crop; it is also a major cash crop. But yields have been dwindling to levels where they could not sustain our food requirements,” stated Geoffrey Wanjala, the group chairman. “However, conservation agriculture has brought fortunes. With soils regaining fertility and farmers adopting good agricultural practices, yields have started increasing.

Conservation agriculture has also come with low farming costs, as we do not have to invest in time consuming, labor intensive, and costly ploughing and weeding activities. We have decided to adopt the conservation agriculture because of these benefits.”

The success of the trials encouraged KARI and CIMMYT to organize a farmers’ field day to demonstrate the performance of CA technologies. The field day was held in Kanduyi Division, Bungoma South District, Bungoma County, on 17 August 2012, and attracted farmers from other SIMLESA districts in eastern Kenya and over 20 exhibitors, including Kyeni Innovation Learning Platform (ILePs), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Livestock Development, seed and fertilizer companies, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), agro-dealers, and community-based organizations in agriculture, energy, and health.

John Achieng, KARI-agronomist, reiterated KARI’s and CIMMYT’s commitment to developing resilient farming systems that can guarantee good yields even when faced with vagaries of climate change and degraded soils. “KARI will continue to develop new and improved technologies for enhanced agricultural productivity and improved livelihoods,” said Achieng.

George Ayaga, deputy center director of KARI-Kakamega and SIMLESA western Kenya coordinator, lauded the partnerships in implementing SIMLESA, particularly ILePs, noting that they managed to reduce competition among stakeholders, thus enhancing collaboration and reducing implementation costs for partner organizations. “Together you can approach farmers with holistic packages to agricultural production and ensure competitiveness of the agricultural products,” he added. Ayaga also noted that field days were critical in showcasing the best technologies, taking the technologies from the station to farmers’ fields, and involving farmers in the research process through their feedback. Alponkina Nyagah, Kyeni ILePs chairlady, stated that SIMLESA’s work on CA will be crucial for hunger reduction in Kenya.

W4A Day One: Food security, consumer demand, and changing the way Africa sees wheat

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It’s day one at Wheat for Food Security in Africa, and Cobus Le Roux has just finished outlining the production, constraints, market, and future of wheat in Southern Africa. This morning participants enjoyed keynote speeches from Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere (IFPRI), Nicole Mason (Michigan State University), and Bekele Shiferaw (CIMMYT).

One of the key issues raised was just how much of their precious little foreign expenditure African countries must spend on imports. In 2010, over 12.5 US$ billion was spent to import 32 million tons of wheat to Africa. Many of this morning’s speakers posed the question: “What if that money was spent on wheat research instead? How much money would it take to improve wheat and agronomy so that that import bill is reduced or even eliminated?”

Food security was a buzzword on everyone’s lips this morning. Food aid does not imply food security, merely that people have enough to eat at that moment. But what about next year? What happens then? And what if the countries who supplied food aid this year are unable to do so next year? According to Kwadwo, food security is a right, not a priviledge. And the economics makes sense too; a woman who does not get enough, nutritious food during pregnancy is likely to give birth to an underweight, undernourished baby. If this baby does not get healthy food on a regular basis, particularly in the first two years of childhood, it is more likely to grow up to be an underweight, undernourished adult. This underweight, undernourished adult will not be as strong, not as able to work, more likely to get ill. We need healthy, strong adults if we are to create productive, prosperous countries. Whilst the high food prices in 2007/08 and 2010/11 caused shockwaves around the world, they produced some small benefit in propelling food security to the forefront of the global agenda.

Producing more wheat could help African countries achieve food security. Everyone at the conference is in agreement that demand for wheat in Africa is increasing. Traditionally in Africa, wheat has been the food of the rich; but now that incomes are on the rise, wheat is being eaten also by the traditionally lower- and middle-classes. An increasingly urban population is demanding more processed food, requiring less preparation time; this food is generally wheat-based, such as bread. And whilst the price of wheat is on the rise, the increase has not been as dramatic as for some other staple crops, meaning that it is becoming an ever more attractive option for consumers.

“So,” asked Bekele, “There is obviously a big demand for wheat in Africa – what can we do about the supply?”

And that is the question we are here to answer, starting this afternoon with presentations on the current wheat situation in different parts of Africa and round-table discussions addressing many aspects of wheat production, constraints, and the value chain in Africa. This is not an opportunity for a jolly to Addis Ababa – the participants are here to do a job. We are here to influence and improve the future of wheat in Africa, and that is no small task.

Tomorrow there will be more specific discussions on the things currently constraining African wheat production: abiotic and biotic factors, wheat markets and seed systems, and wheat quality. You can follow all the action on twitter using #W4A, or check back here tomorrow for a full summary.

Participants from Sudan set up their posters before Day One at Wheat for Food Security in Africa
Participants from Sudan set up their posters before Day One at Wheat for Food Security in Africa

Wheat for Food Security in Africa – The Conference Begins Tomorrow!

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Here in Addis Ababa, excitement is building as more than 200 participants arrive and register for the conference on Wheat for Food Security in Africa, organized by CIMMYT, the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR).

This photo comes from our new Flickr WHEAT collection - you can find it at http://to.ly/fKpy
This photo comes from our new Flickr WHEAT collection – you can find it at http://to.ly/fKpy

Tomorrow the Director Generals of the three organizations will welcome the diverse array of participants – researchers, policymakers, Ministers, journalists, and more – before the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, H.E. Ato Teferra Derbew, takes to the stage for the official opening address. We will also have the pleasure of welcome remarks from the African Union representative, H.E. Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace. Then, it will be down to business in the form of keynote speeches and updates on the states of wheat production in North, East, South, and West Africa.

Some of the participants will have an early start tomorrow, as they must get to the conference center to hang their posters. Over 100 African researchers are being sponsored by the conference; they will all have to display a poster or give a presentation, and all participants will receive a book of the abstracts from the sponsored researchers.Now that the rainy season appears to have come to an end, participants will be able to experience Ethiopia at its most green and beautiful when they take a trip to either Debra Zeit or Kulumsa Research Station on day 3. Days four and five will be more policy oriented and discussion based. If you can’t be at the conference itself, we’ll keep you up to date on everything as it happens.

To stay connected, whether you are at the conference or not, follow us on twitter using the #W4A hashtag. There will also be regular updates on the WHEAT Facebook page. And of course, daily summaries on this blog. But why wait until the end of the day? Get involved on Facebook, give us your feedback on twitter, and discuss with your friends, colleagues, and family how we can improve the future of wheat research and production in Africa.

Metal silos and super grain bags improve grain storage in Zimbabwe and Zambia

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Farmers in Zimbabwe and Zambia, who have been losing their maize harvests due to poor storage facilities, can now effectively store their grain in metal silos and super bags, courtesy of Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers (EGSP) Phase- II Project. The five-year project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) was launched in Zimbabwe and Zambia on 17 and 20 September 2012, respectively. It aims to improve food security and reduce vulnerability of resource-poor farmers, particularly women farmers, in eastern and southern Africa through the dissemination of metal silos and super grain bags. According to project leader Tadele Tefera, annual post-harvest grain losses in the sub-Saharan region are currently estimated at US$ 4 billion. “This is equivalent to a decade of food aid for the region, or enough annual calories for about 48 million people,” he noted.

The project allows CIMMYT scientists, partners, and collaborators in Zimbabwe and Zambia to exchange ideas, information, and research outputs; raise awareness on promotion and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies; and consult stakeholders on policy environment and market issues for effective implementation of EGSPII. Presiding over the launch in Harare, Danisile Hikwa (principal director of the Department of Research and Specialist Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Zimbabwe) warned of the negative impact of post-harvest losses on food security: “The potential impact of increased maize productivity on poverty reduction and greater livelihood security will not be realized unless technological and institutional innovations are identified and deployed to overcome the chronic syndrome of ‘sell low’ and ‘buy high’. The existing best-bet post-harvest technologies need to be rapidly scaled-up and disseminated in the region.”

Wilfred Mwangi, CIMMYT regional liaison officer, noted that the traditional granaries have failed to protect farmers’ maize harvests against the two most destructive post-harvest insect pests in the region, maize weevils and larger grain borers. “As a result of lack of adequate awareness and access to appropriate technologies, farmers end up selling their maize soon after harvest, when prices are at their lowest, partly to curb the losses and partly to meet other financial needs. The same farmers are forced to buy the grains back at more than twice the price later in the season to meet their subsistence needs, resulting in a continual poverty trap,” said Mwangi.

In her opening address in Harare, Nadia Otigger, SDC quality assurance adviser for South Africa, reiterated her government’s commitment to reduce poverty in southern Africa, as Switzerland just approved a new strategy with focus on agriculture and food security, aiming to contribute to poverty reduction through the promotion of economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable agricultural production, especially for smallholder farmers. Launching the project in Lusaka, Honorable Rodgers Mwewa, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Zambia, noted that self-sufficiency in food grains in the country does not depend only on increased production but also on minimizing post-harvest losses. “It is economical and environmentally appropriate to protect the harvested maize rather than to continue opening up new land and increase application of chemical fertilizers in the name of increasing production,” he added.

Juliane Ineichen, SDC deputy director for Southern Africa, spoke during the launch in Lilongwe and noted that Switzerland expects to see changes in the lives of smallholder farmers with specific needs and requirements who are facing all kinds of challenges while producing crops and providing food; as well as in institutions and policies providing enabling conditions for smallholder farmers to improve their situations.

EGSP-II-Inception-and-launch-meeting-Harare-cropped

SIMLESA achievements and challenges in Southern Africa

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The Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative held its annual review and planning meetings for Southern Africa in Chimoio, Mozambique (3-4 September 2012), and Lilongwe, Malawi (6-7 September 2012).

The meeting in Mozambique was attended by 47 participants from the national agriculture research system (NARS) from Sussundenga, Rutanda, Manica, Angonia, and Gorongossa active in SIMLESA-Mozambique, and researchers from the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), CIMMYT, International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) in association with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (QDEEDI), and Agriculture Research Council of South Africa (ARC-SA). It was opened by Feliciano Mazuze on behalf of the director general of Instituto de Investigaçao Agraria Mozambique (IIAM), and praised by John Dixon, ACIAR principal regional coordinator and research program manager, who congratulated the SIMLESA team on the promising achievements to date.

The participants had the opportunity to attend site-specific presentations by NARS partners and discuss new partnerships with the private sector and NGOs willing to join SIMLESA. These new partners include Dengo Commercial, Associação dos Produtores de Oleaginosas (IDEAA-CA), and Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica (ISPM). They agreed on expanding SIMLESA activities in new communities in line with the SIMLESA target of reaching out to 100,000 farmers within 10 years. The meeting was concluded with presentation of certificates of participation to extension staff and IP members who had participated in the training facilitated by ARC-SA in Chimoio, Mozambique.

The Malawi meeting was attended by 36 NARS officials from Kasungu, Mitundu, Balaka, Ntcheu, Salima, and Mchinji active in SIMLESA-Malawi, and researchers from CIMMYT, QAAFI in association with QDEEDI, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), ARC-SA, Malawi Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp), Bunda College of Agriculture, and CPM Agri-Enterprises. Mackson Banda, program steering committee member, expressed satisfaction with the levels of achievements within SIMLESA-Malawi during his opening speech, as significant improvements have been achieved in program implementation and data generation since the last in-country review and planning meeting. The meeting consisted of presentations on adoption survey findings, on-station trial results, and conservation agriculture. The participants agreed that scaling out the initiatives and the innovation platforms engagement remain to be the key challenges. To address some of the issues, ASWAp agreed to include farmers participating in SIMLESA in the government-initiated subsidy program.

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Maize traveling seminar for high-level officials in Nepal

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Picture1The Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) led by CIMMYT, in close partnership with the the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and the Department of Agriculture (DoA) jointly organized a five-day Maize Traveling Seminar for high-level officials in the hills of Nepal during 2-6 September 2012. The purpose of the seminar was to offer policy makers firsthand information on the status of maize varietal development, seed multiplication, marketing, technology dissemination, and the HMRP’s efforts to improve food security and livelihoods of the resource-poor and disadvantaged farmers in the hills of the country. The seminar was attended by 25 officials from the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ministry of Agriculture and Development (MoAD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), NARC, National Seed Board (NSB), DoA, donors (SDC and USAID), NGOs, private sector, and the media.

At the beginning of the seminar, the newly-established Ganesh Himal community-managed seed company from the mid-hill District of Dhading was inaugurated. Yamuna Ghale, senior program officer and SDC representative stressed its importance for the region: “The more than four tons of improved seed this company is expected to produce and sell to neighboring districts will help to increase the seed replacement rate in the area with resulting increases in productivity this year. This approach needs to be replicated in other hill areas of the country.” The participants then visited the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) in Rampur, Chitwan, where they observed varietal improvement and maintenance and source seed production activities. NMRP coordinator K.B. Koirala presented on the current status, priorities, and challenges of maize research and seed production in Nepal. He highlighted that the area under maize source seed production and the quality of the seed have been significantly improved, and that NMRP and other HMRP partners had reached thousands of resource-poor farmers in their respective command areas.

During the rest of the traveling seminar, participants visited HMRP partners’ activities in the hill districts of Palpa, Syangja, and Kaski, including participatory variety selection (PVS), community-based seed production (CBSP), maize-vegetables inter-cropping, and on-farm trials and demonstrations activities conducted by CBSP groups and cooperatives. In the Manakamana Women Farmers Group of Syangja district, about 45 women members gathered to welcome the participants of the seminar. During interactions with the farmers, they learnt about farmers’ constraints and needs for marketing the seed, improving yields, storage facilities, credits, inputs, training etc. Amy Prevatt, USAID-Nepal representative, expressed her satisfaction with the accomplishments of HMRP and its partners regarding reducing poverty and food insecurity in the hills of Nepal. “I am sure the project will continue supporting you to overcome the marketing constraints and to make your CBSP group stronger and sustainable,” she said. The team and the farmers carried a walk around the village to observe crop conditions in CBSP, PVS, and intercropping trials. The team then headed for the Palpa district to visit the Radha Krishna Women farmers groups and Shiva Sakti maize seed producers group in Chatiwan, which has recently graduated into a cooperative with technical assistance from HMRP and its partners.

The seminar was concluded with a business meeting co-chaired by Tek Bahadur Gurung (NARC director of livestock and fisheries) and Dharma Dutta Baral (deputy director general at DoA under MoAD). During the meeting, participants assessed the effectiveness of the seminar; most of them expressed their satisfaction over its achievements, shared recommendations for further improvement, and suggested that the seminar be conducted annually during the main maize season. “The seminar provided good information that can only be appreciated by observing it at the field level,” said Baral. Gurung summed up the meeting by thanking the seminar organizers and stating that “the NARC and the MoAD are proud of the close partnership we have maintained with CIMMYT over the past 27 years. Events like the traveling seminar give us the opportunity to witness some of the fruitful results of this partnership.”

WEMA prepares for commercial release of new varieties

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Stephen-Mugo-explaining-WEMA-trials-to-Seed-CompanyTwenty-nine drought-tolerant, early maturing, disease-resistant hybrids developed by the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project are getting ready to be released, a huge success for WEMA and all its stakeholders. “The 29 hybrids advanced to national performance trials is a record release by an entity in Africa in all times. These high performing hybrids yield 20–35 % more grain under moderate drought compared to 2008 commercially available hybrids,” said Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT principal scientist and co-chair of the WEMA Product Development Team. “Let us seize the technological opportunities that are there to boost productivity and people’s welfare,” he added. The white hybrids resistant to stem borers, maize weevils, and large grain borer, and to diseases such as grey leaf spot, northern leaf blight, and maize streak virus will complement other drought tolerant hybrids developed and released by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) initiative. These first WEMA hybrids were developed from CIMMYT’s drought tolerant germplasm accelerated using the doubled haploid technology from the Monsanto platform.

Moderate drought is a major production constraint for small-scale farmers in Africa who rely on rainfed agriculture, and this rapid progress is thus great news for African farmers. WEMA stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, and South Africa met in Nairobi, Kenya, during 10-13 September 2012 for the WEMA Project Second Regional Stakeholders and Seed Company Meetings organized by CIMMYT, Monsanto, and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) to discuss the project. Denis Kyetere, AATF executive director and executive advisory board member, explained that WEMA is a public-private partnership with the goal of developing and deploying royalty-free African drought-tolerant and insect-pest resistant climate change ready maize. Wilson Songa, Kenya’s Agriculture Secretary and the chief guest at the meetings, noted that Africa’s agriculture must be competitive and must ensure that productivity is meeting the continent’s needs. This can be achieved by advancing the cause of science and technology in the midst of climate change, an approach taken by WEMA and appreciated by Ephraim Mukisira, WEMA executive advisory board member and the director of Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). “We in the agricultural sector must strive to cut the hunger and improve the welfare of thousands who rely on agriculture. We would like to see the expansion of maize production area but, more importantly, maize productivity. We must embrace science and technology to achieve these goals,” said Mukisira.

According to Sylvester Oikeh, WEMA project manager, the first conventionally bred hybrid seeds will be available in 2014 to farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, and in 2015 to farmers in Mozambique and Tanzania. Reiterating Monsanto’s excitement and commitment to WEMA, Kinyua MMbijjewe, Monsanto’s Africa Corporate Affairs manager, warned that Africa cannot afford to rely on maize imports: “Africa should strive to be self-reliant in maize production. Those areas suitable for maize production should be made more robust through the adoption of appropriate technologies.”

The stakeholders later visited WEMA trials at KARI-Kiboko. They were impressed by the performance of the varieties on display in the demonstration plots, as many have outperformed some of the best local hybrid checks on the market. After seeing the trial fields, seed companies from Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa expressed their readiness to take up the promising varieties for commercialization, noting that it is a great business opportunity. According to Norah Olembo, Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum executive director, rapid release of the varieties to the farmers is also critical for improving productivity, food security, and livelihoods, considering that 75 % of agricultural land in sub-Saharan Africa is drought prone.

Honorable Casimiro Pedro Sacadura Huate, Mozambican Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Commission on Agriculture, Rural Development, Economic Architecture and Services, assured the project implementers of the government’s support. His counterpart from Uganda, Honorable Binta Lukumu, member of the Parliamentary Standards Committee on Agriculture, promised to promote the project in Uganda and urged the project implementers to bring on board other members of parliament in WEMA countries to help them understand and champion the course of the project and argue for favorable decisions in their respective countries.

CIMMYT “Open Door”: Valuable knowledge resource

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DSC_3314On 21 September 2012, CIMMYT-El Batán opened its doors to 280 students, accompanied by their professors, from 14 Mexican universities for the 6th “Open Door” event. This year, students visited the wheat and maize programs, conservation agriculture demonstration plots, the germplasm bank, and biotechnology and cereal laboratories.

Initiated by CIMMYT knowledge management and training specialist Petr Kosina in 2007, the “Open Door” event aims to give Mexican students an overview of CIMMYT activities and to help them understand how CIMMYT’s work can influence their studies and future careers. The students participating in the 2012 event appreciated the activities, as Grecia Daniela Ruiz from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Salvatierra, Guanajuato, said: “We haven’t slept much, yet being here is so exciting. Every place we toured provided me with new experiences. As I continue to learn in the field and in the lab, my mind changes for good. CIMMYT is inspiring.”

Innovation, the use of organic fertilizer and other natural products to preserve the soil, avoiding chemical contamination, and working with farmers in sustainable ways were among the topics most discussed by the students, especially those from the newly opened program on sustainable agricultural technology in Michoacán and from the engineering on sustainable agricultural innovation program in Guanajuato. “I would like to do innovative work to reduce contamination and promote sustainable crops which are less harmful to the soil and people,” said Ericka Yazmín Rivera from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Los Reyes, Michoacán. Víctor Octavio Villanueva, a recently graduated agronomist currently teaching agronomy, added: “What I like most is that CIMMYT works with many disciplines and has lots of researchers. They conduct their experiments in the lab and in the field. CIMMYT’s germplasm bank is also impressive. I wish I had visited the Center when I was a student.” The students also appreciated the connection between research and development. Ericka Yazmín Rivera noted: “CIMMYT’s work may seem to be focused on farmers, but in the end it reaches beyond farming as the world experiences food scarcity.”

DSC_3322Ma. de Lourdes de la Isla, emeritus researcher and professor at Colegio de Postgraduados (CP), sent a thank-you letter to the CIMMYT Training Office, saying the event“provided a very valuable source of knowledge.” She also praised the professionalism of the organizers and presenters. Special thanks to all the presenters, and to Daniela Flores Castillo and Norma Hernández for coordinating the logistics.

Partners meet in Ethiopia to launch Adoption Pathways

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The first planning and inception meeting of the ‘Identifying socioeconomic constraints to and incentives for faster technology adoption: Pathways to sustainable intensification in Eastern and Southern Africa’ (Adoption Pathways project) took place at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during 13-15 September 2012. The meeting was attended by over 25 participants from 5 universities and research institutes (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique), international partner universities (University of Queensland, Australia, and Norwegian University of Life Sciences), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), CIMMYT, Australian International Food Security Center (AIFSC), Australian Center for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), and resource persons from US universities.

The Adoption Pathways project is a continuation of a fruitful partnership between ACIAR and African researchers which began under the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative led by CIMMYT. It is funded by the newly established AIFSC, which is housed in ACIAR and whose mission is to “accelerate demand-driven research, delivery and adoption of innovations to improve food security.”

The project focuses on the socioeconomic, policy, institutional, risk, and agro-climatic constraints and/or incentives that affect farmers’ technology-adoption behavior. Building on the success of SIMLESA, the Adoption Pathways project will systematically collect and analyze household, plot, and village level data from sentinel villages representing maizelegume based farming systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. Data collected from the sentinel villages will help monitor longterm trends and development changes, and fill the knowledge gaps in designing programs and policies that accelerate technology adoption, stimulate productivity growth, and lead to sustainable agricultural intensification pathways. The planned activities will be implemented in close collaboration with the SIMLESA team to ensure that the knowledge and outputs generated by this project will help bridge the gap between agricultural research and adoption of research outputs. Bronnie Anderson-Smith, AIFSC executive officer, and John Dixon, ACIAR senior adviser/research program manager, highlighted the unique opportunity provided by the project to contribute towards three core strategic focal areas of AIFSC: access to food; education, training, and gender research; and building resilient farming systems.

Throughout the meeting, project participants became familiar with methodological innovations in adoption and impact analysis, gender integration in household level data collection, modeling approaches to determine vulnerability and risk management strategies, conducting risk experiments, and developing econometric and economy-wide models to estimate the impact of technology adoption.

During the closing session, Lisa Filipetto, the Australian Ambassador to Ethiopia, emphasized the important role economists play in integrating the elements of marketing, value-chain analysis, and income generation in technology adoption. “Participants should get involved in policy dialogue in their respective countries so that the ‘adoption pathways’ lead to outcomes and impacts,” she said, adding that “this meeting symbolizes the beginning of the start of a pioneering partnership between AIFSC, CIMMYT, and other national and international partners.”

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CIMMYT at the 1st Agro-biodiversity and Agro-products Fair

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2012-09-08-15.22.26National Service Seed Inspection and Certification (SNICS) and National Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SINAREFI) organized the first Agro-biodiversity and Agroproducts Fair in Xochitla Ecological Park, Tepozotlan, Mexico, during 7-8 September 2012, to promote conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of crop species which originated in Mexico (maize, squash, bean, avocado, tejocote, poinsettia, and vanilla). Production techniques, crop diversity, biodiversity, handicraft, agro-industrial processing, and culinary products were demonstrated to a large audience of farmers, educators, private entrepreneurs, policy-makers, donors, and international institutions representatives.

2012-09-08-15.30.06CIMMYT participated in the fair through its Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) initiative under the Genetic Resources Program. Martha Willcox (SeeD maize phenotyping coordinator) and Carolina Saint Pierre (SeeD wheat phenotyping coordinator) presented maize and wheat collections from the CIMMYT genebank and a poster prepared by Paulina GonzĂĄlez and Bibiana Espinosa from the germplasm bank emphasizing the importance of seed conservation and its long-term benefits for humanity. CIMMYT team was also represented by Isabel Peña, Institutional Relations Head, who provided visitors with information on CIMMYT. The CIMMYT booth was visited by many students, professors, and farmers. The students and professors expressed a particular interest in CIMMYT’s publications on maize and wheat diseases, conservation agriculture, the SeeD initiative, breeding for drought and low nitrogen tolerance, breeding of native maize (criollos), and grain storage techniques. Farmers were mostly interested in CIMMYT maize collections samples. They also shared their experience working with different types of maize.

The Fair’s program included many interesting presentations. SINAREFI highlighted their conservation networks including custodian farmers of native maize in the states of Sinaloa and Oaxaca. The farmers brought maize ears to demonstrate maize races they produce and maintain on their farms, and discussed the advantages of the dynamic on-site conservation system which allows for farmer selection and adaptation to changing environments. Other members of the agricultural research community were present at the Fair to discuss their recent research activities and demonstrate their products.

The Fair provided opportunities for interaction with local farmers and students from different parts of Mexico, and demonstrated various agro-products and sustainable technologies. CIMMYT’s participation raised public awareness of CIMMYT’s work and created a closer relationship with SNICS and SINAREFI.

Wheat community meets in Afghanistan for 2nd ARIA-CIMMYT wheat workshop

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Bringing together Afghanistan’s wheat stakeholders, the second ARIA-CIMMYT wheat workshop was held during 01-03 September 2012 on the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) campus. This year the workshop focused on strengthening agronomy and technology delivery. It was attended by a total of 50 participants from organizations including the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA); the MAIL Department of Extension and Agricultural Development; the MAIL Improving Agricultural Inputs Delivery System (IAIDS) project; the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and NGOs Joint Development Associates International (JDA), SolidaritĂ©s International (SI), Norwegian Project Office/Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (NPO/ RRAA), and the Afghan Women’s Resource Center (AWRC). R.P. Singh, former Principal Investigator in Agronomy with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s All India Coordinated Wheat Improvement Project, served as the resource person for the event.

The workshop was inaugurated by Noor Ahmad Popal, national wheat sector coordinator, on behalf of the director general of planning, MAIL. Popal stressed the need to give more emphasis to crop production management in general and to that of rainfed wheat in particular, suggesting that the country’s annual wheat needs would be around seven million tons by 2020. Rajiv Sharma, CIMMYT country liaison officer for Afghanistan, welcomed the participants and noted that this workshop would indeed look at crop production management more critically. He also emphasized the need for an efficient varietal release process, as new release proposals had been delayed in the recent past.

Over the three days, the workshop included presentations of wheat research results by researchers from all of Afghanistan’s wheat research stations. Abdul Latif Rasekh (ARIA head of agronomy) presented the current status of understanding on wheat agronomy in Afghanistan, followed by a presentation from R.P. Singh on imperatives in wheat agronomic research. A joint presentation on demonstration of technologies in farmers’ fields was given by CIMMYT and the NGOs (JDA, SI, NPO/RRAA, and AWRC). On the third day, Singh gave a second talk on “Gains of Green Revolution: Problems and Opportunities”, which attracted a large audience. This final day also saw presentations on the technical program for the 2012- 13 season for the disciplines of crop improvement, agronomy, plant pathology, and technology demonstrations. Qudratulla Soofizada (technical change management specialist, ARIA, MAIL), who recently returned from participation in the 51st All India Wheat & Barley Research Workers’ Meeting proposed a model based on the Indian program that could be adopted in Afghanistan to coordinate wheat research. The workshop made several recommendations, such as initiating varietal evaluation trials by zone from the 2012-13 season onwards. Mohammad Qasem Obaidi, Director of ARIA, expressed great satisfaction on the outcomes of the workshop and hoped to initiate similar workshops for more crops.

Afghanistan’s wheat crop has shown recent signs of revival with a total harvest of slightly over five million tons in the 2011-12 season. Irrigated wheat productivity was comparable to the global average at around 3 tons per hectare, but the lower yield of rainfed wheat, 1.1 tons per hectare, brought the national average yield to around 1.9 tons per hectare. Afghanistan’s import needs are set to fall this year, to around half a million tons for the current marketing season. The country’s community of wheat researchers is now geared up to move further in enabling Afghanistan to harvest enough wheat to achieve selfsufficiency.Group-photo-2nd-wheat-workshop

Feed the Future delegation visits CIMMYT-Bangladesh

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Bangladesh25The CIMMYT team in Bangladesh hosted a highprofile field visit on September 1, 2012, for a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) delegation consisting of Paul Weisenfeld (USAID Assistant to the Administrator for Global Food Security), Deniese Rollins (Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the USAID Asia Bureau), and Richard Green (USAID Bangladesh Mission Director). The purpose of the visit was to rapidly assess the activities of Feed the Future, an initiative supported by the US government, across Southern Bangladesh.

The delegation visited Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) project activity locations and other USAID partners. During the visit to CSISA-BD (a collaboration between CIMMYT, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and World Fish Center), cropping system agronomists Timothy J. Krupnik and Abdul Momin led a presentation jointly developed with Andrew McDonald on CIMMYT’s priority activities in scale-appropriate mechanization to achieve sustainable intensification of cereal-based farming systems. The USAID team appreciated CIMMYT’s emphasis on expanding surface water irrigation to eliminate unproductive fallows in Southern Bangladesh using axial flow pump technology. Additional discussion ensued on improving rainwater productivity using strip-tillage and conservation agriculture; bed-planting to save irrigation costs and mitigate soil arsenic contamination; CIMMYT’s work on labor-saving multi-crop reapers; and CSISA-BD’s emphasis on private sector integration and the promotion of viable business models for agricultural and tillage service providers. Following the presentation, Scott Justice, machinery expert and CIMMYT consultant, led a hands-on demonstration on seederfertilizer drills for strip tillage and raised bed-planters that can be attached to two-wheeled tractors. CIMMYT’s work to increase farmer and service provider adoption of these tools will increase in the future with USAID’s continued support for the CSISA-BD project.

Conservation agriculture in Zambia: less labor and higher yields

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ZambiaTo reduce farm labor, improve soil productivity and crop yields, and contribute towards food security of farming households in the changing climate environment, CIMMYT, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Zambian Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) introduced and expanded conservation agriculture (CA) in Zambia. The activities are implemented under the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume based Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern Province of Zambia (SIMLEZA) project funded by USAID.

CA entails reduced or no tillage systems, keeping crop residue on the soil surface as mulch, and using crop rotation. It increases the infiltration of water in the soil and thus reduces soil erosion and surface run-off of water that is desperately needed for plant production. This is a crucial change in regions like Zambia’s Eastern Province, where most smallholder farmers engage in the traditional ridge and furrow farming and planting maize in monocropping. While ridging was once promoted as a measure against erosion and high intensity rainfall, it now shows its drawbacks: ridge preparation, mostly done by women and children, is long, tedious, and difficult as most farmers use hoes. Furthermore, farm productivity in Eastern Zambia is already generally low due to increasingly erratic rainfall, low fertilizer use, soil degradation, pests and diseases in the monocropped maize, and weeds, which leads to yields too low to sustain households’ food requirements from one harvest to the next. Crop rotation and diversification help farmers arrest the spread of disease and reduce the risk of crop failure. In addition, they enable farmers to grow cereals and legumes, a source of cash and food crops to boost household incomes.

To address these issues, CIMMYT organized community meetings to raise awareness on CA and conducted training sessions for extension officers and farmers to build knowledge, capacity, and skills. Facilitators from CIMMYT and IITA led a hands-on training for extension officers in November 2011. The extension officers then went on to train farmers in their communities and facilitated the establishment of demonstration plots, where they showcased successful examples of CA systems. The demonstration plots serve as learning centers for farmers in each community. Farmers also have a chance to share information on CA through farmer-to-farmer exchange visits, field days, and community meetings.

Maren Tembo, who hosts a demonstration plot in the Mangena community in Chipata District, is excited about this new technology: “The practice demands less labor, which enables me to grow other crops such as groundnuts, tobacco, and cotton. I’m looking forward to earning additional income from these crops to supplement my current household budget.” Another farmer from the district, Mulenga Zulu, has also benefitted from the project. “My crop shows greater yields than before. I anticipate higher profits as a result of applying CA on my farm,” he says. Like Tembo, he is also happy about the reduced labor demands.

Menkir-and-group-IITA-Training-Aug-2012_JohnMacRobertHaving experienced CA, both Tembo and Zulu hope that more farmers will adopt the practice. “This project should continue so that others can learn from us that we do things differently now,” she added. Learning about CA has enabled Tembo to lessen the challenges her family faces, especially the tedious labor in preparing the field. Zulu is proud to see that other farmers admire what they see on his farm.

The future of the project is promising: with testimonies from fellow farmers, assistance from dedicated extension workers, and community media broadcasts, more farmers in the neighboring districts are bound to pick up the practice. Besides higher yields for less work, there is an added long-term bonus for the farmers: their interaction with service providers, initiated through the project, will improve their market access for both farm inputs and outputs.