Skip to main content

Making purple maize a seed of prosperity for Peruvian farmers

Written by Andrea Carvajal on . Posted in Features.

In Mexico there is an indigenous poem that says, “We are grains of maize from the same cob; we are one root of the same path.” So, it is not surprising that the path of Alicia Medina Hoyos, a researcher with the National Maize Research Program at El Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), began life in a rural community in Cupisnique, Cajamarca, Peru, at 1,800 meters above sea level.

At an early age, she realized the importance of maize as a feature of identity. This prompted her to dedicate her life to contribute to food security through research on starchy maize, soft maize types used for human consumption with 80% starch in their composition.

Medina studied Agronomy at the National University of Cajamarca, where her thesis brought her into contact with Luis Narro, a Peruvian researcher linked to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which she has been associated with ever since.

“This permanent contact has been key to strengthening my capacities to actively participate in the co-creation of better opportunities for producers in Peru and Latin America,” said Medina. Her connection with CIMMYT has helped her to maintain an enriching exchange of knowledge and experiences with researchers such as Terry Molnar, a specialist in native maize, as well as with the more than 130 colleagues who make up the Latin American Maize Network.

It has also provided opportunities to showcase Peruvian agricultural research. In 2022, Peru hosted the XXIV Latin American Maize Meeting, an event jointly organized by CIMMYT and INIA every two years. Medina explained, “The event is a great opportunity to show Cajamarca, producers, organizations, to highlight the best we have, and to promote purple maize.”

Award-winning research

On International Women’s Day in 2019, Medina received an award from the College of Engineers of Peru for the effort, dedicated work, and contribution of engineering to the service of society.

When asked what it meant to receive this award, Medina said, “Research in starchy maize and, in recent years, in purple maize, has taken me to Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Japan, and has given me the satisfaction of receiving awards that motivate me to continue putting research at the service of producers.”

This is without losing sight of the other valuable awards that Medina has received: the Personage of the Bicentennial, awarded in 2021 by the Provincial Municipality of Contumazá, Peru; the compass that Chile gave her in 2021 as recipient of the Strait of Magellan Award for Innovation and Exploration with Global Impact; and the SUMMUM Research Award given by the Summum Awards Advisory Committee in 2019.

Purple maize holds many health benefits due to its high content of anthocyanins and antioxidants. (Photo: Alicia Medina Hoyos/INIA)

Why is purple maize so important?

Purple maize comes from a breed called kulli. The team of researchers led by Medina — who obtained the variety — brought a population of purple maize from Huaraz, Peru, and crossed it with another from Cajamarca. Ten years of breeding gave rise to the INIA 601 maize, characterized by its high yield and high content of anthocyanins and antioxidants that are beneficial to health, cancer prevention, and lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol.

“In 2011 I had the opportunity to go to Japan, followed by working with a team of Japanese experts in Cajamarca,” explained Medina. “There, we started a project that gave more importance to purple maize, not for its production but for its color and therefore anthocyanin content. We saw the characteristic of the color in the husk. In 2013, we determined the amount of anthocyanin in this variety and it turned out that it was higher in the husk than in the cob. That gave us the option to market both parts.”

Medina explains how teamwork with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) laid the foundations so that today, 500 Peruvian producers “who see that there are profits, are convinced, by listening to their testimonies, in dissemination and training events” grow the maize in 12 of the 13 provinces that make up Cajamarca and market a kilo of cob and purple maize bract at $5 USD each.

There is currently high demand for the product in grain, grain flour, whole, dried, chopped and chopped dried forms; transnational companies based in Lima acquire the purple maize to extract the pigment and anthocyanin, and export it to the United States, Japan and Spain. “In fact, there are companies that produce whiskey with purple maize flour from Cajamarca,” Medina added.

In October 2021, a new agricultural campaign began in the Peruvian fields and Medina continues to promote agriculture based on the dream of seeing purple maize become a flagship product of the country, while becoming the engine of agribusiness in the region of Cajamarca, so that producers benefit in a better way, have more income and see the real magnitude of the grain they grow every day.

Cover photo: Medina assesses purple maize in Peru, which she introduced to the country. (Photo: Alicia Medina Hoyos/INIA)

Elite maize seeds handed over to seed sector stakeholders in Nepal

Written by Alison Doody on . Posted in News.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development hands-over diverse maize seed inbred lines acquired by CIMMYT to the National Agricultural Research Council. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Maize is Nepal’s second most important crop for food security. Although the country’s diverse ecology can support maize production throughout the year, maize seeds and other grains, are largely imported each year.

Access to quality maize seed is one of the issues. Almost 85% of Nepalese farmers are unable to access quality certified maize seeds leaving them vulnerable to lower productivity. Traditional seeds, for example, are often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions induced by climate change. Nepal also has low seed replacement rates — around 20% for major cereals, which means that over 80% of farmers are either recycling seeds or use substandard quality seeds for each cropping season.

Over the past four years, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), through Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have been assisting the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and private seed company partners to test market ready and multiple stress tolerant hybrid and synthetic maize varieties at various locations across Nepal and evaluate their suitability for cultivation. These maize varieties have come from CIMMYT’s maize breeding hubs in Mexico, Zimbabwe, Colombia and India as well as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

After over two years of testing and identifying the best performing varieties, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Govinda Prasad Sharma handed over the seeds of selected maize varieties to NARC and seven partner seed companies for further testing, variety registration and seed scale up in Nepal. The handover ceremony took place on August 18, 2022 at the Quality Hybrid Seed Production and Seed Business Management International Training Workshop, which gathered together a diverse range of maize stakeholders from Nepal and South Asia.

These new high-performing, climate-resilient varieties will help Nepal increase their national maize yield, enhancing food security and livelihoods.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development hands over diverse maize seed inbred lines acquired by CIMMYT to one of the private seed company partners of the NSAF project. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Nutritious and climate resilient

The maize seeds include varieties enriched with provitamin A and zinc, aflatoxin tolerant synthetics, white and yellow kernel hybrids, and sweet and popcorn maize varieties. As well as being good for nutrition, the seeds are high yielding. Synthetic varieties have the potential to yield 6-7 metric tons (t) per hectare, while the hybrid varieties may yield over 10t — a significant increase from 3-5t of local seeds.

Climate change resilience is a vital trait for modern crops. Climate change is posing a threat to crops, with traditional varieties often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions. Included in the handover were climate resilient, early maturing seeds which take less than 100 days to mature in the summer season, reducing their exposure to drought. Among the handed over seeds were varieties tolerant to fall armyworm — a devastating pest threatening maize production in Nepal.

Stress tolerant and high yielding varieties suitable for such extreme conditions are needed now more than ever to increase on-farm yield levels. Nepal also needs a vibrant last mile seed delivery system and mechanisms to support and serve under-reached populations, including women and smallholder farmers. Sharma acknowledged CIMMYT’s support in sharing these elite and diverse maize seeds, which will contribute towards the government’s efforts of self-sufficiency in major cereals including maize.

“USAID is pleased to be collaborating with both the Government of Nepal and private sector partners through the NSAF project to enhance maize production and productivity at the farmer level,” said Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID.

“Once the range of maize seeds become widely available in the market, these varieties will play a major role in enhancing the food and nutrition security to millions of farmers who use maize directly or indirectly in the food chain, especially for those living in the hills.”

The exclusive allocation of the new products to partners complements the project team’s efforts to support private seed companies who have recently acquired research and development licenses and can subsequently register varieties under their own brands.

“We are handing over not only seeds and technologies to our partners but also responsibility, so that these varieties can make it to the farmers’ field in the shortest time possible,” said AbduRahman Beshir, NSAF’s seed systems lead at CIMMYT.

This crucial initiation also supports Nepal’s efforts to compete with imports and promote self-sufficiency through the private sector-led hybrid seed industry. Ultimately, farmers will have better access to quality maize seeds and increase crop productivity and income.

Forging collaborative ties from south to south

Written by Andrea Carvajal on . Posted in News.

He Zhonghu presents at the Second International Wheat Congress in Beijing. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

More than 900 experts from 67 countries gathered for the Second International Wheat Congress, which took place from September 12-16 in-person in Beijing and online, to exchange ideas on how to improve the development of the wheat industry around the world, and call for increased global cooperation in the scientific and technological innovation of wheat to guarantee food security.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was honored to be one of the three organizers of this major world-class event, together with the Crop Science Society of China (CSSC) and the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS).

This Congress as part of Wheat Initiative activity was established three years ago after the merger of two important conferences: the International Wheat Genetics Symposium and the International Wheat Conference. On this occasion, with Future Wheat: Resilience and Sustainability as the central theme, key issues included: use of diversity; evolution and germplasm; Triticeae genome structure and functional genomics; breeding and new technologies; crop management under climate change; biotic and abiotic resistance and physiology; and processing quality, nutrition, and human health.

In her capacity as co-host of the congress, Claudia Sadoff, CGIAR Executive Managing Director, stressed that the global partnership between China and CGIAR has been of special importance in strengthening achievements in scientific research.

“The priority is to increase grain yields, disease resistance, climate resilience, and nutritional quality through breeding modernization,” said Sadoff. “This is especially important as we are facing a food system crisis, with wheat at its heart. The global food crisis requires a system approach to stabilize wheat supply.”

Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, reiterated this point, indicating that “meetings like this can be source of concrete proposals for consolidating enabling partnerships that will lead to the enduring transformation of wheat based agri-food systems worldwide”.

What’s next for global wheat?

Asking what’s next is a disturbing question when faced with a crop like wheat that is an important commodity for more than 35% of the world’s population, with global production exceeding 760 million tons in 2020. The same question that Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, seeks to respond to build future resilience.

“It is important that we understand where the risks are in our global food system so that we can respond to and address the impacts,” Bentley explained, while presenting a roadmap for future wheat research and development, where food security and nutrition plays a decisive role taking in consideration the effects of climate change and population growth.

Zhonghu He, CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist and Country Representative for China, said, “Thanks to the fact that this Congress was a hybrid event, there was a large online participation of researchers, students and representatives of entities from developing countries – a fact that reiterates the importance of the work that we have been doing together and can promote even further in the face of the challenges that we face today in terms of conflict, high cost of living, climate change and COVID-19.”

More than 900 experts from 67 countries united to discuss improved collaboration in wheat research and development. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

China and CIMMYT

China and CIMMYT have worked side-by-side on wheat and maize research for the past 40 years in areas such as varietal breeding, genomics research, sustainable farming systems, and training. China is the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, and China has always considered CIMMYT as a strategic win-win partner for wheat research.

These four decades of work are reflected in results, such as the fact that more than 26,000 accessions of wheat preserved in CIMMYT’s genebank were introduced and are stored in China. This has enabled collaborative research on this cereal to add up to 10.7 million tons of grain, worth $3.4 billion USD. It has also enabled more than 200 Chinese scientists and students working in wheat to visit CIMMYT´s global headquarters in Mexico to receive training courses and complete thesis research.

In recognition of the partnership between China and CIMMYT, six wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT germplasm received national awards in China and seven scientists were awarded the China Friendship Award, the highest recognition of international scientists for their contribution to China. In 2016, CIMMYT received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award from China State Council.

The 3rd International Wheat Congress will be held in Australia in 2024.

Nestlé Mexico and CIMMYT expand their collaboration for responsible sourcing through Plan Maíz

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Press releases.

Nestlé and CIMMYT executives at CIMMYT HQ. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

In the framework of National Maize Day, Nestlé Mexico, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), strengthens its commitment to support the development of farmers in Mexico, through the Plan Maíz initiative, which aligned with the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), seeks to boost productivity, increase and improve the practices of regenerative agriculture to positively impact food security, environmental impact and social inclusion of the Mexican fields.

In Mexico, maize is not only a staple food, but also a fundamental component of the gastronomic and cultural heritage and identity of Mexicans. For this reason, since 2017, Nestlé Mexico and CIMMYT signed a collaboration agreement to work together and contribute not only to improve the quality of life of farmers, but also to take care of the resources that produce one of the most important grains for our country, for the world and for the agrifood sector.

The event, Plan Maíz, commitment to regenerative agriculture and sustainability, was attended by Bram Goavaerts, director general of CIMMYT, and Julieta Loaiza, Vice President of Communication and Corporate Affairs of Nestlé Mexico, as well as representatives and managers of both institutions, in order to present progress and ratify the agreements for the future, with the aim of continuing to combine resources and actions for the development of agriculture in Mexico.

“At Nestlé we are committed to the sustainability and development of the Mexican fields. We have more than 90 years of work, commitment and experience in this beautiful country, so we will expand our support for the development and training of farmers to improve their production processes through regenerative agricultural practices for the care of natural resources and food security in Mexico,” said Loaiza.

Govaerts said, “At CIMMYT we are very committed to maize and wheat producers in Mexico, so this Nestlé-CIMMYT alliance allows us to multiply the impact to protect and conserve Mexico’s agricultural resources and strengthen the food security of Mexicans.”

The results of Plan Maíz obtained to date are significant: 400 farmers have benefited by adopting sustainable practices for the production of both maize and wheat, since they attended training and demonstration events that promoted a more sustainable commercial production model.

Thanks to the agreement’s training, the volume of maize and wheat produced grew to a cumulative total volume of more than 193,000 tons of maize and 21,690 tons of wheat. The project impacted more than 9,000 hectares of maize and wheat. In total, and during eight productive cycles, the accumulated number of hectares impacted amounted to more than 19,000, where there is a record of at least the adoption of sustainable practices such as: integral fertility, integral and responsible management of fertilizers and phytosanitary products, among others.

Nestlé has aimed to achieve zero net emissions in its operations by 2050. In this regard, it focuses its efforts on acting on climate change by supporting and expanding regenerative agriculture. This means refining and growing agricultural sustainability programs in key commodities.

To achieve this, they are intensifying their commitment to farmers so that the solutions they create for and with them achieve a positive and sustainable change both in their agricultural processes and in the main raw materials. Therefore, the goal is for 20% of maize and wheat from Plan Maíz to come from regenerative agriculture practices by 2025 and 50% by 2030, thus continuing to build on the commitment to develop the full power of food to improve the quality of life, today and for future generations.

About Grupo Nestlé Mexico:

Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 187 countries around the world, and its 300,000 employees are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of improving the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Nestlé offers a broad portfolio of products and services for people and their pets throughout their lives. Its more than 2,000 brands range from global icons to local favorites. The company’s performance is driven by its nutrition, health and wellness strategy. Nestlé is headquartered in the Swiss city of Vevey, where it was founded more than 150 years ago. With 90 years of presence in Mexico, Nestlé is also the leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company in the country, with the support of 32 global Research Centers, 17 factories in 7 states and 16 distribution centers, where 13,000 jobs are generated. Visit: www.nestle.com.mx

About the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT):

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is an international organization focused on non-profit agricultural research and training that empowers farmers through science and innovation to nourish the world in the midst of a climate crisis. Applying high-quality science and strong partnerships, CIMMYT works to achieve a world with healthier and more prosperous people, free from global food crises and with more resilient agri-food systems. CIMMYT’s research brings enhanced productivity and better profits to farmers, mitigates the effects of the climate crisis, and reduces the environmental impact of agriculture.

CIMMYT is a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food secure future dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources.

Press contacts:

Nestlé Mexico: Norma Vázquez | norma.vazquez@mx.nestle.com

Hill+Knowlton Strategies: Aremi de la Cruz | aremi.delacruz@hkstrategies.com

Read this article in Spanish.

Is uptake of rust-resistant wheat linked to gender equality?

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Sieg Snapp presents research on agroecological approaches to maize farming in Malawi and Zimbabwe at Tropentag 2022. (Photo: Ramiro Ortega Landa/CIMMYT)

Farmers, development practitioners and scientists gathered at Tropentag 2022 between September 14-16 to answer a question that will affect all our futures: can agroecological farming feed the world?

Tropentag is an annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management and rural development, jointly organized by nine European universities and the Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research (ATSAF e.V), in cooperation with the GIZ Fund International Agricultural Research (FIA).

This year’s event explored the potential of agroecology to contribute to improved nutrition, enhanced natural resource management and farm incomes.

Sieg Snapp, Director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) presented on agroecology approaches to enhance learning in a changing world based on experiences with maize-based cropping systems in southern Africa. Snapp suggested that accelerated learning and adaptative capacity are key to the local generation of suitable solutions to agricultural problems, and proposed agroecology as a foundational approach that emphasizes understanding principles, harnessing biological processes, and enhancing local capacity.

Snapp shared how an agroecology living laboratory in Malawi has supported farmer agency around soil health, crop diversification and sustainable intensification since 2013, while living labs are being established in “food territories” in Zimbabwe to support innovation and strategies for evaluating the benefits of farm-scale agroecology approaches. She also explored solutions for pest management, inclusive financing modalities and collaborative innovation generation between farmers and researchers.

Gender and disease-resistant varieties

Michael Euler, Agricultural Resource Economist at CIMMYT, presented in the conference session on technology adoption and dissemination for smallholder farms, which included contributions on the adoption and impact of improved forage production, use of biogas facilities, agroecological management practices, improved wheat seeds, and access to and use genetic diversity in gene banks.

Based on data from CIMMYT’s Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project in Ethiopia, Euler presented a study on how intra-household decision-making dynamics influence the adoption of rust-resistant wheat varieties.

By using questionnaires that were addressed separately to male and female spouses in the household, researchers obtained insights on perceived individual roles in decision-making and agreements. The study found that an increase in the role of the female spouse in household farming decisions is positively associated with the uptake of rust-resistant varieties.

Additional sessions from the event focused on crops and cropping systems, animal production systems, food security and nutrition, agroecology, and food processing and quality.

Annual Report 2021 launched

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Today, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is excited to share with you the Annual Report 2021: From Discovery to Scaling Up.

Read the CIMMYT Annual Report 2021Read the web version of the Annual Report 2021

Download the Annual Report 2021 in PDF format

Download the financial statements 2021

Our latest Annual Report captures the three ways in which CIMMYT science makes a difference:

  1. The scientific pathway from discovery and validation: In 2021, we embarked on an ambitious initiative to apply environmental genome-wide association methods to predict how today’s maize, rice, sorghum, cassava, groundnut, and bean varieties will perform in the future under climate scenarios, and help them succeed in three or four decades from now.
  2. Translating science to innovation: Last year, we made important strides in boosting the resilience of maize and wheat to a hotter and drier world — and to the threats of ever-evolving and invasive pests and diseases.
  3. Scaling up innovation for farmers and society: In collaboration with dozens of public- and private-sector partners in the countries where we work, in 2021 we scaled up sustainable technologies and farming practices for hundreds of thousands of farmers.

CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts presented the current challenges: “A global food crisis fueled by conflict, trade disruptions, soaring commodity prices and climate change.” He also expressed CIMMYT is ready to respond to the immediate and long-term threats facing humanity. “We have solid, science-informed solutions, policy recommendations and proven methodologies that will help avert the global food security crisis that looms,” he said.

We want to thank all our funders and partners for their collaboration and support, year after year.

Stepping up for South Asian women

Written by Nima Chodon on . Posted in Features.

Women play an integral role in all stages of agrifood systems, yet their unpaid labor is often culturally and economically devalued and ignored. As agriculture becomes more female-oriented, women are left with a double workload of caring in the home and laboring in the fields, leaving no time for leisure. Training programs are often developed with only male farmers in mind, and women can be completely excluded when it comes to mechanization.

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), established by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is empowering women to become active participants in farming, improving their abilities and confidence through training, expanded access to machinery and better crop management practices. To celebrate International Day of Rural Women, here are stories from three of the women CIMMYT has helped.

Equality in agricultural opportunities

Nisha Chaudhary and her husband Kamal were engaged in agriculture, poultry and pig farming in Nepal, but struggled to provide for their family of seven; their combined income was never sufficient for them to make ends meet.

Through the CSISA COVID-19 Response and Resilience Activity, CIMMYT introduced Chaudhary to mechanization’s advantages and supported her to connect with banks, cooperatives, and machinery dealers to access financial support to introduce agriculture machinery into the family business. She became the first farmer in her village to acquire a mini combine rice mill and offer milling services. The following month, Chaudhary received additional tutoring from the Activity, this time in business management and mill repair and maintenance.

Learning about mechanization was eye-opening for Chaudhary, particularly as the Bankatti community that she comes from uses traditional methods or travels great distances to process grains using machines hired out by other communities.

Chaudhary’s primary income is now from her milling services, offering post-harvest processing services to 100 households and earning more than $150 USD each month; after deducting expenses, she is still able to save around $50 USD every month. She has bought four more cows, increasing the number of cattle she owns from 12 to 16, and is able to make her own for her livestock, saving an additional $20 USD per month.

Giving rural women the credit they deserve

As part of its response to the pandemic, CSISA launched a COVID-19 Response Activity aimed at supporting farmers and service providers to access subsidies and collateral-free loans via the Government of Nepal Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, designed to support agriculture-related businesses. Through this scheme, farmers received hands-on training in providing after-sales support to customers, as well as mentoring to learn how to operate machinery and use it to generate sales and income.

Smallholder female farmers have been subject to many hardships due to lack of access to finance. They are forced to sell produce at low prices and buy inputs at high prices, which makes them suffer financially and physically. Now, loans through appropriate intermediaries can foster rural entrepreneurship and the service delivery business model.

The KCC scheme gave Chaudhary financial security just when she needed it. Her next step, with her newfound confidence, respect of her community, and the support of a collateral-free loan from KCC, will be to launch her own poultry farm agri-business.

Eradicating discrimination in mechanization

The CSISA Mechanization and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA) enables smallholder female farmers to discover the advantages of scale-appropriate mechanization and its benefits: increased productivity, reduced labor costs, improved financial stability and greater food security.

Rokeya Begum was a stay-at-home mother to three children in Bangladesh and aspired to give her daughter a good education. However, her husband found it difficult to sustain the family as a factory worker due to the high cost of their daughter’s education.

As a result, Begum opted to work in an agriculture machinery manufacturing workshop like her husband. She was initially hesitant to work in a male-dominated workplace but on the other hand realized that this job would mean she could pursue the dream she had for her daughter. She immediately began using her earnings to fund her daughter’s education, who is currently in high school.

Begum was part of the grinding and painting departments at M/S Uttara Metal Industries in Bogura, Bangladesh, for five years. Her weekly wage was equivalent to $12 USD – insufficient to support her family or sustain a decent quality of life.

CSISA-MEA included Begum in skills training, which proved to be a gamechanger. She participated in CIMMYT’s training on spray gun painting, as well as in fettling and grinding skills. As part of both training programs, she learnt how to handle an air compressor paint gun and painting materials, as well as different painting methods. She has also learnt more about keeping herself safe at work using personal protective equipment. “Before the training, I did not know about the health risks – now I don’t work without PPE,” she said.

Begum used to paint the traditional way with a brush, but now the owner permits her to paint with a spray gun with her increased expertise. As a result, she has been promoted from day laborer to contractual employee in painting and grinding, with a new weekly salary of $50 USD. Her confidence has grown to the extent that she is comfortable in an engineering workshop among male coworkers.

Farmer Malti Devi in her field, where she grew wheat through zero-till. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

Harvesting the benefits of improved practices

Farmer and mother of six, Malti Devi has an infectious smile that hardly reveals the toil and labor of her everyday farm work in India.

She grows wheat on nearly 0.45 acres of leased land. Her husband, a barber, earns an ordinary income that is insufficient for a family of eight. Despite the challenges, Devi has managed to earn income through her efforts in the field and by working as a daily wager in nearby fields.

To support women farmers like Devi, CSISA made efforts to build relationships via on-the-ground partnerships with civil society, women’s cooperatives like JEEViKa in Bihar and Mission Shakti in Odisha, or self-help groups. The team provides in-field demonstrations, training, workshops on best practices and support with access to better seed varieties and extension services. CSISA’s integrated approaches reach these women with information and associated technology that best serves them, while being climate-smart and sustainable.

Devi expressed that due to zero-till practice encouraged by the CSISA team, she saved time in the planting season, which she devoted to working on other’s fields for extra income. “The traditional method would have left me struggling for time, on the field or at home. Practices like zero-till ensured our crop was harvested on time with reduced input costs and resources and enabled a good harvest for consumption, and we could also sell some produce.”

Devi has ensured self-sufficiency for her family through her efforts and hopes to make use of the support in better crop management on offer from CSISA for wheat and other crops.

Cover photo: Rokeya Begum has increased her workshop salary through support from CSISA. (Photo: Abdul Mumin)

Technology addresses gender inequality in wheat farming

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Despite the development of improved wheat varieties with increased productivity, farming systems in the Global South are still marred by inequitable access based on gender and other social characteristics.

At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), scientists present a case for wheat varietal improvement programs to include gender-sensitive technology development, dissemination and evaluation in order to remove barriers for women, poor and marginalized farmers.

Focusing on Ethiopia and India due to their large wheat economies and challenges with inequality, researchers assessed the barriers preventing male and female smallholders from using modern wheat varieties. Issues covered through evaluation could include wheat varietal trait preferences, adoption of technology, and decision-making and labor-use changes associated with new varieties.

Concluding the paper is the argument that institutional arrangements in research and development (R&D) programs must transform to address gender equity and inclusivity in wheat improvement.

Read the study: Gender, wheat trait preferences, and innovation uptake: Lessons from Ethiopia and India

Cover photo: Rural farmers associated with JEEViKa-Bihar attend a public wheat harvest activity organized by the Cereal Systems in South Asia (CSISA) project in Nagwa village, India, to encourage conservation agriculture practices in the region. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

Drought and heat tolerance in bread wheat landraces

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Climate change is predicted to cause losses of more than 20% in agricultural production by 2050. With a growing global population, crops adapted to the effects of climate change, such as drought and heat, are necessary for the maintenance of productivity levels to meet the demand for food.

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with scientists from the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, set out to analyze bread wheat landrace traits against seven climactic variables: mean temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, precipitation seasonality, heat index of mean temperature, heat index of maximum temperature, and drought index. The method used genome-environment associations (GEA) and environmental genome-wide association scans (EnvGWAS), which have traditionally been poorly applied in this type of research.

Based on a sample of 990 bread wheat landraces from the CIMMYT genebank, the study discovered proteins associated with tolerance to drought and heat. With these results, new genotypes with resistant alleles can be selected for breeding programs to produce resistant varieties adapted to extreme environments and the effects of climate change.

Read the study: Worldwide Selection Footprints for Drought and Heat in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

This work was implemented by CIMMYT as part of the Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) Initiative in collaboration with Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (UAAAN), made possible by the generous support of the MasAgro project funded by the Government of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER). Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of SADER.

Cover photo: Field hand collecting wheat in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Partnerships crucial for protecting plant health

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Prasanna Boddupalli presents at the International Plant Health Conference, September 2022. (Photo: International Plant Health Conference)

CGIAR research centers involved in the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative joined forces at the International Plant Health Conference in London on September 21-23, 2022 to highlight the importance of global partnerships in effectively preventing and managing devastating pest and disease outbreaks in the Global South.

In an interactive side event on Plant Health Management in the Global South through Partnerships on September 21, the Plant Health Initiative team presented on and discussed: global diagnostic and surveillance systems against plant pests and diseases; risk assessment and preparedness for proactive response; integrated pest and disease management; mycotoxin mitigation strategy; and gender and social inclusion.

The CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, launched in January 2022, aims to protect agriculture-based economies of low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America from pest and disease outbreaks in major crops by leveraging and building viable networks across an array of national, regional, and international institutions.

Building on a track record of more than 50 years of impactful research, the Plant Health Initiative aims to develop and deploy solutions through partnerships, and to achieve impacts that contribute towards several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Healthy crops for a healthy planet

Showing the strength of partnerships in action, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Alliance Bioversity-CIAT (ABC), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Potato Center (CIP), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) highlighted the Initiative’s activities and sought feedback from the plant health experts participating in the session.

Martin Kropff, CGIAR Science Director of Resilient Agrifood Systems, welcomed the participants to the session. Prasanna Boddupalli, CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead & Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, introduced the Initiative and its scope, emphasizing the inclusive partnerships. This was followed by presentations from Monica Carvajal (ABC), Lava Kumar (IITA), Alejandro Ortega-Beltran (IITA), Nozomi Kawarazuka (CIP), and Yanyan Liu (IFPRI).

Time was dedicated to engaging participants through Mentimeter polling on specific questions related to plant health management. Participants also shared their views on plant health research coordination, capacity strengthening, and knowledge exchange between the Global North and Global South, with a focus on improving food security and livelihoods of smallholders.

The event was successful not only in generating greater understanding of the Initiative amongst the participants, but also in developing significant interest from the participants to contribute to the Initiative’s goals with collective actions, all for the benefit of smallholders in the low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Establishing wider networks for plant health

The Plant Health Initiative team, together with Kropff, also had a productive discussion on September 22 with Osama El-Lissy, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretary, on opportunities for joint actions on plant health management in the Global South by IPPC and the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, together with national partners.

Boddupalli also participated in a workshop on September 20 organized by Euphresco, a network of organizations that fund research projects and coordinate national research in the phytosanitary area, at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the United Kingdom, on shaping global plant health research coordination. The workshop participants discussed and endorsed several actions for advancing global plant health research coordination.

Participants of a workshop by Euphresco endorsed actions to advance research coordination for global plant health. (Photo: Euphresco)

Gender-informed policies fundamental for climate change adaptation

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working to understand the gender gap in climate change adaptations and the causes behind this disparity.

Using data from 2,279 farm households in Ethiopia, the results show a significant gap due to the observable and unobservable different characteristics of households headed by men and women. For example, women are less likely to adopt climate change adaptation measures due to their workload in household chores. However, evidence suggests that when the gender gap shrinks, climate change adaptation can be improved in female-headed households by almost 19%.

The study determined that policies must tackle unobservable characteristics in order to address the gender gap. Short-term projects and long-term gender-informed policies are essential in creating equitable opportunities for all.

This crucial work will support developing countries to achieve targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and farming households’ susceptibility to the risks of climate change.

Read the study: Gender and climate change adaptation: A case of Ethiopian farmers

Cover photo: Female farmer harvests green maize in Ethiopia. Women are essential to the agricultural sector, but the gender gap prevents them from embracing climate change adaptation measures. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Developing climate change resistant wheat

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in In the media.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are at the forefront of dealing with the impact of climate change by developing wheat varieties with tolerance to heat and drought.

Wheat constitutes as much as 60% of daily calorie intake in developing countries. However, rising temperatures caused by climate change is reducing farmers’ yields.

Matthew Reynolds, Wheat Physiologist, and Maria Itria Ibba, Cereal Chemist, share how their work contributes towards securing food security and nutrition by breeding new wheat varieties.

Read the original article: Develoing climate change-resistant wheat

Expanding BISA expertise to new horizons in South Asia

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on . Posted in Features.

Ten years ago, a foundation was laid on the principles of Norman Borlaug to translate agrarian challenges into opportunities through collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). This major step toward sustainable food and nutrition security was taken through the establishment of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) as an independent, non-profit research organization.

Today, BISA is a global name in agriculture research with a vision to promote food security, nutrition, stable livelihoods, and eco-friendly practices in South Asia. Given the prominent challenges of climate change in these economically fragile agroecosystems, the partnership between BISA, ICAR, and CIMMYT plays a pivotal role in developing improved wheat and maize varieties with climate-smart and conservation agriculture-based practices.

A decade of impact

One of the most significant outcomes of BISA’s work has been its contribution to building a vast, solid network for evaluating and disseminating new high-yielding and climate-resilient wheat varieties for India and other South Asian countries in close partnership with ICAR and CIMMYT. BISA’s transformative solutions and science-led research are critical to targeting stressed resources and attaining global food security.

With support from ICAR and CIMMYT, BISA has developed state-of-the-art research facilities at its three strategically selected research stations, having 1,200 acres of land that the Government of India, jointly with the respective state governments, generously granted to the project. Located in three disparate agro-climatic and socioeconomic environments, these sites are model research farms supporting agriculture research in South Asia. The learning labs at BISA emphasize that scaling climate-smart villages also strengthen climate-resilient agriculture, primarily through addressing challenges such as residue burning. BISA’s collaborative and inclusive approach is more relevant today when the world is grappling with various food and nutrition insecurity challenges.

Time for expansion

BISA envisages attracting countries from south Asia, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), national research institutes, private sector companies, and civil society organizations as active partners for expanding reach in the region. To this end, BISA has completed extensive work in Nepal and Bangladesh and has extended its services to Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Still, more needs to be done in South Asian countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a strong commitment to harnessing the best of international scientific discoveries with local efforts. Collective action is to be garnered to provide trusted and effective mechanisms for developing and sharing cutting-edge agricultural technologies in the South Asian region.

Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICAR, with Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, discuss how BISA’s work can create food security in South Asia. (Photo: BISA)

To this end, a BISA High-Level Meeting was organized on September 1 and 2 in Delhi, with senior government representatives from the NARS in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. The meeting provided a forum to identify opportunities to co-create and deploy innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to effectively address the transboundary challenges related to food, nutrition, and environmental security faced by farming communities in South Asia. This platform strives to unite the scientific community and thought leaders to support research and development across the agriculture domain.

Delegates from these countries felt that there is a need for a robust program of germplasm exchange within the region, which is essential to strengthening agriculture’s resilience. All countries expressed a significant need to raise their capacity of young researchers in advanced research techniques related to genomics, phenotyping, climate-smart agriculture, precision agriculture, and digital technologies. Delegates also discussed BISA’s role as a research and innovation regional catalyst, innovation hub, and integrated research platform to build resilient agrifood systems and achieve long-term sustainability and resilience for food security in South Asia.

BISA’s farm-ready research, from setting up climate-resilient villages and developing viable alternatives to rice residue burning to facilitating an open exchange of elite germplasm and cutting-edge technologies, reflects not only the vision of CIMMYT but also the philosophy of our mutual inspiration, Borlaug, who believed strongly in sharing knowledge and “taking it to the farmer”.

Cover photo: Delegates from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India meet to deliberate on the significant issues in South Asia’s agriculture sector. (Photo: BISA)

Advice for food systems in crisis featured in GAP Report

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Farm worker Charles Gitero checks wheat Robin for traces of disease at Ndabibi Farm, Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Expertise from CIMMYT on transforming food systems in a crisis-stricken world features in the yearly Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report 2022, released October 4.

As a partner to the GAP Initiative, CIMMYT’s submission to the report is part of the Stories of partnership and productivity growth section. It explores the interdependency and vulnerability of food systems to market shocks and the long-term impacts of these shocks on vulnerable communities, particularly in the Global South.

To build agricultural resilience that can overcome threats of food insecurity and malnutrition, CIMMYT recommends targeted expansion of agricultural production and high levels of investment in research and capacity development.

Tek Sapkota, Agricultural Scientist and System/Climate Change Specialist with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program, was a speaker at the launch event, which explored the outlook for agricultural productivity growth in the face of conflicts, COVID-19 and climate change. Presenters also examined where agricultural productivity is stagnating or falling and its repercussions for food security and the environment, and how to accelerate sustainable productivity growth at all scales of production.

Read or download the report: 2022 GAP Report

About the Global Agricultural Productivity Report:

The Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report is a source for productivity data, analysis, and policy recommendations that inspire action. In collaboration with partners in the private sector, NGOs, conservation organizations, universities, and global research institutions, the annual report and year-round engagement provides a roadmap toward progress.

AGG-Maize project registers impressive progress

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

Participants of the AGG Maize Mid-Term Review and Planning Meeting at CIMMYT’s Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening Facility in Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)

The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) Project, which is halfway through its implementation, continues to register impressive achievements. At a meeting focusing on the project’s Maize component, held in Nairobi during July 25-28, B.M. Prasanna, Director of the Global Maize Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), highlighted the project’s major achievements in the opening session.

“One of the most important achievements of this project is increasing use of powerful tools and technologies to increase genetic gains in maize breeding pipelines in Africa,” said Prasanna. He noted that the AGG partners are showing keen interest in doubled haploid-based maize breeding. Prasanna pointed out that currently work is ongoing to produce third-generation tropicalized haploid inducers which, in combination with molecular markers, will support accelerated development of improved maize germplasm, a key objective of the AGG Project.

Prasanna also pointed out a significant increase in adoption of stress-tolerant maize in Africa – from less than half a million hectares cultivated under stress tolerant maize varieties in 2010, to 7.2 million hectares currently in 13 African countries, benefitting 44.5 million people. He explained that drought-tolerant maize is not only a productivity enhancing tool but also an innovation for improving the welfare of farmers. “It reduces the probability of crop failure by 30 percent and provides an extra income to farmers at a rate of approximately $240 USD per hectare, equivalent to about nine months of food for a family at no additional cost,” he said, adding that the essence of research is taking improved genetics to farmers and impacting their lives.

He noted there is remarkable progress in maize varietal turnover in sub-Saharan Africa, pointing out particularly efforts in Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where old maize varieties, some dating as far back as 1988, have been replaced with newer climate-resilient varieties. Prasanna highlighted the need to engage with policy makers to put in place appropriate legislation that can accelerate replacement of old or obsolete varieties with improved genetics.

Prasanna stressed on the importance of rapid response to transboundary diseases and insect-pests. CIMMYT has established fall armyworm (FAW) screening facility at Kiboko, Kenya, and that more than 10,000 maize germplasm entries have been screened over the last three years. He applauded South Sudan for being the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to recently release three CIMMYT-developed FAW-tolerant hybrids. He said CIMMYT’s FAW-tolerant inbred lines have been shared with 92 institutions, both public and private, in 34 countries globally since 2018.

Kevin Pixley, CIMMYT Global Genetic Resources Director and Deputy Director General, Breeding and Genetics, encouraged the participants to continuously reflect on making innovative contributions through the AGG project, to serve smallholder farmers and other stakeholders, and to offer sustainable solutions to  the food crisis that plagues the world.

B.M. Prasanna addresses partners at the KALRO Kiboko Research station in Kenya during an AGG field visit. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)

Synergies across crops and teams

Pixley pointed out that though the meeting’s focus was on maize, the AGG Project has both maize and wheat components, and the potential for learning between the maize and wheat teams would benefit many, especially with the innovative strides in research from both teams.

Pixley referenced a recent meeting in Ethiopia with colleagues from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and CIMMYT, where discussions explored collaboration among CGIAR centers and other stakeholders in strengthening work on cowpea, chickpea, beans, sorghum, millet and groundnut crops. He noted that maize, wheat and the aforementioned crops are all critical in achieving the mission of CGIAR.

“CIMMYT has been requested, since August of last year, by CGIAR to initiate research projects on sorghum, millet and groundnut because these crops are critical to the success of achieving the mission of CGIAR,” said Pixley. “So, we have recently initiated work on the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project together with partners. This is the first step towards OneCGIAR. It’s about synergies across crops and teams.”

Collaborative research commended

The meeting’s Chief Guest, Felister Makini, Deputy Director General – Crops of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), commended the collaborative research undertaken by CIMMYT and other CGIAR partners. She noted that the partnerships continue to build on synergies that strengthen institutional financial, physical and human resources. She attested that collaboration between KALRO and CGIAR dates back to the 1980s, beginning with training in maize breeding, and then subsequent collaboration on developing climate-adaptive improved maize varieties and training of KALRO technicians in maize lethal necrosis (MLN) screening and management among other areas.

Maize and wheat are staple food sources in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa and as the population increases, new methods and approaches must be found to accelerate development and deployment of improved maize and wheat varieties. She challenged the partners to intensify research and come out with high-yielding varieties that are resistant or tolerant to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses.

The Inaugural Session also featured remarks from the representatives of the AGG funders – Gary Atlin from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jonna Davis from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and John Derera from IITA, an AGG project partner.

A total of 116 participants, including representatives from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in 13 AGG-Maize partner countries in Africa and seed companies, participated in the meeting. Participants also visited the KALRO-CIMMYT MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha, and KALRO-CIMMYT maize experiments at Kiboko, Kenya, including the work being done at the maize doubled haploid and FAW facilities.