Blogs – Page 69

Wheat fields in the Arsi highlands, Ethiopia, 2015. (Photo: CIMMYT/ Peter Lowe)

Rust-resistant bread wheat varieties widely adopted in Ethiopia

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 11, 2020. Posted in Press releases.

A state-of-the-art study of plant DNA provides strong evidence that farmers in Ethiopia have widely adopted new, improved rust-resistant bread wheat varieties since 2014.

The results — published in Nature Scientific Reports — show that nearly half (47%) of the 4,000 plots sampled were growing varieties 10 years old or younger, and the majority (61%) of these were released after 2005.

Four of the top varieties sown were recently-released rust-resistant varieties developed through the breeding programs of the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Adoption studies provide a fundamental measure of the success and effectiveness of agricultural research and investment. However, obtaining accurate information on the diffusion of crop varieties remains a challenging endeavor.

DNA fingerprinting enables researchers to identify the variety present in samples or plots, based on a comprehensive reference library of the genotypes of known varieties. In Ethiopia, over 94% of plots could be matched with known varieties. This provides data that is vastly more accurate than traditional farmer-recall surveys.

This is the first nationally representative, large-scale wheat DNA fingerprinting study undertaken in Ethiopia. CIMMYT scientists led the study in partnership with EIAR, the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (CSA) and Diversity Array Technologies (DArT).

“When we compared DNA fingerprinting results with the results from a survey of farmers’ memory of the same plots, we saw that only 28% of farmers correctly named wheat varieties grown,” explained Dave Hodson, a principal scientist at CIMMYT and lead author of the study.

The resulting data helps national breeding programs adjust their seed production to meet demand, and national extension agents focus on areas that need better access to seed. It also helps scientists, policymakers, donors and organizations such as CIMMYT track their impact and prioritize funding, support, and the direction of future research.

“These results validate years of international investment and national policies that have worked to promote, distribute and fast-track the release of wheat varieties with the traits that farmers have asked for — particularly resistance to crop-destroying wheat rust disease,” said Hodson.

Ethiopia is the largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa. The Ethiopian government recently announced its goal to become self-sufficient in wheat, and increasing domestic wheat production is a national priority.

Widespread adoption of these improved varieties, demonstrated by DNA fingerprinting, has clearly had a positive impact on both economic returns and national wheat production gains. Initial estimates show that farmers gained an additional 225,500 tons of production — valued at $50 million — by using varieties released after 2005.

The study results validate investments in wheat improvement made by international donor agencies, notably the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ethiopian government, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO, formerly DFID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. Their success in speeding up variety release and seed multiplication in Ethiopia is considered a model for other countries.

“This is good news for Ethiopian farmers, who are seeing better incomes from higher yielding, disease-resistant wheat, and for the Ethiopian government, which has put a high national priority on increasing domestic wheat production and reducing dependence on imports,” said EIAR Deputy Director General Chilot Yirga.

The study also confirmed CGIAR’s substantial contribution to national breeding efforts, with 90% of the area sampled containing varieties released by Ethiopian wheat breeding programs and derived from CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) germplasm. Varieties developed using germplasm received from CIMMYT covered 87% of the wheat area surveyed.

“This research demonstrates that DNA fingerprinting can be applied at scale and is likely to transform future crop varietal adoption studies,” said Kindie Tesfaye, a senior scientist at CIMMYT and co-author of the study. “Additional DNA fingerprinting studies are now also well advanced for maize in Ethiopia.”

This research is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CGIAR Fund Donors. Financial support was provided through the “Mainstreaming the use and application of DNA Fingerprinting in Ethiopia for tracking crop varieties” project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant number OPP1118996).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS:

Ethiopia’s Transforming Wheat Landscape: Tracking Variety Use through DNA Fingerprinting

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR INTERVIEW REQUESTS:

Dave Hodson, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), d.hodson@cgiar.org

ABOUT CIMMYT:

The International Maize and What Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information visit staging.cimmyt.org

A member of an agricultural mechanization youth association in Ethiopia’s Tigray region fills a two-wheel tractor with water before irrigation. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

The beginning of a beautiful partnership

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 11, 2020. Posted in Features.

In most developing countries, smallholder farmers are the main source of food production, relying heavily on animal and human power. Women play a significant role in this process — from the early days of land preparation to harvesting. However, the sector not only lacks appropriate technologies — such as storage that could reduce postharvest loss and ultimately maximize both the quality and quantity of the farm produce — but fails to include women in the design and validation of these technologies from the beginning.

“Agricultural outputs can be increased if policy makers and other stakeholders consider mechanization beyond simply more power and tractorization in the field,” says Rabe Yahaya, an agricultural mechanization expert at CIMMYT. “Increases in productivity start from planting all the way to storage and processing, and when women are empowered and included at all levels of the value chain.”

In recent years, mechanization has become a hot topic, strongly supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Under the commission of BMZ, the German development agency GIZ set up the Green Innovation Centers (GIC) program, under which the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) supports mechanization projects in 16 countries — 14 in Africa and two in Asia.

As part of the GIC program, a cross-country working group on agricultural mechanization is striving to improve knowledge on mechanization, exchange best practices among country projects and programs, and foster links between members and other mechanization experts. In this context, CIMMYT has facilitated the development of a matchmaking and south-south learning matrix where each country can indicate what experience they need and what they can offer to the others in the working group. CIMMYT has also developed an expert database for GIC so country teams can reach external consultants to get the support they need.

“The Green Innovation Centers have the resources and mandate to really have an impact at scale, and it is great that CIMMYT was asked to bring the latest thinking around sustainable scaling,” says CIMMYT scaling advisor Lennart Woltering. “This is a beautiful partnership where the added value of each partner is very clear, and we hope to forge more of these partnerships with other development organizations so that CIMMYT can do the research in and for development.”

This approach strongly supports organizational capacity development and improves cooperation between the country projects, explains Joachim Stahl, a capacity development expert at CIMMYT. “This is a fantastic opportunity to support GIZ in working with a strategic approach.” Like Woltering and Yahaya, Stahl is a GIZ-CIM integrated expert, whose position at CIMMYT is directly supported through GIZ.

A catalyst for South-South learning and cooperation

Earlier this year, CIMMYT and GIZ jointly organized the mechanization working group’s annual meeting, which focused on finding storage technologies and mechanization solutions that benefit and include women. Held from July 7–10 July, the virtual event brought together around 60 experts and professionals from 20 countries, who shared their experiences and presented the most successful storage solutions that have been accepted by farmers in Africa for their adaptability, innovativeness and cost and that fit best with local realities.

CIMMYT postharvest specialist Sylvanus Odjo outlined how to reduce postharvest losses and improve food security in smallholder farming systems using inert dusts such as silica, detailing how these can be applied to large-scale agriculture and what viable business models could look like. Alongside this and the presentation of Purdue University’s improved crop storage bags, participants had the opportunity to discuss new technologies in detail, asking questions about profitability analysis and the many variables that may slow uptake in the regions where they work.

Harvested maize cobs are exposed to the elements in an open-air storage unit in Ethiopia. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

Discussions at the meeting also focused heavily on gender and mechanization – specifically, how women can benefit from mechanized farming and the frameworks available to increase their access to relevant technologies. Modernizing the agricultural sector in developing countries in ways that would benefit both men and women has remained a challenge for many professionals. Many argue that the existing technologies are not gender-sensitive or affordable for women, and in many cases, women are not well informed about the available technologies.

However, gender-sensitive and affordable technologies will support smallholder farmers produce more while saving time and energy. Speaking at a panel discussion, representatives from AfricaRice and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) highlighted the importance of involving women during the design, creation and validation of agricultural solutions to ensure that they are gender-sensitive, inclusive and can be used easily by women. Increasing their engagement with existing business models and developing tailored digital services and trainings will help foster technology adaptation and adoption, releasing women farmers from labor drudgery and postharvest losses while improving livelihoods in rural communities and supporting economic transformation in Africa.

Fostering solutions

By the end of the meeting, participants had identified and developed key work packages both for storage technologies and solutions for engaging women in mechanization. For the former, the new work packages proposed the promotion of national and regional dialogues on postharvest, cross-country testing of various postharvest packages, promotion of renewable energies for power supply in storing systems and cross-country scaling of hermetically sealed bags.

To foster solutions for women in mechanization, participants suggested the promotion and scaling of existing business models such as ‘Woman mechanized agro-service provider cooperative’, piloting and scaling gender-inclusive and climate-smart postharvest technologies for smallholder rice value chain actors in Africa, and the identification and testing of gender-sensitive mechanization technologies aimed at finding appropriate tools or approaches.

Cover image: A member of Dellet – an agricultural mechanization youth association in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – fills a two-wheel tractor with water before irrigation. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

A farmer takes maize grain to a local reserve in Bangladesh. (Photo: Fahad Kaizer/FAO)

Critical reflections on COVID-19

Written by AFM Nazmul Alam on November 10, 2020. Posted in News.

The COVID-19 global health crisis has disrupted food and agricultural systems around the world, affecting food production, supply chains, trade and markets, as well as people’s livelihoods and nutrition. Following an initial assessment in May 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) joined the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and other CGIAR centers to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bangladesh’s agri-food system.

The report shares critical reflections and lessons learned, as well as providing detailed quantitative and qualitative information on all disruption pathways and possible recovery strategies.

According to the research team, the major visible impact was the decline of food demand due to the disruption of value chain actors in the food market and income shortages, especially among low- and daily wage-earning populations. This reduced demand lead in turn to reduced prices for agricultural goods, particularly perishable food items like vegetables, livestock and fish products.

Additionally, constraints on the movement of labor led to a disruption in agricultural services, including machinery and extension services, while domestic and international trade disruptions created input shortages and lead to price volatilities which increased production costs. This increase, coupled with reductions in production and output prices, essentially wiped farmer profits.

Building back a better food system

The latest report was launched at the same time as the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub in Bangladesh, which aims to build local resilience to the effects of the pandemic and support government-led recovery initiatives. At a panel discussion presenting the results of the assessment, researchers emphasized the importance of social safety net mechanisms and food demand creation, as well as the need for strong monitoring of food systems to ensure continued availability and affordability, and early detection of any critical issues.

The discussion centered on the need for public access to trustworthy information in order to raise awareness and instill confidence in the food they consume. One key recommendation which emerged is facilitating the digitalization of farming, which looks to re-connect farmers and consumers and build the food system back better. The accelerated development of digital platforms connecting farmers to markets with contactless delivery systems can ensure the safer flow of inputs and outputs while generating a higher share of consumer money for farmers. There is also a need to explore green growth strategies for reducing food waste — the creation and distribution of improved food storage systems, for instance — and circular nutrient initiatives to better utilize food waste as feed and bio manure.

Read the full report “Second rapid assessment of food and nutrition security in the context of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, May – July 2020”

Power of data: To enhance food security

Written by Mary Donovan on November 6, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Data has become a key driver of growth and change in today’s world.

There is growing recognition that data is indispensable for effective planning and decision-making in every sector. But the state of digital data in developing countries is far from satisfactory. In Asia, monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains a challenge due to a lack of accurate data.

An experimental line of provitamin A-enriched orange maize is harvested in Zambia. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Farmers flock towards nutritious, orange maize

Written by Shiela Chikulo on November 6, 2020. Posted in Features.

At seed fair in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe, farmers browse numerous displays of maize, sorghum, millet, groundnuts and cowpeas presented by the seed companies gathered at Muchakata Business Centre.

The event — organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) as part of the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative — is promoting a range of stress-tolerant seeds, but there is a particular rush for the vitamin A-rich, orange maize on offer. Farmers excitedly show each other the distinctive orange packets they are purchasing and in no time all, this maize seed is sold out at the Mukushi Seeds stand.

“I first saw this orange maize in the plot of my neighbor, Florence Chimhini, who was participating in a CIMMYT project,” explains Dorcus Musingarimi, a farmer from Ward 17, Masvingo. “I was fascinated by the deep orange color and Florence told me that this maize was nutritious and contained vitamin A which helps to maintain normal vision and maintain a strong immune system.”

“I would like to grow it for myself and consume it with my family,” says Enna Mutasa, who also purchased the seed. “I heard that it is good for eyesight and skin — and it is also tasty.”

A customer shows off her orange maize purchases at a seed fair in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: S. Chikulo/CIMMYT)

Knowledge transfer through mother trials

Florence Chimhini is one of ten farmers who has participated in the “mother trials” organized as part of the Zambuko/R4 Rural Resilience Initiative since 2018.

These trials were designed in a way that allows farmers to test the performance of six different maize varieties suited to the climatic conditions of their semi-arid region, while also growing them under the principles of conservation agriculture. Using this method, farmers like Chimhini could witness the traits of the different maize varieties for themselves and compare their performance under their own farm conditions.

An important outcome of the mother trials was a growing interest in new varieties previously unknown to smallholders in the area, such as the orange maize varieties ZS244A and ZS500 which are sold commercially by Mukushi Seeds.

“Recent breeding efforts have significantly advanced the vitamin A content of orange maize varieties,” says Christian Thierfelder, a cropping systems agronomist at CIMMYT. “However, the orange color has previously been associated with relief food — which has negative connotations due to major food crises which brought low quality yellow maize to Zimbabwe.”

“Now that farmers have grown this maize in their own mother trial plots and got first-hand experience, their comments are overwhelmingly positive. The local dishes of roasted maize and maize porridge are tastier and have become a special treat for the farmers,” he explains.

“Though not as high yielding as current white maize varieties, growing orange maize under climate-smart conservation agriculture systems can also provide sustained and stable yields for farm families in Zimbabwe’s drought-prone areas.”

A seed company representative outlines the benefits of an orange maize variety at a seed fair in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: S.Chikulo/CIMMYT) — Grison Rowai, a seed systems officer at HarvestPlus outlines the benefits of an orange maize variety at a seed fair in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: S.Chikulo/CIMMYT)

Addressing micronutrient deficiency

In Zimbabwe, at least one in every five children suffers from ailments caused by vitamin A deficiency, from low levels of concentration to stunting and blindness. The vitamin is commonly found in leafy green vegetables, fruits and animal products — sources that may be unavailable or unaffordable for many resource-poor households.

Staple maize grain, however, is often available to smallholder families and thus serves as a reliable means through which to provide additional micronutrient requirements through conventional biofortification. This allows people to improve their nutrition through the foods that they already grow and eat every day, says Lorence Mjere, a seed systems officer at HarvestPlus Zimbabwe.

The beta-carotene in orange maize gives it its distinctive orange color and provides consumers with up to 50% of their daily vitamin A requirements.

“Orange maize addresses hidden hunger in family diets by providing the much-needed pro-vitamin A which is converted to retinol upon consumption,” explains Thokozile Ndhlela, a maize breeder at CIMMYT. “In doing so, it helps alleviate symptoms of deficiency such as night blindness and poor growth in children, to name just a few.”

The success of the recent seed fairs shows that provitamin A maize is gaining momentum among smallholder farmers in Masvingo and its continued promotion will support all other efforts to improve food and nutrition security in rural farming communities of southern Africa.

A farmer in Punjab, India, holds up a handful of freshly threshed rice. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT)

A catastrophe avoided

Written by Steven M on November 5, 2020. Posted in Features.

There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen. So goes the old saw. In the social sciences, these “weeks” are often referred to as critical junctures. They are moments when the old rules of the game — the long-established ways of doings things — go out the window and new patterns begin to emerge. The breadbasket states of northwestern India seem to be having one of those weeks.

After years of research and advocacy that appeared to be making little headway, researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are seeing a sudden and dramatic increase in the adoption of some of the technologies and techniques they have long argued are necessary in this region, including direct-seeding of rice, crop diversification and the adoption of Happy Seeder technology.

A case of unintended consequences

In March 2020 the Indian government decreed a national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This triggered the largest internal migration since partition, as millions of migrant workers and day laborers scrambled to return to their home villages. Estimates suggest that up to 1 million workers left the northwestern states of Haryana and Punjab alone.

Agriculture in the region is dominated by the labor- and input-intensive production of rice and wheat in rotation. This system is the most productive per hectare in India, but it is also extremely sensitive to external shocks. The success of both the rice and wheat crop depend on the timely transplantation of rice in mid-June.

As the results of a recently published study demonstrate, delays in this schedule can have devastating downstream effects not only on rice and wheat yields, but on regional air quality too. Models of the worst-case delay scenario predicted a total economic loss of nearly $1.5 billion. Moreover, they predicted that, if no action were taken, up to 80% of rice residue would be burned later in the autumn, when cooler conditions contribute to seasonally poor air quality.

Such an exacerbation of the region’s air pollution would be dire under normal conditions. During a global pandemic of a primarily respiratory illness, it could be devastating.

Fortunately, solutions and technologies that CIMMYT researchers had been studying for decades, along with ICAR, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and other national partners, promised to help ward off the worst effects of the crisis. The adoption of direct-seeding technology could help reduce the labor-intensiveness of rice production, crop diversification could minimize the economic impacts of the crisis, and the use of Happy Seeder technology could alleviate the practice of residue burning.

A farmer burns rice residues after harvest to prepare the land for wheat planting around Sangrur, Punjab, India. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT)

Decades of work pay off

The study, co-authored by researchers at CIMMYT, ICAR and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), relied on a sophisticated ex ante model of four different rice-transplanting delay scenarios. It is published in the November 2020 issue of Agricultural Systems.

However, given the time-sensitivity and high-stakes of the issue, the lead researchers did not wait for the articles publication to press their case. Earlier this year they circulated their initial findings and recommendations to policymakers via their national partners. Notably, after receiving a one-pager summarizing these, the Chief Minister of Punjab released a video address echoing their points.

“Policymakers realized the need for these kinds of solutions,” says Balwinder Singh, a CIMMYT scientist and lead author of the paper. They then moved quickly to incentivize their adoption through various mechanisms, such as subsidizing direct-seeding drills and ensuring the timely availability of machines and other inputs.

This year, 500,000 hectares were converted to direct seeding, explains M.L. Jat, a principal scientist at CIMMYT. This represents 34% more area converted in 2020 alone than in the previous 10 years. Additionally, 330,000 hectares were converted to other crops, principally cotton, maize and legumes.

Singh and Jat have been carrying out a multi-year survey to assess farmer willingness to adopt Happy Seeder technology and have documented a drastic increase in farmer interest in the technology during 2020. For Jat, this highlights the power of partnerships. “If you don’t include your partners from the beginning, they will not own what you say,” he argues.

Such changes are to be celebrated not only as an important response to the current labor shortage, but also as key to ensuring the long-term sustainability of agricultural production in the region, having important implications for the stewardship of water resources, air pollution and soil health.

“Policies encouraging farming practices that save resources and protect the environment will improve long-term productivity and sustainability of the nation,” says S. K. Chaudhari, deputy director general for Natural Resource Management at ICAR.

A farmer in India uses a tractor fitted with a Happy Seeder. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Warding off catastrophe

Although the agricultural cycle is not yet over, and early data are still partial, Singh and Jat estimate that thanks to the dramatic adoption of alternative agricultural practices this year, their worst-case estimates have been avoided. Given the rapid response from both policymakers and farmers, the real-world effects of the COVID-19 labor crisis are likely closer to the mid-range severity scenarios of their analysis. Indeed, early estimates predict no rice yield losses and minor-to-no wheat yield losses over baseline. For the researchers, the relief is palpable and the lessons couldn’t be clearer.

“These technologies were there for decades, but they were never appreciated because everything was normal,” says Jat. “This clearly indicates a need for investment in the technology and the research. You may encounter a problem at any time, but you cannot generate the technology overnight.”

A farmer in Morogoro, Tanzania, discusses differences in his maize ears caused by differences in on-farm conditions. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

What can the last 30 years of research tell us?

Written by Steven M on November 4, 2020. Posted in News.

Global climate change represents an existential threat to many of the world’s most vulnerable farmers, introducing new stresses and amplifying the unpredictability and risk inherent in farming. In low- and middle-income countries that are heavily reliant on domestic production, this increased risk and unpredictability threatens disastrous consequences for the food security and wellbeing of rural and urban populations alike.

Given the stakes, substantial investments have been made towards developing climate-resilient crops. But what happens when the innovations widely considered to be beneficial don’t gain traction on the ground, among those who stand to lose the most from inaction? What can researchers, policymakers and funders do to ensure that the most vulnerable rural populations don’t lose out on the benefits?

These are the questions posed by a new scoping review co-authored by Kevin Pixley, interim deputy director general for research and partnerships and director of the Genetic Resources Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The paper relies on a descriptive analysis of 202 studies from the past 30 years which assess the determinants of climate-resilient crop adoption by small-scale producers in low- and middle-income countries. These were identified through an extensive search and screening process of multiple academic databases and grey literature sources, and selected from an initial pool of over 6,000 articles.

Taking stock

The authors identified interventions determining adoption across the literature surveyed. A key theme which emerged was the need for context-sensitive technical and financial support for climate-resilient crop adoption. Nearly 16% of the studies found that adoption depended on access to relevant extension programs. Around 12% identified access to credit and other financial instruments as key, while a further 12% identified the implementation of community programs supporting climate-resilient crops as a determining factor.

However, the study stresses that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Increased adoption of climate-resilient agricultural innovations will depend on interventions being highly context informed. For example, the review shows that while some studies identified older farmers as more reluctant to adopt new technologies, an equal number of studies found the opposite.

Moreover, the review identified important opportunities for further research. Gender-based approaches, for example, remain a blind spot in the literature. The majority of studies reviewed only included women if they were household heads, thus overlooking the role they may play in influencing the adoption of new agricultural technologies in male-headed households.

A community-based seed producer in Kiboko, Kenya, inspects her crop of drought-tolerant maize. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

Driving evidence-based policymaking

The review was published as part of a collection of 10 research papers produced as part of Ceres2030: Sustainable Solutions to End Hunger. The project, a partnership between Cornell University, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), distills decades of scientific and development research into a clear menu of policy options for funders committed to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2: Ending world hunger by 2030.

The full collection of papers was published on October 12 across various Nature Research journals.

Speaking at a German government event on achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2, Bill Gates praised the Ceres2030 initiative, noting that “nothing on this scale has ever been done because we lacked the tools to analyze this complex information. But with the new research, solid evidence will drive better policymaking.”

He went on to highlight the CGIAR’s leadership role in these efforts, saying: “The CGIAR system is a key global institution that is investing in these approaches. It’s a critical example of how innovation can lead the way.”

A researcher demonstrates the use of the AgroTutor app on a mobile phone in Mexico. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

Digital revolution can transform agri-food systems

Written by Alison Doody on November 4, 2020. Posted in Features.

A digital transformation is changing the face of international research for development and agri-food systems worldwide. This was the key takeaway from the 4^th annual CGIAR Big Data in Agriculture Convention held virtually last month.

“In many countries, farmers are using data to learn about market trends and weather predictions,” said Martin Kropff, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in a video address to convention participants. “But many still do not have access to everything that big data offers, and that is where CIMMYT and partners come in.”

As a member of CGIAR, CIMMYT is committed to ensuring that farmers around the world get access to data-driven solutions and information, while at the same time ensuring that the data generated by farmers, researchers and others is used ethically.

According to CGIAR experts and partner organizations, there are four key areas with the potential to transform agriculture in the next 10 years: data, artificial intelligence (AI), digital services and sector intelligence.

Key interventions will involve enabling open data and responsible data use, developing responsible AI, enabling and validating bundled digital services for food systems, and building trust in technology and big data — many of which CIMMYT has been working on already.

Harnessing data and data analytics

Led by CIMMYT, the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) team have been developing the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) — a single data management software solution for global breeding programs. The software aims to provide a solution to manage data across the entire breeding data workflow — from experiment creation to analytics — all in a single user-friendly dashboard.

CIMMYT and partners have also made significant breakthroughs in crop modelling to better understand crop performance and yield gaps, optimize planting dates and irrigation systems, and improve predictions of pest outbreaks. The Community of Practice (CoP) on Crop Modeling, a CGIAR initiative led by CIMMYT Crop Physiologist Matthew Reynolds, aims to foster collaboration and improve the collection of open access, easy-to-use data available for crop modelling.

The CIMMYT-led Community of Practice (CoP) on Socio-Economic Data continues to work at the forefront of making messy socio-economic data interoperable to address urgent and pressing global development issues in agri-food systems. Data interoperability, one of the foundational components of the FAIR data standards supported by CGIAR, addresses the ability of systems and services that create, exchange and consume data to have clear, shared expectations for its content, context and meaning. In the wake of COVID-19, the world witnessed the need for better data interoperability to understand what is happening in global food systems, and the CoP actively supports that process.

The MARPLE team carries out rapid analysis using the diagnostic kit in Ethiopia. (Photo: JIC)

Improving data use and supporting digital transformation

In Ethiopia, the MARPLE (Mobile And Real-time PLant disEase) diagnostic kit — developed by CIMMYT, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) — has helped researchers, local governments and farmers to rapidly detect diseases like wheat rust in the field. The suitcase-sized kit cuts down the time it takes to detect this disease from months to just 48 hours.

In collaboration with research and meteorological organizations including Wageningen University and the European Space Agency (ESA), CIMMYT researchers have also been developing practical applications for satellite-sourced weather data. Crop scientists have been using this data to analyze maize and wheat cropping systems on a larger scale and create more precise crop models to predict the tolerance of crop varieties to stresses like drought and heatwaves. The aim is to share the climate and weather data available on an open access, user-friendly database.

Through the AgriFoodTrust platform — a new testing and learning platform for digital trust and transparency technologies – CIMMYT researchers have been experimenting with technologies like blockchain to tackle issues such as food safety, traceability, sustainability, and adulterated and counterfeit fertilizers and seeds. Findings will be used to build capacity on all aspects of the technologies and their application to ensure this they are inclusive and usable.

In Mexico, CIMMYT and partners have developed an application which offers tailored recommendations to help individual farmers deal with crop production challenges sustainably. The AgroTutor app offers farmers free information on historic yield potential, local benchmarks, recommended agricultural practices, commodity price forecasting and more.

Stepping up to the challenge

As the world becomes increasingly digital, harnessing the full potential of digital technologies is a huge area of opportunity for the agricultural research for development community, but one that is currently lacking clear leadership. As a global organization already working on global problems, it’s time for the CGIAR network to step up to the challenge. Carrying a legacy of agronomic research, agricultural extension, and research into adoption of technologies and innovations, CGIAR has an opportunity to become a leader in the digital transformation of agriculture.

Currently, the CGIAR System is coming together as One CGIAR. This transformation process is a dynamic reformulation of CGIAR’s partnerships, knowledge, assets, and global presence, aiming for greater integration and impact in the face of the interdependent challenges facing today’s world.

“One CGIAR’s role in supporting digitalization is both to improve research driven by data and data analytics, but also to foster the digitalization of agriculture in low and lower-middle income countries,” said CIMMYT Economist Gideon Kruseman at a session on Exploring CGIAR Digital Strategy at last month’s Big Data convention.

“One CGIAR — with its neutral stance and its focus on global public goods — can act as an honest broker between different stakeholders in the digital ecosystem.”

Cover photo: A researcher demonstrates the use of the AgroTutor app on a mobile phone in Mexico. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

Wheat disease common to South America jumps to Africa

Written by Mary Donovan on November 3, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Pawan Kumar Singh, head, wheat pathology, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) says that the fast-acting and devastating fungal disease known as wheat blast was first spotted in Africa in the Zambian rainfed wheat production system in the 2017-2018 crop cycle.

Reaping carbon credits from agriculture

Written by Mary Donovan on October 30, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gases (GHGs), so can farmers be incentivized to cultivate in a less earth-warming manner, with tradable carbon credits giving them an additional source of income?

Read here: https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/reaping-carbon-credits-from-agriculture/2116860/

Crop Modeling community of practice

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 30, 2020. Posted in Videos.

The Community of Practice on Crop Modeling is part of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture and encompasses a wide range of quantitative applications, based around the broad concept of parametrizing interactions within and among the main drivers of cropping systems. These are namely: Genotype, Environment, Management and Socioeconomic factors (GEMS) to provide information and tools for decision support. The Community of Practice was formed in 2017 and is led by Wheat Physiologist Matthew Reynolds at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico.

Crop modeling has already contributed to a better understanding of crop performance and yield gaps; predictions of potential pest and disease epidemics; more efficient irrigation and fertilization systems, and optimized planting dates. These outputs help decision makers look ahead and prepare their research and extension systems to fight climate change where it is most needed. However, there is a significant opportunity — and need — to improve the global coordination of crop modeling efforts in agricultural research. This will, in turn, greatly improve the world’s ability to develop more adaptive, resilient crops and cropping systems.

Our Community of Practice aims to promote a better-coordinated and more standardized approach to crop modeling in agricultural research. With over 900 members involving CGIAR centers and a wide range of international partners, the Crop Modeling Community of Practice is already facilitating and sharing knowledge, resources, “model-ready” data, FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles, and other useful information; while promoting capacity building and collaboration within the CGIAR and its community.

Get more information about the Crop Modeling Community of Practice on the Big Data website.

Join the Crop Modeling mailing list to get information about publications, webinars, new tools, updates and collaboration opportunities.

Connect to our LinkedIn group: Crop Modeling CoP.

CIMMYT-supported researcher earns doctorate for work on gender, maize value chains and food security

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 30, 2020. Posted in News.

Gebre received his doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Kyushu University, Japan.

On September 25, with financial and academic support from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Girma Gezimu Gebre upgraded his honorific from mister to doctor. Born in Dawuro zone, in southern Ethiopia, Gebre received his doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Kyushu University, Japan.

His dissertation—Gender Dimensions of the Maize Value Chain and Food Security: The Case of Dawuro Zone in Southern Ethiopia—was supported by CIMMYT through the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project. Dil Rahut, global program manager of the socioeconomics and sustainable intensification programs at CIMMYT, served on his committee.

Asked about Gebre’s achievement, Rahut alluded to his hard work and dedication. “Desire is the starting point of all achievements while hard work and commitment are the end points of all the high achievements,” he said.

Gebre’s research explores how and to what degree gender plays a role in the adoption of improved maize varieties, maize productivity, maize market participation, and marketing channel choices, as well as food security among smallholder households across the maize value chain. Gebre already boasts published articles on the impact of gender on various dimensions of agriculture and agricultural development as well as various other topics— from the development of sustainable banana value chains in Ethiopia to barriers to farmers’ innovativeness.

At Kyushu University Gebre was awarded the 2020 Graduate School of Bioresources and Bioenvironmental Science “Outstanding Student Prize.” He was also awarded the 2020 Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Prize in recognition of his excellent academic achievements and quality as a role model for other students.

Before pursuing a Ph.D., Gebre received a Master’s degree in Economics (Development Policy Analysis) from Mekelle University, Ethiopia, and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Production Chain Management—Horticulture Chain from Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. He has served as the coordinator of the postgraduate program in Agribusiness and Value Chain Management and as the head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Aksum University, Ethiopia.

A rice farmer in central Bangladesh tends to his crop. (Photo: Scott Wallace/World Bank)

New publications: COVID-19 induced economic loss and ensuring food security for vulnerable groups

Written by Emma Orchardson on October 29, 2020. Posted in Publications.

At present, nearly half of the world’s population is under some form of government restriction to curb the spread of COVID-19. In Bangladesh, in the wake of five deaths and 48 infections early in the year, the government imposed a nationwide lockdown between March 24 and May 30, 2020. Until April 17, 38 of the country’s 64 districts were under complete lockdown.

“While this lockdown restricted the spread of the disease, in the absence of effective support, it can generate severe food and nutrition insecurity for daily wage-based workers,” says Khondoker Mottaleb, an agricultural economist based at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Of the 61 million people who make up Bangladesh’s employed labor force, nearly 35% are paid daily. In a new study published in PLOS ONE, Mottaleb examines the food security and welfare impacts of the lockdowns on these daily-wage workers — in both farm and non-farm sectors — who are comparatively more resource-poor in terms of land ownership and education, and therefore likely to be hit hardest by a loss in earnings.

Using information from 50,000 economically active workers in Bangladesh, collected by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the study quantifies the economic losses from the COVID-19 lockdowns based on daily-wage workers’ lost earnings and estimates the minimum compensation packages needed to ensure their minimum food security during the lockdown period.

Using the estimated daily wage earnings, the authors estimate that a one-day, complete lockdown generates an economic loss equivalent to $64.2 million. After assessing the daily per capita food expenditure for farm and non-farm households, the study estimates the need for a minimum compensation package of around $1 per day per household to ensure minimum food security for the daily wage-based worker households.

In May 2020, the Government of Bangladesh announced the provision of approximately $24 per month to two million households, half of whom will receive additional food provision. While this amount is in line with Mottaleb’s findings, he stresses than this minimum support package is only suitable for the short-term, and that in the event of a prolonged lockdown period it will be necessary to consider additional support for other household costs such as clothing, medicine and education.

“Without effective support programs, the implementation of a strict lockdown for a long time may be very difficult, if poor households are forced to come out to search for work, money and food,” explains Mottaleb. “In the event of a very strict lockdown scenario, the government should consider issuing movement passes to persons and carriers of agricultural input and output to support smallholder agriculture, wage workers and agricultural value chains.”

Read the full article:
COVID-19 induced economic loss and ensuring food security for vulnerable groups: Policy implications for Bangladesh

Read more recent publications from CIMMYT researchers:

Potential of climate-smart agriculture in reducing women farmers’ drudgery in high climatic risk areas. 2020. Khatri-Chhetri, A., Punya Prasad Regmi, Nitya Chanana, Aggarwal, P.K. In: Climatic Change v. 158, pg. 29-42.
Crop–livestock integration in smallholder farming systems of Goromonzi and Murehwa, Zimbabwe. 2020. Mkuhlani, S., Mupangwa, W., MacLeod, N., Lovemore Gwiriri, Nyagumbo, I., Manyawu, G., Ngavaite Chigede. In: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems v. 35, no. 3, pg. 249-260.
Effects of maize residue and mineral nitrogen applications on maize yield in conservation-agriculture-based cropping systems of Southern Africa. 2020. Mupangwa, W., Thierfelder, C., Cheesman, S., Nyagumbo, I., Muoni, T., Mhlanga, B., Mwila, M., Sida T.S., Ngwira, A. In: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems v. 35, no. 2, pg. 322-335.
From interest to implementation: exploring farmer progression of conservation agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa. 2020. Brown, B., Nuberg, I., Llewellyn, R. In: Environment, Development and Sustainability v. 22, pg. 3159-3177.
Spatial variability of soil physicochemical properties in agricultural fields cultivated with sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in southeastern Mexico. 2020. Salgado-Velázquez, S., Salgado-García, S., Rincón-Ramírez, J.A., Rodrigues, F., Palma-López, D.J., Córdova-Sánchez, S., López-Castañeda, A. In: Sugar Tech v. 22, pg. 65-75.
Apparent gains, hidden costs: examining adoption drivers, yield, and profitability outcomes of rotavator tillage in wheat systems in Nepal. 2020. Paudel, G.P., Krishna, V.V., McDonald, A. In: Journal of Agricultural Economics v. 71, no. 1, pg. 199-218.
Multi‐site bundling of drought tolerant maize varieties and index insurance. 2020. Awondo, S.N., Kostandini, G., Setimela, P.S., Erenstein, O. In: Journal of Agricultural Economics v. 71, no.1, pg. 239-259.
Leaving no one behind: how women seize control of wheat–maize technologies in Bangladesh. 2020. Farnworth, C.R., Jafry, T., Rahman, S., Badstue, L.B. In: Canadian Journal of Development Studies v. 41, no. 1, pg. 20-39.
Learning adaptation to climate change from past climate extremes: evidence from recent climate extremes in Haryana, India. 2020. Aryal, J.P., Jat, M.L., Sapkota, T.B., Rahut, D.B., Rai, M., Jat, H.S., Sharma, P.C., Stirling, C. In: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management v. 12. No. 1, pg. 128-146.
Climate change mitigation options among farmers in South Asia. 2020. Aryal, J.P., Rahut, D.B., Sapkota, T.B., Khurana, R., Khatri-Chhetri, A. In: Environment, Development and Sustainability v. 22, pg. 3267-3289.
Does climate-smart village approach influence gender equality in farming households? A case of two contrasting ecologies in India. 2020. Hariharan, V.K., Mittal, S., Rai, M., Agarwal, T., Kalvaniya, K.C., Stirling, C., Jat, M.L. In: Climatic Change v. 158, pg. 77-90.
First Report of TTRTF race of wheat stem rust, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, in Ethiopia. 2020. Tesfaye, T., Chala, A., Shikur, E., Hodson, D.P., Szabo, L.J. In: Plant Disease v. 104, no. 1, 293-293.
Multi-level socioecological drivers of agrarian change: longitudinal evidence from mixed rice-livestock-aquaculture farming systems of Bangladesh. 2020. Aravindakshan, S., Krupnik, T.J., Groot, J.C.J., Speelman, E. N., Amjath Babu, T.S, Tittonell, P. In: Agricultural Systems v. 177, art. 102695.
Carbon sequestration potential through conservation agriculture in Africa has been largely overestimated: comment on: “Meta-analysis on carbon sequestration through conservation agriculture in Africa”. 2020. Corbeels, M., Cardinael, R., Powlson, D.S., Chikowo, R., Gerard, B. In: Soil and Tillage Research v. 196, art. 104300.
Operationalizing the concept of robustness of nitrogen networks in mixed smallholder systems: a pilot study in the mid-hills and lowlands of Nepal. 2020. Alomia-Hinojosa, V., Groot, J.C.J., Speelman, E. N., Bettinelli, C., McDonald, A., Alvarez, S., Tittonell, P. In: Ecological Indicators v. 110, art. 105883.
The spread of smaller engines and markets in machinery services in rural areas of South Asia. 2020. Justice, S., Biggs, S. In: Journal of Rural Studies v. 73, pg. 10-20.
Functional farm household typologies through archetypal responses to disturbances. 2020. Tittonell, P., Bruzzone, O., Solano-Hernández, A., Lopez-Ridaura, S., Easdale, M.H. In: Agricultural Systems v. 178, art. 102714.
Data on a genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes in a Maya population. 2020. Totomoch-Serra, A., Domínguez-Cruz, M.G., Muñoz, M. de L., García-Escalante, M.G., Burgueño, J., Diaz-Badillo, A., Valadez-González, N., Pinto-Escalantes, D. In: Data in Brief v. 28, art. 104866.
On-farm performance and farmers’ participatory assessment of new stress-tolerant maize hybrids in Eastern Africa. 2020. Regasa, M.W., De Groote, H., Munyua, B., Makumbi, D., Owino, F., Crossa, J., Beyene, Y., Mugo, S.N., Jumbo, M.B., Asea, G., Mutinda, C.J.M., Kwemoi, D.B., Woyengo, V., Olsen, M., Prasanna, B.M. In: Field Crops Research v. 246, art. 107693.
Different uncertainty distribution between high and low latitudes in modelling warming impacts on wheat. 2020. Wei Xiong, Asseng, S., Hoogenboom, G., Hernandez-Ochoa, I.M., Robertson, R., Sonder, K., Pequeno, D.N.L., Reynolds, M.P., Gerard, B. In. Nature Food v. 1, pg. 63-69.
Gender relations along the maize value chain in Mozambique. 2020. Adam, R.I., Quinhentos, M., Muindi, P., Osanya, J. In: Outlook on Agriculture v. 49, no. 2, pg. 133–144.
Genetic dissection of zinc, iron, copper, manganese and phosphorus in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain and rachis at two developmental stages. 2020. Cu, S.T., Guild, G., Nicolson, A., Velu, G., Singh, R.P., Stangoulis, J. In: Plant Science v. 291, art. 110338.
Indigenous knowledge of traditional foods and food literacy among youth: insights from rural Nepal. 2020. Gartaula, H., Patel, K., Shukla, S., Devkota, R. In: Journal of Rural Studies v. 73, pg. 77-86.
Analysis of household access to drinking water, sanitation, and waste disposal services in urban areas of Nepal. 2020. Behera, B., Rahut, D.B., Sethi, N. In: Utilities Policy v. 62, art. 100996.
Mapping of QTL for partial resistance to powdery mildew in two Chinese common wheat cultivars. 2020. Xiaoting Xu, Zhanwang Zhu, Aolin Jia, Fengju Wang, Jinping Wang, Yelun Zhang, Chao Fu, Luping Fu, Guihua Bai, Xianchun Xia, Yuanfeng Hao, He Zhonghu In: Euphytica v. 216, no. 1, art. 3.
Enabling smallholder farmers to sustainably improve their food, energy and water nexus while achieving environmental and economic benefits. 2020. Gathala, M.K., Laing, A.M., Tiwari, T.P., Timsina, J., Islam, Md.S., Chowdhury, A.K., Chattopadhyay, C., Singh, A.K., Bhatt, B. P., Shrestha, R., Barma, N.C.D., Dharamvir Singh Rana, Jackson, T., Gerard, B. In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews v. 120, art. 109645.
Harnessing wheat Fhb1 for Fusarium resistance. 2020. Yuanfeng Hao, Rasheed, A., Zhanwang Zhu, Wulff, B.B.H., He Zhonghu In: Trends in Plant Science v. 25, no. 1, pg. 1-3.
Energy-efficient, sustainable crop production practices benefit smallholder farmers and the environment across three countries in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, South Asia. 2020. Gathala, M.K., Laing, A.M., Tiwari, T.P., Timsina, J., Saiful Islam, Bhattacharya, P.M., Dhar, T., Ghosh, A., Sinha, A.K., Chowdhury, A.K., Hossain, S., Hossain, M.I., Molla, M.S.H., Rashid, M., Kumar, S., Kumar, R., Dutta, S.K., Srivastwa, P.K., Chaudhary, B., Jha, S.K., Ghimire, P., Bastola, B., Chaubey, R.K., Kumar, U., Gerard, B. In: Journal of Cleaner Production v. 246, art. 118982.

Feature image: A rice farmer in central Bangladesh tends to his crop. (Photo: Scott Wallace/World Bank).

Breaking Ground: Andrea Gardeazábal transforms data into meaningful information

Written by Mary Donovan on October 29, 2020. Posted in Features.

Andrea Gardeazábal has many titles — Monitor, Evaluation and Learning Manager, ICT for Agriculture — but the core of what she does is knowledge management. She merges monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) with information communication technologies (ICT) to transform data into something meaningful.

A political scientist by training, Gardeazábal knows the power of data and statistics. As she began working on ICT-for-development projects in the field, she observed a lack of understanding of ICT and how the development sector could take advantage of these tools.

“I knew this was progressing very fast; that this was the future. Everyone was talking about ICT and the future with the internet of things, and social media was just getting started,” she said. So she asked herself, how could the development sector take advantage of these new technologies?

Gardeazábal was working on projects bringing computers to rural areas in Colombia, which did not have internet connection or electricity. The problem could not be solved simply with a machine. She wanted to understand how to use ICT for development in a meaningful way. This triggered an interest in MEAL, to understand how ICT benefits the development sector, or does not, and to reintegrate that information into project design and impact.

After working in ICT for civil participation, education and microfinance, she joined CIMMYT with the mission to understand ICT for agriculture. Now she merges ICT tools with MEAL, leading the design, development and operation of systems for data collection, data cleaning, data analysis and data visualization with the Integrated Development program’s projects in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

Ensuring intended results

Monitoring, learning, accountability and evaluation is crucial to ensure CIMMYT delivers on its objectives. Monitoring means ensuring that operations in the field are happening as planned. Rather than waiting until the end of the project when the donor asks for a report, Gardeazábal’s team monitors operations in the field on a quarterly or yearly basis. The team, both in the field and at headquarters, uses this data to check that the project is achieving what was intended and make interventions or adjustments if necessary.

Evaluation looks at project results and evidence. The team collects evidence for every single data point that they have, and then evaluates that evidence for impact and results in the field. This data is not only related to yield increase, but includes sustainable production, capacity development, and adequate technology adaptation and adoption processes.

Accountability is transparency with funders, so that everyone involved in a project is accountable for the processes, decisions and impact. CIMMYT is able to show progress through a transparent relationship with funders.

Learning happens after the team collects information, produces results evaluations, and understands what was done well and where the process had to be redirected. This information can then inform design of new projects or project phases. “We use the data and analysis of each project to redesign or modify our plans for the next project or even what kinds of projects we want to conduct,” Gardeazábal said.

Andrea Gardeazábal merges ICT tools with monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning to improve project design. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

What ICT can offer

In the past, a MEAL team would collect data from a representative sample at the start of the project, then go back to the office and analyze that data. At the end of the project, the team would complete the same exercise, to see the difference from what they gathered at the beginning.

With ICT tools, researchers are able to gather and analyze robust data more quickly and can communicate efficiently with the beneficiaries of a project throughout its course. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms can help in understanding large sets of data so that this information can strengthen and streamline the MEAL process and project impact.

“We don’t need to wait until the end of the project for the results in the field or to have a sense of what the farmers are saying and achieving. We have a lot of tools, from the ICT side, that help make monitoring and evaluation more efficient,” Gardeazábal explained.

An international award recognized some of these ICT tools earlier this year. Gardeazábal formed part of the winning team with members from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) working on groundbreaking data systems and tools that help over 150,000 farmers in Mexico.

The team tracked over 500 variables over different farming plots and analyzed them with geographic, weather and market data to help identify the best management practices for each plot. This information — including historic yield potential, local benchmarks, windows of opportunity, recommended agricultural practices and commodity price forecasting — is available to farmers through an app called AgroTutor (Android, iOS).

The importance of an enabling environment

However, Gardeazábal cautions against the idea that technology on its own is going to end poverty or increase food security.

“ICT is a vehicle for innovation in agriculture. Just having an app in the field is not enough to generate the change that we are actually looking for. You need an enabling environment, a network, engagement of the farmers and the buy-in of scientists to take advantage of ICT tools.”

From drones and satellite imagery to artificial intelligence, ICT tools can help CIMMYT carry out its mission by streamlining the data gathering and analytics processes.

However, this work is not done in isolation from the environment surrounding it. CIMMYT does not only work on increasing yields, but also manages resources and local networks in efficient ways. Teams must monitor data on air quality, water use and efficient information flows, analyze this data, and then return to the field with recommendations for the most sustainable production within integrated agri-food systems.

Farmers participating in mother trials learn climate-smart agriculture principles and conservation agriculture technologies.

Reflections on resilience

Written by Shiela Chikulo on October 27, 2020. Posted in Features.

Approaching Ward 6 in Mwenezi, southern Zimbabwe, tracts of empty fields around homesteads on either side of the road signal the end of harvesting for the 2019/20 farming season. Farmers have stored away maize fodder on tree branches or inside the family compounds.

At one of the homesteads in the village of Chikwalakwala A, ten farmers are gathered while agricultural extension officers weigh grain and legume samples. They are participating in mother trials from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), using improved farming practices and drought-resilient seed varieties. This is one of the eight villages in Ward 6 where CIMMYT has established demonstration sites, as part of the Zambuko Livelihoods Initiative, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Most of us here were born and raised in this ward, helping our parents with farming activities and continuing with farming when we finally had our own families,” farmer Tevera Romichi explains. However, the dry spells, high temperatures and erratic rainfall have become increasingly disturbing for him in recent years. “It became difficult to determine when we would receive enough rain to plant our crops without risking long dry spells,” he says.

The onset of rains in Mwenezi has shifted over the years, from late September to the end of October or early November. With most families in the district depending on agriculture for their livelihoods, the adverse change in climatic conditions has compromised food security. These farmers grow crops such as millet, sorghum and groundnut.

Clemence Hlungwane, another farmer participating in mother trials, further explains how traditional practices of repeated tillage with ox-drawn ploughs weakened the soil structure, exposing it to soil erosion and loss of fertility. “These soils have been overused without any thought of how to replenish all the nutrients that were found in the soil in past years,” he says. The result for families like Hlungwane’s were poor germination, susceptibility to pests and diseases and poor yields.

Lablab fixes nitrogen into the soil and provides residue for mulching and feed for livestock. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)

Being smart in the field

The introduction of climate-smart technologies by CIMMYT provided a channel through which mother-trial farmers in Ward 6 could explore alternative farming practices in a sustainable way while adapting to climate-induced risks. The principles of conservation agriculture, which encourage the preservation of soil moisture and nutrients, underpinned the technologies introduced by CIMMYT.

Initially, mother trial farmers expressed mixed feelings when the CIMMYT team and the Agricultural Extension and Technical Services (AGRITEX) officials took them through the process of establishing the demonstration plots. “It seemed like a lot of work,” Charleton Midzi recalls. “There was a lot of measuring, pegging and marking the demonstration plots but we soon realized that this would be important when planting the small grains and legumes.”

“At the same time, I was curious to see how ploughing with a ripper would help the soil and crops along with the practice of mulching,” Midzi says. “Where mulch was applied, the moisture was well preserved, and the crops looked much healthier and vibrant than in portions without mulch.” Another important lesson was understanding the importance of record keeping for planting dates, harvesting dates and rainfall records to inform the next season. In addition, good agronomy practices such as spacing, correct application of nutrients and use of pesticides contributed to the successful production at the demonstration plots.

“We no longer waste inputs,” says Caleb Matandare, a farmer in the village of Chikwalakwala C. “Being smart in the field means applying the correct amount of fertilizer using the measuring cups provided and keeping a record of the suitable amount for the crop.”

By the end of the season, the mother farmers observed the evident difference in the higher quality of the millet and sorghum planted on the conservation agriculture plots, compared to the conventional plots. From the yields of sorghum, millet and cowpeas, Matandare’s family of 13 are guaranteed enough diverse and nutritious food, particularly in the “lean season,” the period between harvests.

Margaret Mapuranga, a mother-trial farmer in Ward 6, Mwenezi district, shows a sample of velvet bean from the demonstration plot. (Photo: Shiela Chikulo/CIMMYT)

Baby-trial farmers eager to learn

Since the establishment of the mother trials in Ward 6, several farmers witnessing the advantages of producing under conservation agriculture and using drought-resilient varieties are keen to adopt the improved technologies.

Margaret Mapuranga shares how her neighbor inquired about the legume crops. “I explained to her how lablab, velvet bean and cowpeas fix nitrogen in the soil, which will be useful for the grain crops in the next season. She would like to try out the same in her own field in the coming season.” Mapuranga is confident that she can promote these sustainable practices with farmers selected for the baby trials in her village.

The coming 2020/21 season looks promising as more farmers in Ward 6 adopt the improved technologies. Mother-trial farmers are eager to expand conservation agriculture practices to other portions of their land as a safeguard against climate risks. For them, the ability to share the climate-smart technologies promoted by CIMMYT is an empowering process that will transform agriculture in the ward and beyond.