Blogs – Page 50

Novel technology to reduce the complexity of maize seed production and increase maize hybrid yields in farmer’s fields

Written by Sarah Fernandes on July 27, 2022. Posted in Publications.

A recently published study in Nature Communications Biology journal demonstrates the potential of a novel seed production technology to transform Africa’s seed production system, conferring important benefits to smallholder maize farmers and seed companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) process enables production of non-pollen-producing inbred seed that can be used in a two-step multiplication process to produce commercial seed of hybrid varieties containing equal parts pollen producing and non-pollen producing plants. The pollen producing plants provide pollen for the entire field, while the non-pollen producing plants deliver additional grain since they save energy by not producing pollen. Hybrids in which fifty percent of the plants are non-pollen producing have a significant grain yield advantage compared with hybrids in which all plants produce pollen.

Farmers and researchers evaluated the performance of fifty percent non-pollen producing (FNP) hybrids in side-by-side comparisons across diverse farm sites in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2019. The results demonstrate that FNP hybrids deliver an average yield increase of 200 kg per hectare, representing a 10-20% increase at current sub-Saharan Africa yield levels where farmers face frequent drought and sub-optimal soil fertility. The FNP yield advantage was consistent in both low yielding and higher yielding conditions. Additionally, in extensive farmer surveys, farmers rated the FNP hybrids higher than the pollen producing counterparts, recognizing the grain yield advantage. Favorable rating of FNP hybrids suggests that farmers are likely to adopt them once available.

Although consistent and steady improvement is being made for grain yield potential through plant breeding, the yield benefit of FNP hybrids is the equivalent of approximately six years of breeding progress under stressful conditions. The FNP trait provided a consistent yield advantage in several genetically unique hybrids evaluated, indicating that the yield advantage from FNP will be complementary to and additive with progress from maize breeding efforts.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the challenge of delivering genetically pure, high-quality seed is substantial. Seed companies in the region contend with a complex and costly system to produce commercial seed. In addition to delivering higher grain yield to farmers through the FNP trait, the SPTA process will reduce the complexity of seed production, enabling seed producers to deliver higher purity improved hybrid seeds in sufficient quantities for smallholder farmers.

Hybrid seed production requires that one of the parents of the hybrid is prevented from producing pollen, ensuring that the seed harvested has been cross-fertilized by the pollen parent. Most hybrid seed production in sub-Saharan Africa involves physical removal of the tassels of the seed parent prior to the release of pollen, a process known as detasseling. Detasseling is important in commercial seed production to prevent self-fertilization of the seed parent plants. Nearly all detasseling in sub-Saharan Africa is done by hand, which is a labor-intensive and time-sensitive process. Poorly executed or ill-timed detasseling results in unwanted self-fertilization of the seed parent, leading to rejection of seed and incurring losses to the seed producer. Furthermore, timely detasseling typically involves removal of one or more leaves together with the tassel, reducing the photosynthetic capacity of the plant, and lowering the seed yield.

Use of the SPTA process ensures that the seed parent of the hybrid will not produce pollen, thereby eliminating the need for detasseling. This means seed producers can ensure higher integrity of hybrid seed while reducing costs and increasing seed yield. The technology is well suited for the three-way hybrid production commonly used in sub-Saharan Africa. Economic advantages to seed companies of using seed from the SPTA process is also expected to provide incentive to replace older, lower yielding varieties with more recently developed hybrids. Providing improved quality seed of better hybrids while delivering the yield advantage of the FNP trait can benefit smallholder maize farmers throughout the region. Saving costs can help the seed sector remain strong and competitive, which leads to increasingly better options for farmers in the future.

Read the full study: Incorporating male sterility increases hybrid maize yield in low input African farming systems

The research was conducted by scientists from the Seed Production Technology for Africa project, a collaborative initiative of the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), CortevaTM Agriscience, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), and QualiBasic Seed Company (QBS).

Cover photo: A woman with a baby on her back evaluating maize plants farmer’s plots hosting FNP trials in Embu, Kenya. Photo: Hugo DeGroote/CIMMYT

CIMMYT researchers and staff from the East Africa Grain Council hold loaves of bread at a bakery on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Exploring the potential for blended wheat flours in Kenya

Written by Susan Otieno on July 26, 2022. Posted in Features.

Over the years, wheat-based foods have increasingly been incorporated as part of Kenyan meals. One example is packaged bread, which has become a common feature on Kenyan breakfast tables with millions of loaves from industrial bakeries delivered to retail shops daily, countrywide. Another example is chapati — a round unleavened flat bread. Once reserved for special occasions, chapati can now be purchased from roadside venders throughout the capital Nairobi.

Millers and processors in Kenya are highly dependent on imported wheat to meet the strong demand for wheat-based food products. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, two of the most important sources of imported wheat for Kenya, presents a major threat to millers and industrial bakeries. Prices for bread and chapati are increasing and may continue to increase. Governments and wheat-related industries are looking at short- and long-term options to reduce utilization of imported wheat. One short-term option is the blending of wheat flour with flour derived from locally available crops, such as cassava, millet or sorghum.

Record-high price of wheat

A sign at a flour mill in East Africa shows proportions of wheat from different origins (Argentina, Russia, Ukraine and local) used in that particular day’s production. (Photo: Alison Bentley/CIMMYT)

A visit to local industrial bakeries and wheat flour millers on the outskirts of Nairobi by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) researchers confirmed the effects of record-high global prices of wheat. Global Wheat Program director Alison Bentley and senior economist Jason Donovan had conversations with leaders of industrial bakeries and millers, who gave insights into their grain demands, production processes and sales volumes.

One of the leaders of an established industrial bakery divulged that they use approximately 15,000 tons of wheat flour monthly to make baked products, with only 10% of the wheat obtained locally.

“In the last ten years, local wheat production has comprised about ten to fifteen percent of our cereal mixture for bread, and we were already paying higher prices to farmers compared to import prices. The farmers were already being paid about 30 to 40 dollars more per ton,” a manager of a large baking industry in Kenya explained to the CIMMYT team.

According to government regulations, millers and bakeries must purchase locally produced wheat at agreed prices before they can buy imported wheat. He agreed that though the quality of local wheat is good, the local production cannot compete with the higher volume of imported wheat or its lower price.

Growing wheat in East Africa

It has been more than four months since the Russia-Ukraine conflict unfolded, and since then prices of wheat-based products have been increasing significantly. The current crisis has sparked the debate on low levels of self-sufficiency in food production for many countries. And this is especially the case for wheat in Kenya, and more widely in Africa.

Bentley points out that the biophysical conditions to produce wheat in East Africa are present and favorable. However, more work is needed to strengthen local wheat production, starting with efficient seed systems. Farmers who are interested in growing wheat need access to high performing and stress-tolerant wheat varieties.

CIMMYT Global Wheat Program director, Alison Bentley, observes the bread making process at an industrial bakery on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Practical response to the crisis

With no certainty as to how long the conflict will continue and climate change resulting in significant crop loss in key production zones, wheat shortages on international markets could become a reality. Blending of wheat flour with locally available crops could be an option as an immediate response to the current scarcity of wheat in East Africa. “Blending [flour] is when for instance five percent of wheat flour is replaced with flour from a different crop such as sorghum or cassava,” Bentley explained.

Donovan added that, though it might seem like a small number, it becomes significant in consideration to the volume of wheat that industries use to make different products, translating into thousands of metric tons. He noted that blending flour therefore has the potential to create a win-win situtation, because it can boost the demand for local crops and address uncertainty and price volatility on international wheat markets.

Consumer acceptance of new products

Different types of flour on supermarket shelves in Kenya. (Photo: Pieter Rutsaert/CIMMYT)

During a full week of engagements with universities, partners, and industry experts in Kenya, the CIMMYT team explored the current interest of the sector in blending wheat flour. Several partners agreed that this could be a potential way forward for the grain industry but all highlighted one key element: the importance of consumer acceptance. If the functionality of the flour or taste would be negatively influenced by blending wheat flour, it would represent a no-go from the industry, even if blends would have higher nutritional benefits or lower prices. “This reinforces the need to understand consumer preferences and evaluate both the functionality of the flour to produce essential food products such as chapati or bread as well as the taste of those products,” Pieter Rutsaert explained.

CIMMYT researchers Sarah Kariuki and Pieter Rutsaert, both Markets and Value Chain Specialists, and Maria Itria Ibba, Head of the Wheat Quality Lab, are therefore engaging with local millers and universities in Kenya to design bread and chapati products derived from different wheat blends, to include blends comprised of 5%, 15% and 20% of cassava or sorghum. Lab testing and preliminary consumer testing will be used to identify the most promising products. These products will be taken to the streets in urban and peri-urban Nairobi to assess consumer tastes and preferences, through sensory analysis and at-home testing.

The market intelligence gained will offer foundational support for CGIAR’s Seed Equal Initiative to accelerate the growth of a demand-driven seed system. By gathering and analyzing consumer preferences on selected crops for blending, such as from farmers and milling industries, Donovan pointed out that CGIAR breeding will continue to make informed choices and prioritize breeding for specific crops, that seek to address specific challenges, therefore having greater impact.

Donovan noted that data and information from the studies will provide much needed evidence and fill information gaps that will support governments, millers, processors and farmers to make decisions in response to the evolving wheat crisis.

Scientists step up wheat landrace conservation efforts in Afghanistan, Turkey and other countries in the region

Written by Alison Doody on July 25, 2022. Posted in News.

Farmers gather in a landrace field. Photo: Raqib Lodin/CIMMYT

For thousands of years, farmers in Afghanistan, Turkey and other countries in the region, have been breeding wheat, working closely with the environment to develop traditional wheat varieties known as landraces. Untouched by scientific breeding, landraces were uniquely adapted to their environment and highly nutritious.

As agriculture became more modernised and intensified, it threatened to push these traditional landraces into extinction, resulting in the loss of valuable genetic diversity. Institutions around the world decided to act, forming germplasm collections known as genebanks to safely house these landraces.

In 2009, a team of wheat scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and national partners set off on a five-year expedition across Central Asia to collect as many landraces as they could find. The project, led by FAO Cereal Breeder and former CIMMYT Principal Scientist Alexey Morgunov, was made possible by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Benefit-Sharing Fund.

The project had two main missions. The first is to preserve landrace cultivation in three countries, Afghanistan, Turkey and other countries in the region by selecting, purifying, and multiplying the landraces and giving them back to farmers. The second is to scientifically evaluate, characterize and use these landrace varieties in ongoing breeding programmes, exchange the information between the countries, and to deposit the seeds in genebanks to safely preserve them for future generations.

The latest results from the project were published in July in the journal Crops. The study, authored by a team of experts from CIMMYT, ICARDA, FAO, and research institutes in Afghanistan, Turkey and other countries in the region, compared the diversity, performance, and adaptation of the collected wheat landraces with modern varieties grown in the regions using a series of field experiments and cutting-edge genomic tools.

“Landraces are very useful from a breeding perspective because they have been cultivated by farmers over thousands of years and are well adapted to climate change, have strong resistance to abiotic stresses and have very good nutritional quality,” said Rajiv Sharma, a CIMMYT senior scientist and co-author of the paper.

“We were interested in seeing how well landraces adapt to certain environments, how they perform agronomically, and whether they are more diverse than modern varieties grown in these regions – as well as give their improved versions back to farmers before they are lost.”

The experiments, which were carried out in 2018 and 2019 in Turkey, and 2019 in Afghanistan, and other countries in the region revealed several physical characteristics in landraces which are no longer present in modern varieties. For example, the team found striking differences in spike and grain colors with landraces more likely to have red spikes and white grains, and modern varieties tending to have white spikes and red grains. This may have adaptive values for high altitudes and dry conditions.

A surprising finding from the study, however, was that landraces were not more genetically diverse than modern landraces.

“Many people thought that when we went from cultivating landraces to modern varieties, we lost a lot of diversity but genetically speaking, that’s not true. When you look at the genomic profile, modern varieties are just as diverse as landraces, maybe even a little bit more so,” said Sharma.

When the team compared landraces and modern varieties on crop performance, the results were mixed with modern wheat varieties outyielding landraces in half of the environments tested. However, they found that the highest yielding landraces were just as good as the best modern varieties – a reassuring finding for farmers concerned about the productivity of their crops.

A new breeding paradigm

The results of the study have important implications for landrace conservation efforts in farmers’ fields and in future breeding strategies. While crossing wheat landraces with modern varieties to develop improved modern varieties is not new, the authors proposed a novel alternative breeding strategy to encourage the continued cultivation of landraces: improving landraces by crossing them with other landraces.

“In order to maintain landraces, we have to make them competitive and satisfy farmers’ needs and requirements. One option is that we breed landraces,” said Sharma.

“For example, you might have a landrace that is very-high yielding but susceptible to disease. By crossing this variety with another landrace with disease-resistant traits you can develop a new landrace better suited to the farmer and the environment. This approach maintains all the features of landraces – we are simply accelerating the evolution process for farmers to replace the very fast disappearance of these traditional varieties.”

This approach has already been used by crop scientists at the University of California, Davis who has successfully developed and registered “heirloom-like varieties” of dry beans. The varieties trace about 98% of their ancestry to landraces but are resistant to the common mosaic virus.

Heirloom food products are becoming increasingly popular with health-conscious consumers who are willing to pay a higher price for the products, garnering even more interest in conserving traditional landraces.

One of the overarching aims of the project was to give wheat landraces back to farmers and let nature take its course. Throughout the mission, the team multiplied and returned landrace seed to over 1500 farmers in communities across Afghanistan, Turkey and other countries in the region. The team also supplied over 500 farmers with improved landrace seed between 2018 and 2019.

Despite the political turmoil facing these countries, particularly Afghanistan, farmers are still growing wheat and the project’s contribution to food security will continue.

These landraces will take their place once more in the farming landscape, ensuring on-farm wheat diversity and food security for future generations.

This research was conducted with the financial assistance of the European Union within the framework of the Benefit-Sharing Fund project “W2B-PR-41-TURKEY” of the FAO’s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

How to shockproof staples in a looming global food crisis

Written by Sarah Fernandes on July 20, 2022. Posted in Blogs.

Empty shelfs in a Swiss grocery store. Photo Boris Dunand/Unsplash

The conflict in Ukraine has had a deeply destabilizing effect on the global wheat trade, causing unprecedented price volatility and uncertainty. As my colleagues and I have previously highlighted, the unintended consequences are likely to have outsized impacts on livelihoods in the Global South.

As the G7 group of nations recently acknowledged in a joint statement, the conflict is leading to steep price rises and increasing global food insecurity for millions, especially those most vulnerable, such as women and children.

In a new paper published in Nature Food, scientists and partners of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) present a package of applied solutions to respond to the crisis and ensure future wheat stability.

To stem the potential food crisis, food is needed in more places, and faster.

Recently announced talks between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations, among other negotiations, are already underway as part of this international effort to develop short-term solutions.

However, at present we are seeing the brakes applied in several places. For example, in India century-high temperature extremes have recently reduced official wheat production estimates by 6 percent, leading to reduced export potential. This shows the compounding effect of climatic instability on global wheat markets, an impact that is expected to worsen over time.

In our solutions agenda, we propose a package of short-, medium- and longer-term actions and urge immediate and sustained support for shockproofing major food security staple crops, including wheat.

In the short term, the priority is mitigation of food security shocks through boosting production in existing high- and low-productivity areas, ensuring access to grain, and making use of flour substitution.
In the medium term, we must increase the local, regional, and global resilience of wheat supply through targeted expansion (within agro-ecological boundaries), support for self-sufficiency, comprehensive technical support in production systems, and mainstreamed crop monitoring capacity.
In the longer term, the transition to agri-food system resilience will need to encompass agroecosystem diversity, address gender disparities in agriculture and rural communities, and sustain an increased investment in a holistic, agri-food transition.

Conflict is being waged on wheat on multiple fronts: on battlefields, in the political arena and by our changing climate. Together these factors interact and amplify the threat to staple wheat production. To address this complexity, we now need to move beyond defining the problem to implementing practical action to ensure stable supply.

Ecological farming a boon for staple crop farmers in Africa, new study finds

Written by Mike Listman on July 20, 2022. Posted in Press releases.

Elufe Chipande (left), a farmer at Songani in Zomba District, Malawi, is rotating maize (background) and pigeonpea (foreground) under conservation agriculture practices to improve soil fertility and capture and retain more water. Christian Thierfelder (center), a cropping systems agronomist working out of the Zimbabwe office of CIMMYT, advises and supports southern African farmers and researchers to refine and spread diverse yield-enhancing, resource-conserving crop management practices. Photo: Mphatso Gama/CIMMYTSRUC

An international team of scientists has found that eco-friendly practices such as growing a range of crops, including legumes such as beans or pigeonpea, and adding plant residues or manure to soils can raise food crop yields in places such as rural Africa, where small-scale farmers cannot apply much nitrogen fertilizer.

Published in the science journal Nature Sustainability and examining data from 30 long-running field experiments involving staple crops (wheat, maize, oats, barley, sugar beet, or potato) in Europe and Africa, this major study is the first to compare farm practices that work with nature to increase yields and explore how they interact with fertilizer use and tillage.

“Agriculture is a leading cause of global environmental change but is also very vulnerable to that change,” said Chloe MacLaren, a plant ecologist at Rothamsted Research, UK, and lead author of the paper. “Using cutting-edge statistical methods to distill robust conclusions from divergent field experiment data, we found combinations of farming methods that boost harvests while reducing synthetic fertilizer overuse and other environmentally damaging practices.”

Recognizing that humanity must intensify production on current arable land to feed its rising numbers, the paper advances the concept of “ecological intensification,” meaning farming methods that enhance ecosystem services and complement or substitute for human-made inputs, like chemical fertilizer, to maintain or increase yields.

Boosting crop yields and food security for far-flung smallholders

The dataset included results from six long-term field experiments in southern Africa led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Africa’s farming systems receive on average only 17 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared to more than 180 kilograms per hectare in Europe or close to 600 in China, according to Christian Thierfelder, a CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist and study co-author.

“In places where farmers’ access to fertilizer is limited, such as sub-Saharan Africa or the Central American Highlands, ecological intensification can complement scarce fertilizer resources to increase crop yields, boosting households’ incomes and food security,” Thierfelder explained. “We believe these practices act to increase the supply of nitrogen to crops, which explains their value in low-input agriculture.”

The CIMMYT long-term experiments were carried out under “climate-smart” conservation agriculture practices, which include reduced or no tillage, keeping some crop residues on the soil, and (again) growing a range of crops.

“These maize-based cropping systems showed considerable resilience against climate effects that increasingly threaten smallholders in the Global South,” Thierfelder added.

Benefits beyond yield

Besides boosting crop yields, ecological intensification can cut the environmental and economic costs of productive farming, according to MacLaren.

“Diversifying cropping with legumes can increase profits and decrease nitrogen pollution by reducing the fertilizer requirements of an entire crop rotation, while providing additional high-value food, such as beans,” MacLaren explained. “Crop diversity can also confer resilience to weather variability, increase biodiversity, and suppress weeds, crop pests and pathogens; it’s essential, if farmers are to improve maize production in places like Africa.”

Thierfelder cautioned that widespread adoption of ecological intensification will require strong support from policymakers and society, including establishing functional markets for legume seed and for marketing farmers’ produce, among other policy improvements.

“Dire and worsening global challenges — climate change, soil degradation and fertility declines, and scarcening fresh water — threaten the very survival of humanity,” said Thierfelder. “It is of utmost importance to renovate farming systems and bring us back into a safe operating space.”

Click here to read the paper, Long-term evidence for ecological intensification as a pathway to sustainable agriculture.

For more information or interviews:

Rodrigo Ordoñez, Communications Manager

Email: r.ordonez@cgiar.org

Tel: +52 55 5804 2004, ext. 1167

Wheat at a CIMMYT field trial. (Photo: H. Hernandez Lira/CIMMYT)

Essential actions to mitigate the food crisis, stabilize supply and transition to greater agrifood system resilience

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on July 19, 2022. Posted in Press releases.

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to degrade global food security, a new analysis lays out concrete actions that governments and investors must do now to mitigate near-term food security risks and stabilize wheat supplies, while transitioning toward long-term resilience.

The guidance, published in Nature Food by scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and partners, lays out short-, medium- and long-term steps to respond to the global food crisis and ultimately lead to a more resilient global agrifood system.

“The Russia-Ukraine war will impact global food security over months — if not years,” said CIMMYT Global Wheat Program Director and lead author Alison Bentley. “We now need to move beyond defining the problem to implementing practical actions to ensure stable supply, safeguard the livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people and bring resilience to our global agrifood system.”

The war in Ukraine and trade sanctions against Russia are triggering a level of volatility that could easily overwhelm existing mitigation mechanisms. More than 2.5 billion people worldwide consume wheat-based foods; those in lower- to middle-income countries dependent on imports from Russia and Ukraine are particularly affected. Some of the world’s poorest countries, such as Bangladesh, Sudan and Yemen, rely heavily on Russian and Ukrainian wheat. Given the highly interconnected nature of contemporary agrifood systems, few will remain unaffected by this new global food shock.

Mitigate the immediate crisis

The first priority, according to the authors, is to mitigate the immediate crisis by boosting wheat production in existing high- and low-productivity areas, ensuring grain access and blending wheat flour with other low-cost cereals. Bundled agronomic and breeding improvements and sustainable farming practices can reduce dependence on imported grain and fertilizer, while coordinated, multilateral policies can help conserve grain stocks for human consumption and avert trade restrictions.

Increase the resilience of wheat supply

In the medium term, the authors emphasized the need to increase the local, regional, and global resilience of the wheat supply. This can be done by expanding production within agro-ecological boundaries, supporting national wheat self-sufficiency and providing technical assistance, to increase the production of high-yielding disease-resistant wheat and to mainstream capacity for pest and disease monitoring.

Transition to system-level resilience

Finally, to reach crucially needed resilience in the world’s agrifood system, long-term measures must be taken that encompass agroecosystem diversity, address gender disparities in agriculture and rural communities and sustain increased investment in a holistic, agrifood transition.

“The current global food crisis underscores and compounds existing inequalities in our global food system,” Bentley said. “A transition to agrifood system resilience requires us to urgently balance global food supply needs with the multi-layered challenges of climate change, achieving gender equity, nutritional sufficiency and livelihood security.”

RELATED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS:

Near- to long-term measures to stabilize global wheat supplies and food security

This research is supported by CGIAR Trust Fund Contributors.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

Alison Bentley – Director, Global Wheat Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT THE MEDIA TEAM:

Marcia MacNeil, Head of Communications, CIMMYT. m.macneil@cgiar.org, +52 5558042004 ext. 2019.

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT. r.ordonez@cgiar.org, +52 5558042004 ext. 1167.

Ricardo Curiel, Communications Manager, CIMMYT. r.curiel@cgiar.org, +52 5558042004 ext. 1144.

ABOUT 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 agrifood 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.

For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.

China calls on G20 to support CGIAR to boost global food security

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 18, 2022. Posted in News.

Representatives from the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting on July 7-8. (Credit: Antara Foto/Pool/Sigid Kurniawan/rwa.)

The G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting held on July 7-8 in Bali saw Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, highlight support for CGIAR as part of a proposed cooperation initiative to boost global food security.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted the need to help CGIAR increase innovation and build cooperation on agricultural science and technology among countries. Addressing the meeting, Wang said the food and energy sectors are crucial for the healthy performance of the world economy and the effective implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

His statement was made shortly before the signing of Letters of Intent for Cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and two CGIAR Research Centers, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

CIMMYT, IRRI and CAAS intend to establish a joint Center in Hainan to address global food security through advances in wheat and rice breeding. The collaboration aims to enhance the environmental sustainability of rice and wheat based agri-food systems, promote biodiversity conservation, combat climate change, and improve the health and welfare of growers and consumers.

Jean Balié, Regional Director, South East Asia and Pacific, CGIAR, and Director General of IRRI said: “Our new agreement solidifies and updates a longstanding and fruitful partnership. Today we face a different and growing set of challenges to our food, land and water systems, and we welcome the opportunity to strengthen knowledge and information exchange from across CGIAR that will contribute to a transformation of global food, land and water systems.”

CIMMYT Director General, Bram Govaerts added: “This state-of-the-art breeding center will help us develop and deploy the new nutritious, high-yielding and resilient varieties that Asian farmers need to feed and nurture the most populous region of the world sustainably or within planetary boundaries.”

In three decades of collaboration, CAAS and CGIAR have cooperated on germplasm exchange, breeding new varieties of crops, and providing opportunities for staff collaboration, development and training.

In wheat research, the partnership has added as much as 10.7 million tons of grain – worth $3.4 billion – to China’s national wheat output. Additionally, eight CIMMYT scientists have won the Chinese Friendship Award – the highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress.

A reaffirmation of Chinese support for CGIAR comes on a tide of growing recognition that more investment is needed to tackle hunger.

Earlier in the year the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Communiqué underlined the urgent need to address risk in global food systems citing this as a top foreign policy objective. At the same time, the G7 Agricultural Ministers Communiqué cautioned that slowing down work to address longer term goals of food systems transformation, in order to address short term food crises, will have negative consequences in the medium and long term. In this context CGIAR’s System Board Chair, Marco Ferroni, recently highlighted the need for world leaders to look at the big picture to solve the food crisis.

Cross-center learning between CIMMYT and WorldFish

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 15, 2022. Posted in News.

Alison Bentley presents at a joint seminar between CIMMYT and WorldFish. (Photo: Sarah McLaughlin/CIMMYT)

“Now more than ever, we need to build greater resilience across our global food system,” said Alison Bentley, Director of Global Wheat Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), to introduce her part of a joint seminar between CIMMYT and WorldFish. The two CGIAR research centers may appear to have different focuses, but the pairing draws attention to many opportunities for intra-CGIAR collaboration to address the looming global food crisis.

Beginning with Ahmed Nasr-Allah, Country Director (Egypt) at WorldFish, the presentation explored Integrated Agriculture and Aquaculture (IAA) systems for food security. Over the coming decades, population growth and increased scarcity of water pose a challenge for food production and agriculture, so water efficiency needs to be maximized.

Nasr-Allah explained that wheat nutrients improve soil quality, which in turn positively impacts fish quality when using water running off growing crops. He gave an example of a farmer who allocated more space on his farm to irrigate and store water and fish, which enabled him to produce higher crop yields. Further research between WorldFish and CIMMYT in this area could be examining nutrient flow from the fish system to the crop system.

Second to present was Bentley, looking at shock-proofing wheat to build future resilience. “It’s important we understand where the risks lie in our global system so we can respond to shocks,” she explained, citing data on global import dependency on Ukrainian and Russian wheat. She went on to describe potential solutions to combat the predicted yield decrease in wheat in the Global South, including substituting a proportion of wheat flour with other under-utilized crops in products, without impacting flour quality or consumer evaluation.

Linking to WorldFish’s work, Bentley highlighted the need to use water more effectively by combining new varieties with enhanced mechanization options to improve crop management, and the potential of optimizing individual components in fish and wheat rotations that could then be combined for greater impact.

The third session was with WorldFish Scientist Sarah Freed, who discussed designing integrated production practices to meet diverse needs. She invited event attendees to consider whether the lessons learnt from challenges in rice growing areas, such as climate change, poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, and increased demand, could be applicable solutions to problems in wheat growing areas.

Using biophysical and sociocultural insights from rice-fish innovations as an example, she listed five recommendations for design: identify objectives; identify a range of production options; use a co-design process; implement fit-for-purpose design and evaluation; and enable adaptation. Of particular interest was the co-design process with people who are involved at all levels, from landowners to rice farmers to laborers, so that the design benefits a variety of stakeholders. Freed also noted that decisions taken for economic reasons, such as extending the shrimp season, can lead to increased soil salinity, which means the ground can no longer incorporate diverse crops.

All three speakers concluded the event by acknowledging the potential in combining their research areas to determine and implement food security solutions.

Untapped potential of genome-edited crops explored in new research

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 15, 2022. Posted in Publications.

Analysis of evidence by scientists of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and CGIAR concludes that the scientific risks of genome editing are similar to those of traditional breeding: all new varieties, however developed, need to be tested for agronomic performance in a range of environments.

Social risks are mainly that these powerful technologies may be rendered inaccessible to less-commercial crops and farmers if intellectual property (IP) and regulatory policies make them expensive or difficult to use.

Genome editing has demonstrated potential to contribute to food security, improved nutrition, and value addition for farmers and consumers.

Many countries are still uncertain about whether to grow, or if and how to regulate genome-edited crop varieties. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has stated that genome-edited crops should be considered as transgenics in the EU for regulatory purposes, a decision that could limit their use in Africa. On the other hand, several countries, including USA, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Kenya, Nigeria, Israel, India, and Japan have determined that genome-edited crops should not be regulated like transgenics if they do not contain foreign DNA.

Policies should enable choice and avoid the risk that genome editing technologies for crops benefit only those who can pay premium price. Smallholder farmers should have equal access to advanced technologies, should they wish to use them, as well as relevant and objective information about their value and how to use them.

Read the full study: Genome-edited crops for improved food security of smallholder farmers

CIMMYT Position Statement on Novel Genome Editing Technologies in Crops

China to build international agricultural breeding center in Hainan

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 15, 2022. Posted in In the media.

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are establishing a breeding center in Sanya, Hainan Province, China.

The international cooperation will be conducive to the exploration and utilization of germplasm resources of the research organizations, biological breeding research, technical training, and the innovation of the global seed industry.

Timothy Reeves. (Photo: Courtesy of Tim Reeves/University of Melbourne)

Former director general Timothy Reeves included in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

Written by Sarah Fernandes on July 13, 2022. Posted in News.

Timothy Reeves, who served as director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) from 1995 to 2002, has been included in Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours List. He has been appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia, for his significant service to sustainable agriculture research and production.

“I’m overwhelmed. I feel so honored and wish to also recognize the wonderful people that I have worked with — both farmers and scientists — here in Australia, and around the world. I also acknowledge my beautiful family without whom it would have not been possible,” he said.

Reeves was a pioneer of direct drilling and conservation agriculture in Australia in the 1960s and 70s. This method of planting crops which requires no cultivation of the land, is now the direct-drilling method used by 90% of farmers across Australian cropping regions. He and colleagues in the Victorian Department of Agriculture also worked at that time on the introduction of new crops into farming systems, including lupins, canola and faba beans.

Timothy Reeves (center) with C. Renard (left) and Norman Borlaug. (Photo: CIMMYT)

He was appointed to the role of director general of CIMMYT in 1995, based in Mexico for seven years, helping developing countries with food and nutritional security. He is the only Australian to have held this position.

Reeves is currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne. He is heavily involved with passing on his knowledge to his academic colleagues and to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Reeves’s academic writings include publishing more than 180 papers, book chapters and articles. He is also a Chair of the Agriculture Forum of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

This post was originally published by the University of Melbourne.

CIMMYT enumerators hold booklets with vignettes before their interaction with family farmers Kiran Devi (second from left) and Rishikesh Ram (third from left). (Photo: Nima Chodon /CIMMYT)

Researchers use storytelling to evaluate women’s agency in agricultural production

Written by Nima Chodon on July 12, 2022. Posted in News.

Researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are conducting a study in the state of Bihar, India, to improve our understanding of women’s and men’s contributions to decision-making around wheat crop management. The results will help reach women with new varieties that meet their needs and priorities.

The study seeks to overcome a big challenge for research organizations and national policymakers: to design a better framework for faster turnover of improved varieties and increased access to women and marginalized farmers.

Wheat is the second-largest crop grown in Bihar after rice, with a production of 5-6 million tonnes of it every year. Despite women’s contributions to farming activities, from sowing to harvesting, traditional gender norms can undermine their access to productive resources and influence household decisions. Additionally, women’s workload in wheat agriculture is increasing, due to men’s departure to non-agricultural jobs, but women are still not necessarily recognized as capable farmers.

Gender exclusion in agriculture

Given social norms and household-and-farm labor division based on gender, women are often confined to specific roles in the agricultural production system. In smallholder farming communities of South Asia like Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, men’s increasing involvement in non-agricultural activities has increased women’s workloads in every sphere of agricultural production. However, these long-held assumptions of their role can lead to exclusion from decision-making, limiting their control over what, how, and how much a crop is produced, their economic wellbeing, including household food security.

The CIMMYT study on “Intra-household gender dynamics in decision-making for wheat crop management in India (Bihar)” investigates women’s and men’s roles in production decisions. Led by Hom Gartaula, Gender, and Social Inclusion Specialist at CIMMYT, it covers eight villages — four in Darbhanga and four in Madhepura district — with 25 houses considered in each village.

As part of the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for improved livelihoods in Asia and Africa (AGG) project, the research study will help gain deeper insights into the intra-household gender dynamics. It will also help in untangling who does what, how wheat cultivation and management decisions are organized within the households and the perceptions of the male and female farmers around why decisions are made in such a way.

Farmer Devi points at the vignette that aligns with her household decision-making process. (Photo: Nima Chodon /CIMMYT)

Storytelling through household decision-making scenarios

In traditional rural societies, survey-based data collection might not be the best way to evaluate women’s agency, as the deeply rooted cultural restrictions might not allow them to talk openly about sensitive issues, like their relationship with a spouse. This study uses an innovative storytelling approach to data collection: using vignettes, farmers are given short stories to relate to their household circumstances. Stories are also easier to remember and help build a connection with the characters quickly.

The vignettes approach was first applied in the context of smallholder maize production in Kenya under the AGG project. According to Rachel Voss, the leader of the Kenyan study, “Using vignettes to explore decision-making in both East Africa and South Asia allows us to learn and compare across these regions and across crops. Gender relations in Indian wheat and Kenyan maize production might look similar in some ways, but very different in other ways, and our research and programming will need to respond to those differences.”

In this study, five vignettes with fictitious husband and wife characters are presented to participants to represent the different ways production and consumption decisions are made in the household. These vignettes describe how they engage in key decisions like seed procurement, labor hired, and harvest used for consumption or sale. With guidance from evaluators, respondents identify which scenario best aligns with the decision-making process in their household.

Researchers feel this qualitative data, gathered through a storytelling approach, could guide the reach of gender interventions in a more effective way. Gartaula and the team explained that the participants can build connections to a character in the story without biases, expressing their experiences in household decision-making through vignettes. They also observed that sometimes what the participant shared is the opposite of their assumption of women being excluded from decisions.

Rethinking gender roles

Traditional gender roles are deeply entrenched in the region. In the farming communities of rural Bihar, one might assume that who does what in wheat-rice cultivation is obvious, and it has been well studied in the past. However, investigating the stereotypes around gender to understand practices within households is an innovative aspect of this study.

For example, landless couple Pappu Paswan and Kamini Devi of village Kamtaul in Darbhanga district have been cultivating wheat on leased farm plots for many years. Devi is engaged in every aspect of decision-making. “We cultivate in leased plots of different sizes, spread across, requiring more effort and time in attending to them. We discuss additional labor during harvest and if there is money enough to pay them,” said Devi pointing her finger at the vignette illustrating ‘cooperation’ in household decision-making. They produce enough for their consumption, but when possible, “I advise my husband to sell some for income,” she added.

Despite contributing to decisions jointly with Pappu when it comes to farm labor and household finances, Devi has little or no knowledge of seed varieties and access. Her husband informs that it was UP262 (wheat seed variety) they have been cultivating for the last two years.

In Rishikesh Ram’s household, land ownership and livelihood specialization were factors in decision-making. He owns the land and makes all farming decisions, including how much will be saved for consumption at home. His wife, Kiran Devi, a nurse at the village primary health center, is hardly involved in any farming work. “As the income from her job contributes to expenses at home, decisions about loans or payment for labors on the farm are joint decisions,” Ram said.

“In these two households of the diverse decision-making process, different approaches to messaging and relevant extension services must be explored to address the issues of exclusion, access, and knowledge gaps in these households,” Gartaula observed.

Bridging the gender gap in agri-food systems

With the feminization of agriculture in the region, women’s contribution to agricultural production is likely to increase. Policy and research interventions must recognize this growing population and support their full economic and social contributions as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and laborers. However, whether women’s growing role in wheat production leads to increased decision-making authority and empowerment is still unknown. But hope is that AGG-supported gender research in South Asia and East Africa will help guide actions on gender and social inclusion in agri-food systems and support cross-learning between the regions.

Researchers plan transformation of agrifood systems in South Asia

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 8, 2022. Posted in News.

Representatives from CIMMYT and ICAR begin planning research for the Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TASSA) CGIAR Initiative. (Photo: Vikram/ICAR-CSSRI)

CGIAR researchers are taking an innovative approach to analyzing crop and farming systems, by emphasizing nutritional yield. “This is an unusual perspective for an agronomist to apply to our work,” said Timothy Krupnik from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). “However, farmers in India recognize the critical need to produce more nutritious food that is environmentally sustainable without losing yield levels.”To meet this need, more than 25 researchers from CIMMYT and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI) met from 25-27 May in Karnal, in India’s Haryana state, to plan a collaborative research program on nutrition-smart agriculture.

The program is part of Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), a CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative aiming to propel evidence into impact through engagement with public and private partners across the farm production-to-consumption continuum. The Initiative will achieve productive, environmentally-sound agrifood systems that support equitable access to sustainable healthy diets in the world’s most poverty-dense region.

Through three days of workshops, attendees met with more than 200 men and women farmers. They developed a common understanding of the research objectives, designed research for multi-criteria analysis of crop and farming systems with an emphasis on nutritional yield, and developed a joint action plan for data collection and analysis.

To provide attendees with context for the research program, Temina Lalani-Shariff, CIMMYT Regional Director for South Asia, presented an overview of CGIAR activities in India and CGIAR Research Initiatives globally. HS Jat, Principal Scientist (Agronomy) from ICAR-CSSRI also presented some of the institute’s ongoing research and experiments that are examining the effects of different crop rotations on the production of nutritious foods. This included a visit to ICAR-CSSRI’s research trials later in the day.

Workshop participants visit ICAR-CSSRI research trials. (Photo: Vikram/ICAR-CSSRI)

From the ground up

To improve on the participatory design of research and to tailor the Initiative’s work to on-the-ground needs, the second day of the program was dedicated to visiting farmers in the states of Haryana and Punjab. There, researchers discussed the proposed research priorities and experimental design with the farmers. The design and priorities were later amended based on this feedback.

During the workshop, researchers had a chance to run focus groups with farmers in India’s Haryana and Punjab states. (Photo: Timothy Krupnik/CIMMYT)

“This was an incredibly useful workshop for us,” said PC Sharma, Director of ICAR-CSSRI. “This represents a new way of thinking about how to approach crop rotations and production. Having the help of farmers and colleagues in the nutrition community to design our research means we can address multiple issues in one research program. This increases the value of our research and spreads the benefits wider.”

To conclude the workshops, groups presented on their field visits and selected crop rotations and management practices as part of agronomic trial design for nutrition-sensitive and environmentally efficient cropping systems, including consideration of implementation and data collection.

Cereal seed value chains in Nepal

Written by Sarah Fernandes on July 7, 2022. Posted in Publications.

Cereals cover around 80% of Nepal’s cultivated land area, with a low level of productivity. The country’s commercial cereal seed sector development has been rather slow as more than 83% of seed comes from the informal system. The formal sector cannot produce adequate seeds to meet the farmers’ needs. Moreover, the formal market is largely driven by public seed varieties. To catalyze the sector’s development and enhance productivity, building a well-performing seed system that produces and timely supplies quality seeds at affordable rates to farmers is integral.

The adoption of a federal system of governance since 2018, creating new structures within the system, along with the after-effects of COVID-19 has impacted the public sector seed production and distribution with implications on private seed business. A recent assessment conducted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) examines the current functions in the cereal value chain in Nepal and identifies upgrading strategies to bring efficiency and competitiveness in the cereal seed market systems, specifically for rice and maize.

An agrovet owner sells improved varieties of maize and rice locally produced by GATE Nepal Seed Company, a partner of CIMMYT in Banke, Nepal (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

The study provides a detailed analysis of the market size and trends for the various hybrid and open-pollinated varieties of rice and maize seeds as well as their production, distribution and margins in seed business.

A majority of rice and maize seeds, especially high-yielding hybrids, sold to farmers are brought in by importers and wholesalers who directly sells them to farmers or indirectly through agro-dealers. Nepali hybrid varieties are lagging because farmers, grain producers and millers have low awareness and information on new and improved varieties produced by local seed companies and cooperatives. A significant supply gap of rice and maize seeds was found in all the seven provinces of Nepal.

The study reviews the nature of inter-business relations in the seed value chain and provision of services by the government, NGOs and others for the development of the cereal seed value chain. In the context of federalism, the study assesses the seed policies and actions under the Revised Seed Act (2020) to establish provincial seed systems. Considering migration-induced feminization of agriculture in Nepal, the study identifies approaches to promote inclusive seed systems and youth engagement in seed value chains. Strategic measures to build a resilient seed system that can respond to abrupt market and mobility disruptions, as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is also taken into account. However, it also details out the various challenges and risks encountered by the value chain actors that hinders seed business and the sector’s growth overall.

CIMMYT designed seed packets of maize and rice to enhance branding and marketing of local products displayed in an agrovet in Banke district, Nepal (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Some of the strategies to address these bottlenecks include strengthening value chain functions in research and development, hybrid seed production, seed processing and innovative approaches for market promotion and sales. Creating an enabling environment for seed companies in areas of variety testing and release, quality assurance in seed production and commercialization, financial and business management services, seed extension services and promotion of new domestic varieties are also fundamental propositions to achieve Nepal’s National Seed Vision (2013-2025) targets.

CRISPR, 10 years on: Learning to rewrite the code of life

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on July 7, 2022. Posted in In the media.

In just a decade, CRISPR has become one of the most celebrated inventions in modern biology. It is swiftly changing how medical researchers study diseases: Cancer biologists are using the method to discover hidden vulnerabilities of tumor cells. Doctors are using CRISPR to edit genes that cause hereditary diseases.

But CRISPR’s influence extends far beyond medicine. Evolutionary biologists are using the technology to study Neanderthal brains and to investigate how our ape ancestors lost their tails. Plant biologists have edited seeds to produce crops with new vitamins or with the ability to withstand diseases. Some of them may reach supermarket shelves in the next few years.