CIMMYT-El Batán hosted 10 students from Japan’s Yokohama City University (YCU) from September 12-22, in a visit organized by Tomohiro Ban, formerly a CIMMYT senior scientist and leader of the Japan- CIMMYT Fusarium head blight project, currently a professor in the Division of Plant Genetic Resource Science at YCU. The program included visits to Texcoco, Teotihuacán, and Xochimilco, as well as numerous educational presentations and tours.

For many of the students—8 are undergraduates enrolled in general education courses— CIMMYT provided their first introduction to genetics, breeding, and other aspects of agricultural research. Equally important, the students experienced a new culture and language which helped them conceptualize how big picture issues—such as global food supplies, global warming, and international standards— cross country lines.

“Many of the students have not decided what to study, and this experience will influence their education choices,” said Sayaka Niwa, a Masters student studying wheat breeding. Niwa, who has used CIMMYT seeds in her research, said she especially enjoyed the group’s visit to Toluca and the opportunity to see fields where research data originates.

Jo Taguchi, a first-year Masters student, cited Javier Peña’s presentation on wheat quality as one of his favorite events. Since Taguchi studies durum wheat and previously lived in Mexico, he found the opportunity to visit CIMMYT doubly appealing.

In a visit organized with the help of Mexican Senator Javier Castelo Parada, CIMMYT received a delegation comprising Senator Castelo, Deputy Sergio Sandoval Paredes, and staff in representation of several other federal legislators on 24 September 2008. As one result, Javier Peña, Kevin Pixley, and Bram Govaerts were invited to describe CIMMYT’s work to nine deputies, two senators, eight persons representing deputies, and another eight persons (27 in all) in a special, three-hour working session at the Mexican Chamber of Deputies on 01 October. Among other things, this may result in a return visit to CIMMYT by a larger group of legislators in the near future and stronger support from Mexico for the center’s work.

More than 200 Mexican university students visited El Batán on 19 September 2008. They came from nine universities–some from as far away as Saltillo, Coahuila, from the Autonomous Agrarian University Antonio Narro, while others traveled from Puebla, Hidalgo, and Querétaro very early on the day of the event.

“The day was designed to present CIMMYT’s research and the global scope of its work to students in plant breeding, molecular biology, and agriculture,” said Petr Kosina, knowledge sharing and capacity building coordinator at CIMMYT. “We want to show students real examples of how CIMMYT and Mexico are contributing to reducing poverty and hunger and impacting on the livelihoods of poor farmers around the world— hopefully this will be motivating for them.”

“I’ve realized the important role CIMMYT play as an international facilitator in response to the need to feed people…” said Judith Ortiz Martínez, a rural development student at the Colegio de Postgraduados. “Up until now, we’ve only had partial information [from our studies] and today after seeing the presentations we had lots of questions but the schedule was very tight. But I think today has been very enriching for us as students.

Oscar Raúl Manilla Villa, a hydroscience student, also from the Colegio de Postgraduados said: “Despite all the research to increase productivity and improve maize and wheat varieties, we still have 800,000 people who are hungry…So there’s more work to be done.”

During 01-05 September 2008, CIMMYT El Batán hosted the ICARDA-CIMMYT wheat improvement program (ICWIP) meetings for Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA). Representatives from the two centers, as well as from regional offices, attended the meetings and discussed the joint research work plan. On Tuesday, the group visited CIMMYT’s Toluca experiment station, and on Friday they had a tour of El Batán facilities.

The ultimate aim of the meeting and project is to provide better products for national agricultural research systems. “CWANA is a highly diverse region where wheat production is constrained by most abiotic and biotic stresses,” said Hans Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. “The region also includes countries with the highest per capita wheat consumption in the world. Wheat production is of immediate concern for food security.”

“We are looking for ways to complement each other,” said Richard Brettell, director for Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management at ICARDA. “For instance, ICARDA has a strong insect group and CIMMYT is strong in physiology. As well, joint projects are more attractive to donors.” The group identified priority traits for germplasm improvement. Scientists also split up into ‘working groups’ to iron out the nitty-gritty details of shared projects, said Maarten van Ginkel, Deputy Director General for Research at ICARDA, who felt the meetings had been a great success.

From 18 August to 4 September 2008, 40 maize breeders drawn from national agricultural research systems and private seed companies are attending a training workshop targeted at the use of modern maize breeding techniques.

The workshop is jointly organized by CIMMYT, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) through cofunding by the DTMA, QPM-D and NSIMA projects. The participants were selected from among applicants in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The training will mainly take place at CIMMYT offices in Nairobi with visits to Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) laboratory and CIMMYT-KARI’s stress screening field sites at Kiboko and Embu.

The thematic and interactive training course comprises lectures, demonstrations, and discussions. Group work and field and laboratory visits will cover theoretical and practical aspects of maize breeding, including both classical and advanced technologies, for topics such as: breeding maize for increased yield and tolerance to stresses (drought, insect pests, diseases, Striga weed, low nitrogen); improving maize nutritional quality; use of advanced technologies in maize breeding, including marker assisted selection and doubled haploids; and evaluation and release of improved maize varieties, including seed production. Complementary to this, the participants will be introduced to biometric and information technology tools, including those developed by CIMMYT: Fieldbook, Maize Finder, and Seed Book. During the “networking and training” session, participants will receive information on support for regional and sub-regional maize breeding initiatives and for training.

While opening the course, CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director Marianne Bänziger challenged the breeders to deliver on the promise of increased yields to farmers through breeding for improved resistance and tolerance to the prevailing stresses: “Your work determines the future; the results will be seen in years to come. I challenge you to make history by developing maize varieties that will have better adoption rates and improve the livelihoods of Africa’s farmers.” Participants are keen to rise to the challenge. “To increase farmer adoption of improved maize varieties, breeders have to go an extra mile; private seed companies should establish an extension department that will promote the new varieties through demonstrations to farmers,” said y Olumide Ibikunle of Premier Seed Company, Nigeria. Saleem Esmail of Western Seed Company, Kenya, added: “For a new maize variety to be well promoted and adopted, it needs to be completely outstanding from other varieties, and if a seed company is keen on remaining profitable then it has to invest in promoting it.”

The course is coordinated by CIMMYT Maize Breeder Cosmos Magorokosho, assisted by resource persons from CIMMYT, IITA, KARI, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and private seed companies. The CIMMYT team comprises Marianne Bänziger, Alpha Diallo, Stephen Mugo, Dan Makumbi, Hugo De Groote, Fred Kanampiu, John MacRobert, Bindi Vivek, and Peter Setimela. The IITA team includes Abebe Menkir, Serah Hearne and Baffour Badu-Apraku. AGRA’s contribution is by Jane Ininda. Javier Betran of Syngenta Europe will give insights into the private sector perspectives and strategies.

During August 10-20 2008 CIMMYT El Batán is hosting a group of 16 students from Texas A&M University, accompanied by Ronald Cantrell, former Director of the CIMMYT Maize Program and Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and Steve Hague, Professor in Cotton Breeding at A&M’s Faculty of the Soil and Crop Science Department. This is the second time a group of A&M students has come to CIMMYT, following a successful visit in July 2007.

The trip is intended to introduce students to international agricultural research and the CGIAR and develop their understanding of the challenges and opportunities in developing country agricultural systems. Their first two days were spent at El Batán, but their packed schedule also includes trips to CIMMYT’s Toluca and Tlaltizapán experimental stations and interactions with subsistence farmers, as well as visits to Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Animal Research (INIFAP) and their CEVAMEX.

The visitors are enthusiastic about what they’ve seen and agree that their visit has given them a wider perspective on the process of getting improved crops to farmers. “I’ve been very impressed with the diversity here at CIMMYT,” says Payne Burks, an undergraduate student in agronomy who plans to pursue plant breeding. “You have people from all over the world, but they all share the same goals in improving staple crops for the future of our world.” Estela Cardenas, a master’s student in public health, says she is learning a lot. “My background is not in agronomy so I’m taking the nutrition side, for example the work on vitamin A, tryptophan, and so on, and relating it to my studies. It’s very relevant to solving world hunger.”

Tim Merta is studying agronomy but already sees himself as a farmer “It’s neat to see all the people behind the scenes—it’s given me more of an appreciation because I know the efforts that have gone into what we’re growing,” he says. “I’m more willing now for our government to give more funding.”

On 15 August 2008, 40 agrobiotechnology students from the Universidad Tecnológica de Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, Mexico, visited CIMMYT along with three professors. The visit was intended to complement the students’ academic studies in plant genetics and basic crops, and to introduce them to plant biotechnology. Students went on a tour of the germplasm bank, the applied biotechnology lab, and visited field plots. GREU staff Bibiana Espinosa, Principal Research Assistant, Alfredo Serna, Lab Manager, and Marcial Rivas, Principal Field Assistant, facilitated these tours. For the first time during a student visit, and under Serna’s supervision, they also had the opportunity to try some molecular biology techniques in the lab, such as loading gels, pipetting, and taking samples.

Professor Jorge Sevilla Díaz organized the visit for his students and sent a thank-you note on behalf of the group and the director of the faculty of the university saying, “…the students were very impressed by the work the center does, so much so that some asked if it would be possible to establish working partnerships with CIMMYT in the future.” Díaz also attained new information on his area of interest, and he and his students praised the quality of CIMMYT’s publications.

An American Phytopathological Society (APS) Student Travel Award has been established in honor of H. Jesse Dubin, former CIMMYT wheat pathologist.

Dubin has dedicated the award to the Peace Corps because of the significant role that it played in his life and career as a plant pathologist: “My Peace Corps time convinced me that I wanted to continue to do international work, especially in food production.” Dubin joined CIMMYT in 1975 and worked as a pathologist and breeder in Mexico, the Andean Region of South America, and South Asia. By the time of his retirement in 1999, he was Associate Director of CIMMYT’s Wheat Program. The Travel Awards help students with the cost of attending APS Annual Meetings, with preference for those working on diseases of food crops with an international focus. (See http://www.apsnet.org/, under “APS Foundation.”)