Two members of the new CGIAR Consortium Board, Lynn Haight and Carl Hausmann, visited El Batán during 06-07 May 2010 to meet CIMMYT staff and learn more about the center’s work and culture. Accompanied by CIMMYT Board Chair Julio Berdegué, they toured the facilities and attended general presentations on CIMMYT and on the center’s recently submitted proposals for CG mega programs on maize and wheat. Both said they were happy to visit CIMMYT and impressed with the mega programs.

“Knowing the quality of the personnel on the front line makes me doubly pleased to be a new member of the Board and to be involved in this crucial mission for mankind,” said Hausmann. “I liked the way the (mega) programs were positioned to respond to the global need to raise productivity in a more sustainable way, given the environmental and climate constraints the world faces.”

Haight expressed her enthusiasm for the rigor and passion she encountered, and said that science would be at the center of the new Consortium. “The CG system cannot be fully appreciated without involvement with the scientists and in the centers; and all of us outside the centers should never forget that.”

Formerly, Haight was the Chair of Forester Holdings Europe, an insurance company, and is director/chief operating and finance officer of Foresters US. She also served until recently as Board of Trustees Chair for the World Agroforestry Centre. Hausmann has more than 30 years of experience in the agriculture processing sector, having worked in Africa, South America, Europe, and North America. He is transitioning into a new role as managing director for global government and corporate affairs at Bunge North America. Welcome, Lynn and Carl!

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Soil Science Society (SSSA) are offering presenters a new way to share their work. Starting 04 May 2010, these organizations will accept virtual poster submissions from those who are unable to physically attend meetings and events.

A virtual poster is a PDF file of the presentation that is submitted electronically and presented live over the internet. This submission option is available to anyone residing in and a citizen of a country outside of the USA, Mexico, or Canada.

The first event that will accept virtual posters will be the 2010 International Annual Meetings for ASA, CSSA, and SSSA. The meetings will be held in Long Beach, California, from 31 October to 04 November and will include more than 2,800 attendees. For more information, visit www.acsmeetings.org.

Two recent conservation agriculture (CA) events in Sonora, Mexico, attracted more than 20 farmers and technicians, and marked the beginning of a new CA technician certification course.

On April 13, the day of the first event, experienced CA farmers shared their knowledge with other farmers who were considering CA adoption. “If you are a good farmer, if you are innovative, you’re not to going to have problems with CA,” said Mayo Félix, who has extensive experience farming with CA. “You have CIMMYT’s support and ours.”

CIMMYT CA experts Jesús Mendoza and Dagoberto Flores led the event, which was the second of what will be a series of monthly CA meeting for local farmers in the Mexican Pacific zone who collaborate with CIMMYT and host CA modules in their land. The expectation is that the meetings will be a venue for farmers to exchange ideas and suggestion to improve their practices. “Conservation agriculture is good and has many advantages,” said farmer Héctor Aguilar, “but we, as farmers, must keep up-to-date on CA.”

Since training and knowledge is key to successful CA adoption, CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program designed a CA technician certification course. The first part of this one-year certification course took place on 22 April at the Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station (CENEB) in Sonora. The day focused on the primary steps for summer crops—such as sorghum and maize—and included topics such as good residue management, proper fertilization, irrigation, weed control, and how to remake beds. Course leaders used a CIMMYT designed multiuse-multipurpose machine to demonstrate these steps; the same machine is used by several farmer unions, such as USPRUSS, UCHC, UCAC, and UCAY, whose representatives were among the certification course attendees.

Bram Govaerts, leader of CA efforts in Mexico, said that at the end of the one-year course participants will take a hands-on exam in a CA plot and will be required to establish two CA modules with their farmer-clients. Those who successfully fulfill these requirements will become CA certified technicians and will have access to CIMMYT facilities, including the long-term plots, which they will be able to use as a training platform.

Attendees agreed that the day was very helpful, especially the machinery demonstrations. The course was coordinated by CIMMYT with assistance from the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock (INIFAP), Mexico’s national wheat marketer’s organization (CONATRIGO), the Patronato for Research and Agricultural Experimentation of the State of Sonora (PIEAES), and the Association of Agriculture Organizations of Southern Sonora ( AOASS), and with support from Fundación Produce Sonora.

Special thanks to CA team members for their help with the events: Jesús Mendoza, Nele Verhulst, Manuel Ruiz, Jesús Gutiérrez, Beatriz Martínez, Juan de Dios Sánchez, Álvaro Cermeño, Luz Paola López, Zita Gallardo, and CENEB superintendent Rodrigo Rascón.

In addition to being part of the basic diet for millions of people, maize plays a role in many other food products and has a diverse array of non-consumption uses, such as for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. To identify what grain is suitable for what purpose requires a series of lab tests and analyses. A similar process is used to identify maize with certain nutritional benefits, such as high levels of pro-vitamin A.

As part of a collaborative research agreement between the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and CIMMYT, a workshop titled “Nutritional and industrial quality of maize” was held at El Batán during 19-24 April. More than 20 experts in breeding, biochemistry, and food technology and physiology from nine Mexican public and private institutions attended the workshop.

During the workshop participants practiced methodologies used in CIMMYT’s lab to analyze the physical and chemical properties (such as protein, starch, carotenes, lysine, tryptophan, grain hardness, and color) that determine the industrial and nutritional quality of maize grain. The group also spent two day working in labs operated by the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP) in the State of Mexico. Under the guidance of INIFAP researcher Gricelda Vásquez, course participants set quality parameters for nixtamal—maize cooked with lime—and tortilla during interactive hands-on sessions.

The workshop introduced participants to new methodologies that will help them meet the demand for germplasm characterization, and it will help ensure the conservation and effective use of germplasm. Because learning is more effective through practice and applicability—which is how this course was structured—participants said that they would enjoy attending more workshops like this one. “All the methodologies we practiced this week will be helpful in strengthening our laboratory and will help ensure the characterization of native materials from collections of our germplasm bank,” said Ángel Jiménez Cordero from the University of Guadalajara.

Seed company participants said they recognize the importance of characterizing materials to set parameters of nutritional and/or industrial quality, and including this information on seed packages. They added that the methodologies used throughout the course will be helpful for further seed characterization.

“It is so gratifying to help train the new generation of researchers in lab methodologies necessary to sustain and provide extra value to maize and its products,” said Natalia Palacios, CIMMYT maize nutrition expert and workshop organizer. “However, perhaps even more gratifying is the strengthening of existing networks and establishing new partnerships with Mexican institutions.”

CIMMYT lab workers also benefited from the workshop, as it gave them the opportunity to present theoretical and practical aspects of seed characterization, and widened many of their perspectives about their work in the laboratory. “Standing in front of a big group was new for us. It was a challenging but enriching experience,” said Aldo Rosales, research assistant. “For those of us working with maize quality, it was a week of a lot of learning and a reminder that we are always gaining new knowledge.”

Thanks to the staff of CIMMYT’s and INIFAP’s maize quality labs, along with those from the training office who helped make this workshop a success. The participating Mexican institutions were INIFAP, Colegio de Postgraduados, Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico, University of Guadalajara (UDG), Tecnológico de Monterrey, Semillas Ceres, ICAMEX (an advanced research institution in Mexico State), CINVESTAV (a postgraduate and research institution), and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (an organization based in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes sustainable agriculture and natural resource management)

The first 7:24-minute video is The Norman Borlaug Legacy. Dr. James traces the path that Dr. Borlaug took to become an icon of agricultural development for poor farmers of the developing countries of the world. His passion and vision helped “to provide bread for a hungry world” while his acknowledgment of the power of biotechnology has contributed to a better appreciation of the technology.

from: http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/normanborlauglegacy/default.asp

On 24 April 2010, roughly 80 farmers and technicians gathered in a maize field surrounded by mountains for a farmers’ field day. The event was held in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico, and was part of an effort to increase the genetic diversity in farmers’ fields and provide them with additional seed selection options.

The day revolved around the introduction of four maize seed varieties—H-318 (INIFAP hybrid), Pool 31 and Pool 32×31 (CIMMYT), and San José (Chapingo University). The seeds are open pollinated varieties and were selected for high yield and high forage to meet the subsistence and livestock feed needs of farmers in central Oaxaca. Humberto Castro García (pictured bottom, right) from the Autonomous University of Chapingo, Oaxaca campus, and event organizer, partnered with local farmers to multiple the seeds, which then went through testing procedures required by Mexican law, and were packaged for distribution and sale.

“The idea is to try and bring more improved diversity to the area,” said Suketoshi Taba (pictured middle photo, far left), head of the CIMMYT maize germplasm bank. “Most farmers here grow for self-consumption with low inputs, so the power of the seed is important.” Mexico is the center of diversity for maize, and Oaxaca is the Mexican state with the most natural maize diversity, he added.

After opening announcements and addresses, García took farmers around the maize plots and introduced each variety to the group, detailing the characteristics, qualities, and differences between each one. All the attendees had received an information sheet that included varietal information such as grain type, plant height, cob length, and flowering period, and many carried these around throughout the presentation to make additional notes. Several also took photos of the varieties.

“I came here because I didn’t know how to make the most of my land or how to obtain better production,” said Severo Mendoza, an attendee who farms one hectare of land in Santiago Apóstol Ocotlán, Oaxaca. “I produce my own food but, with what my land produces, I am not self-sufficient. And since I have no access to technology or knowledge, I have to buy additional food.”

Mendoza’s day ended on a happy note; he not only learned about new available varieties, but he was also one of 13 attendees to receive a free 20-kg bag of seed, enough to plant his hectare of land. These volunteer farmers will plant the seed in May and will host field demonstrations at the end of the growing season. Eight other farmers chose to purchase bags of seed.

To round out the day, the participants also saw a demonstration on small machinery for husking maize and chopping forage, as well as metal tin storage containers, which are used to store grain without the use of chemicals. The airtight containers force any bugs to crawl to the surface for survival, where they then die from lack of oxygen, efficiently separating the bugs from the grain. The event ended with a delicious lunch and casual socializing.

García will facilitate five other field days in central Oaxaca throughout April and May. Taba and García hope to later visit the fields of the farmers growing the seed to see how the introduced varieties benefit livelihoods and on-field diversity. The event was part of a larger in-situ maize conservation project with farmers in Oaxaca that includes on-farm variety testing, collection of landrace germplasm, and the production and distribution of improved seed and landraces.

An improved tool can play a key role in distinguishing open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs) and ensuring that seed being sold is genuine. DNA fingerprinting, also referred to as DNA profiling, enables one maize variety to be distinguished from another using molecular markers. It is an important way to help ensure that only certified seed enters the market, and to identify individuals or companies that sell fake seed.

A team of CIMMYT scientists has tested a new technique to differentiate OPVs using a more costefficient method of DNA fingerprinting. Their work was published in Crop Science 50: 1-11, and is accessible at the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project website.

In January 2010, 61 samples of the OPV ZM 521 taken from various seed lots in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe underwent the new cost-efficient DNA fingerprinting at Proteios, a laboratory in South Africa. Peter Setimela, maize breeder, and John MacRobert, seed systems specialist, presented the results of these tests to the Zimbabwe Emergency Agricultural Input Project (ZEAIP), the World Bank, and SeedCo Ltd., a seed company in Zimbabwe. ZEIAIP wants to ensure that the seed purchased for relief is genetically pure and genuine, which is also of interested to the World Bank, as it supports seed relief efforts in the country and tries to reduce the dissemination of fake seed.

Using this methodology, the scientists were able to conclusively identify the OPVs, thus ensuring that the correct high-yielding seed of locally-adapted varieties could reach the farmers. Results from the fingerprinting also determined, however, that one hybrid had been mislabeled as ZM521. If this seed had been planted, it would have yielded much lower than expected, and is just one example of the importance of seed purity testing.

In Africa, many farmers grow OPVs rather than hybrid varieties because the seed can be saved and replanted without the yield loss associated with the replanting of hybrid maize seed. Compared to hybrids, OPVs are less uniform and it is easier for seed companies to sell fake or non-certified seed.

Staff and other members of the CIMMYT community gathered near the library entrance in El Batán on 22 April 2010 for a ceremony to bid fond farewell to volunteer and information specialist, John Woolston, who is retiring and returning to Canada on 24 April after 18 years at CIMMYT. The ceremony included the formal renaming of the library as the “John E. Woolston International Library,” in honor of Woolston’s many contributions to the center’s work and to the greater CIMMYT community. A plaque with the new name is now located at the library’s entrance and carries special words chosen by Woolston that reflect the importance of publishing and sharing information: “Reading records of past research could inspire your next big idea.”

Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for support services, recounted highlights of Woolston’s career, which included work as director of the division of scientific and technical information at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, and as vicepresident, information programs, at the International Development Research Center (IDRC), in Ottawa, Canada. “From what I can gather, John has already retired three times previously,” Ferguson said. “So I’m not sure where this next move is going to take him.” He mentioned Woolston’s legacy at CIMMYT, particularly the databases of publications on CIMMYT wheat cultivars (IWIS-Bib), of staff journal articles, of pedigrees of CWANA region wheat cultivars, and of doctoral theses supervised by CIMMYT staff.

Deputy director general for research and partnerships, Marianne Bänziger, referred to Woolston’s qualities as a caring human being who provided generous support to visiting scientists and training course participants, including additional assistance for some when critical moments of personal crises called for it. “I have known John for 18 years and have enjoyed and treasured our friendship,” she said. Acting head of corporate communications, Mike Listman, read special messages from Edith Hesse, former head of the CIMMYT library, and from Clive James, former CIMMYT deputy director general, both of whom were instrumental in Woolston’s coming to CIMMYT and who interacted with him over the years. Everyone recalled Woolston’s Tuesday evening Texcoco dinner outings with new staff and visitors, which practically became an institutional tradition. On behalf of the global wheat program, associate director Etienne Duveiller presented Woolston with a lovely shirt.

Upon unveiling the library name plaque, Woolston was clearly moved and spoke of his surprise. “As far as I know, the only persons who have had parts of these buildings named after them are Norman Borlaug, Edwin Wellhausen, and Glenn Anderson*, so I’m extremely honored and humbled to be in such hallowed company!”

Bänziger expressed the shared sentiments of many when she said how much the CIMMYT community would miss Woolston. “Though you’ll be a bit distant from us, we hope you’ll still keep in touch and support our work,” she said.

All the best from your dear friends and colleagues, John!

*Editor’s note: Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa also has a seminar room at El Batán named after him.

Would you store grain in a metal can? That was the question posed during a humorous skit presented at a stakeholders’ workshop in Homa Bay, Kenya. The can in question is the metal silo and the performance was part of an awareness exercise organized by the Catholic Diocese of Homa Bay. The diocese partners with CIMMYT in the Effective Grain Storage project, where CIMMYT previously facilitated the training of artisans. The project has since continued its work on improved grain storage and creating awareness about the metal silo.

Forty-five participants attended the April 2010 metal silo workshop, including government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, and artisans, as well as Tadele Tefera, Effective Grain Storage project coordinator, and Judie-Lynn Rabar, CIMMYT-Kenya science writer/editor. Also present were representatives of a local bank, who spoke about the micro-finance opportunities available for agricultural produce, including the metal silo.

The metal silo is gradually gaining ground in the Homa Bay area as a viable postharvest storage technique. This was evident from responses and reactions by both users and artisans. Take the case of Sister Barbara Okomo, the principal of St. Theresa’s Girls’ Secondary School. She is an ardent supporter of and advocate for the metal silo as a storage facility for grain, having used them for over five years.

“With other storage methods, we would lose up to 90% of our stored grain—now we lose nothing,” she said. Sister Okomo has 10 silos at her school to store grain used to feed the students throughout the year. In her opinion, local craftsmen would benefit from formal training on fabrication of the metal silo.

Nicholas Omondi is one beneficiary of the training for artisans that was facilitated by CIMMYT. Despite never having heard of metal silos before CIMMYT’s involvement, he is glad that the diocese selected him for training. Apart from his work as a metal smith, he also grows maize on a one-acre plot of land, mainly for subsistence. “I trained in metal work, but my returns were very low. Now that I am trained in making silos, my income has almost tripled,” he said, adding that he advises small-scale farmers, like himself, to try using the silo and assures them that they will not regret it.

During the three day of ceremonies and celebration in Ciudad Obregón, northern Mexico, to commemorate the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, there was one special event that bore witness to the great man’s continued capacity to bring people together. In the “Dr. Ernesto Samayoa” auditorium on 24 March 2010, some 70 former friends and associates of Borlaug and of CIMMYT gathered for an entire afternoon to share personal reminiscences about work and other interactions with Borlaug.

Global wheat program director Hans Braun led off with a presentation on Borlaug’s life, on CIMMYT’s inception tracing back to Borlaug’s work, and on the center’s recent structure. After that, the microphone was passed around to anyone who wished to speak, giving rise to personal accounts of Borlaug’s intensity, his dedication to his work and to farmers, and his ability to inspire those around him to work as hard as he did.

“You couldn’t be around Norm without being involved. He was a great teacher and he was always there and available,” remembered Willie McCuistion, adding that Norm was so driven that he would keep everyone out in the field until dark every night.

All the participants had been associated with CIMMYT in some way during their careers, but subsequent professional pursuits had led most on diverging pathways. What brought them together on that afternoon was their affection and reverence for Borlaug. “The feeling was that of a reunion of old friends who need more reasons to see each other on a regular basis,” said CIMMYT intern Mary Attaway, who filmed the testimonials.

This was precisely the intention of former CIMMYT wheat scientist Art Klatt, who served as associate director of the CIMMYT wheat program in the 1980s and led much of the investigative work to locate old center and Borlaug associates for the Obregón gathering. “I hope to start a database or web page that would help these folks stay in touch,” said Klatt, who now works in Oklahoma State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

The three days of memorial events surrounding the gathering on 24 March included a “get reacquainted” welcome cocktail, several field tours, a special Obregón “carne asada” (barbecue), and culminated in the renaming of the Obregón experiment station in Borlaug’s honor and the unveiling by his daughter, Jeannie Borlaug Laube, of a Borlaug statue and monument (see CIMMYT Informa 1695). To view a video of the full remembrance event, visit: http://tiny.cc/c1zg1.