Resorting to conservation agriculture would not only increase crop yield, income and reduce the use of natural resources, but would also confer climate change benefits, according to a study by Indian agricultural scientists and others published in an international journal on Thursday.
The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, also showed that conservation agriculture was key to meeting many of the UNâs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, climate action and clean water. Conservation agriculture can offer positive contributions to several SDGs, said M. L. Jat, a Principal Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and first author of the study.
A series of coincidences led Sylvanus Odjo to study agronomy. It was only after finishing his first degree that he learned that his namesake, Silvanus, was the Latin deity of forests and fields.
Spurred by a curiosity about the natural world, he spent several years working at the National Institute of Agriculture in his native Benin, before pursuing advanced degrees in Belgium, where he developed his interest in cereals research.
âObviously by that point I knew about the CGIAR centers and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center,â he explains. âIf youâre working on maize, youâll know about CIMMYT.â
He joined the organization as a postdoctoral researcher in 2017 and now works as a postharvest specialist. He coordinates a network of platforms which evaluates and validates potential solutions and transfers them to farmers across Mexico and Latin America.
âAll the projects Iâm working on now have the same objective: finding ways to avoid and reduce postharvest losses.â These, Odjo estimates, can be as high as 40% in some parts of Mexico, with dramatic consequences for smallholder farmers whose food security is directly linked to the amount of grain they have. They are also the most likely to be affected by the effects of climate change.
âA lot of people think postharvest just means storage,â he points out, âbut it actually encompasses everything from the moment of harvest and includes processes like drying, shelling, technical and economic activities.â
A drying specialist by training, Odjo now works across the entire postharvest system. There are two central components to his work. The first involves testing postharvest technologies to develop recommendations for farmers, conducting trials under controlled conditions on CIMMYT research stations and with local collaborators across Mexico and assessing how drying and storage technologies fare under different conditions. The second, and perhaps more challenging, is promoting the successful ones, such as hermetic grain storage bags, among farmers and providing training on how to use them appropriately.
âWe see a lot of publications agreeing that we need to promote hermetic technologies, which is true.â The question, Odjo asks, is how to do it. âHow can we succeed in making a solution available to farmers? And once that has happened, how do we convince them to use it? Those are big questions which people were asking 50 years ago but theyâre still being discussed today.â
Odjo demonstrates the use of a handheld grain moisture tester in ComitĂĄn de Dominguez, Chiapas, Mexico. (Photo: Juan Carlos Reynoso)
Finding answers to the big questions
âThe potential solutions sound so simple, but when you actually try to implement these things it can be very complex.â
Odjo can reel off a list of postharvest interventions which seem straightforward initially but fail at the moment of implementation. Farmers might be instructed to harvest their grain at a particular time, which turns out to conflict with the timing of an important traditional ceremony, which cannot be rescheduled. Elsewhere they may be encouraged to avoid reducing moisture levels by purchasing a dryer but lack the resources to do so.
Much of Odjoâs work involves conducting research into the process of technology transfer and the scaling of postharvest technologies, working with a number of projects in Mexico to find the most efficient ways of training farmers and providing them with the tools they need to use improved practices and technologies.
âWhat weâre looking for is the right technology for each farmer,â he explains. âBecause the conditions in the highlands of Guanajuato are not the same as in coastal YucatĂĄn, or any of the other locations we work in.â Hermetic technology has been proven to be effective in most conditions, but the choice to use hermetic silos, hermetic bags, or a cocoon storage container ultimately depends on farmer preferences and the specific conditions in their local area. âWe noticed, for example, that in the highlands pests tend to pose less of a threat to stored grain, so we need to use a different strategy than we would at sea level, where humidity can significantly increase the risk of grain becoming contaminated.â
Odjo and his team have also noted that in Mexico, although many postharvest activities such as shelling are led by women, men are more likely to attend farmer trainings, which makes it harder to ensure that they are reaching their target demographic. âGender has emerged as a key parameter that we need to take into account, so weâre working with an excellent gender specialist at CIMMYT to find ways of making sure we transfer knowledge and technologies efficiently.â
While it can be challenging coordinating with so many different stakeholders, each with their distinct priorities and interests, Odjo is adamant that postharvest research can only be successful when it is fully interdisciplinary and collaborative. Though farmers are their core audience, he and his team make sure they work with extension agents, government actors, researchers and development practitioners to find solutions. âI canât do anything alone so Iâm open to collaboration,â he adds. âWe always need fresh ideas.â
âA lot of people think postharvest just means storage, but it actually encompasses everything from the moment of harvest and includes processes like drying, shelling, technical and economic activities,â Odjo explains. (Photo: Francisco AlarcĂłn/CIMMYT)
Sharing knowledge in 140 characters
Up until quite recently, Odjo was reluctant to join Twitter because he felt that he had nothing to share. It was only when colleagues encouraged him to use social media as a platform for discussing postharvest issues that he discovered the app is an effective way of sharing recommendations directly with farmers and agricultural service providers. âOne of my lecturers used to say that you can understand something if youâre capable of explaining it to a kindergarten-aged child. If you donât succeed, it means you havenât understood.â
âThatâs become a part of my job that I really enjoy: figuring out how to share research and results of investigations with different audiences in a simple manner.â
His newfound social media presence has also proved useful for connecting with researchers on a global level. In late 2019, researchers in Laos interested in learning about postharvest technologies reached out to Odjo, who was able to arrange for colleagues to travel to the country and share practices developed with local extension agents and blacksmiths in Mexico. âAnd do you know how they found me? Through my Twitter account.â
Moving forward, Odjo hopes to extend the scope of his activities beyond Latin America and carry out more knowledge exchange with his peers across the world. âIn research, a lot of people are working on the same topics, but we donât always share the information. Iâm open to sharing my experience, because Iâm sure I can learn a lot from others that will be useful for my job.â
Kenya in particular stands out as a case study he can learn from, where a high incidence of aflatoxins in maize, heavy government intervention and fierce market competition among providers of hermetic bags have allowed for the successful scaling of postharvest technologies. âIt would be great to be able to analyze their scaling process and learn from it. Not to replicate it entirely, because obviously the conditions arenât the same, but there will undoubtedly be lessons we can take and apply here in Mexico and Latin America.â
During a conservation agriculture course, a young trainee operates a Happy Seeder mounted on a two-wheel tractor, for direct seeding of wheat in smallholder systems. (Photo: CIMMYT)
An international team of scientists has provided a sweeping new analysis of the benefits of conservation agriculture for crop performance, water use efficiency, farmersâ incomes and climate action across a variety of cropping systems and environments in South Asia.
The analysis, published today in Nature Sustainability, is the first of its kind to synthesize existing studies on conservation agriculture in South Asia and allows policy makers to prioritize where and which cropping systems to deploy conservation agriculture techniques. The study uses data from over 9,500 site-year comparisons across South Asia.
According to M.L. Jat, a principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and first author of the study, conservation agriculture also offers positive contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, climate action and clean water.
âConservation agriculture is going to be key to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,â echoed JK Ladha, adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis, and co-author of the study.
Scientists from CIMMYT, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the University of California, Davis, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Cornell University looked at a variety of agricultural, economic and environmental performance indicators â including crop yields, water use efficiency, economic return, greenhouse gas emissions and global warming potential â and compared how they correlated with conservation agriculture conditions in smallholder farms and field stations across South Asia.
A combine harvester equipped with the Super SMS (left) harvests rice while a tractor equipped with the Happy Seeder is used for direct seeding of wheat. (Photo: Sonalika Tractors)
Results and impact on policy
Researchers found that many conservation agriculture practices had significant benefits for agricultural, economic and environmental performance indicators, whether implemented separately or together. Zero tillage with residue retention, for example, had a mean yield advantage of around 6%, provided farmers almost 25% more income, and increased water use efficiency by about 13% compared to conventional agricultural practices. This combination of practices also was shown to cut global warming potential by up to 33%.
This comes as good news for national governments in South Asia, which have been actively promoting conservation agriculture to increase crop productivity while conserving natural resources. South Asian agriculture is known as a global âhotspotâ for climate vulnerability.
âSmallholder farmers in South Asia will be impacted most by climate change and natural resource degradation,â said Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of ICAR and Secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE). âProtecting our natural resources for future generations while producing enough quality food to feed everyone is our top priority.â
âICAR, in collaboration with CIMMYT and other stakeholders, has been working intensively over the past decades to develop and deploy conservation agriculture in India. The country has been very successful in addressing residue burning and air pollution issues using conservation agriculture principles,â he added.
With the regionâs population expected to rise to 2.4 billion, demand for cereals is expected to grow by about 43% between 2010 and 2050. This presents a major challenge for food producers who need to produce more while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and damage to the environment and other natural resources.
“The collaborative effort behind this study epitomizes how researchers, policy-makers, and development practitioners can and should work together to find solutions to the many challenges facing agricultural development, not only in South Asia but worldwide,” said Jon Hellin, leader of the Sustainable Impact Platform at IRRI.
Funders of this work include the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Government of India and the CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (CRP WHEAT) and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
About CIMMYT:
The International Maize and Wheat 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 Research 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.
Crop pest outbreaks are a serious threat to food security worldwide. Swarms of locusts continue to form in the Horn of Africa, threatening food security and farmer livelihoods ahead of a new cropping season. The devastating fall armyworm continues cause extensive damage in Africa and South Asia.
With almost 40% of food crops lost annually due to pests and diseases, plants resistance to insects is more important than ever. Last month, a group of wheat breeders and entomologists came together for the 24th Biannual International Plant Resistance to Insects (IPRI) Workshop, held at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) global headquarters outside Mexico City.
Watch Mike Smith, entomologist and distinguished professor emeritus at Kansas State University explain the importance of working with economists to document the value of plant insect resistance research, and why communication is crucial for raising awareness of the threat of crop pests and insect resistance solutions.
A farmer weeds a maize field in Pusa, Bihar state, India. The productivity and food security of small-scale farmers requires their presence and activity in the field and in markets, both of which could be off-limits under the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT)
Alarmed by the risk of global and regional food shortages triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a coalition of businesses, farmersâ groups, industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia has called on world leaders urgently to maintain open trade of their surplus food products.
Published by the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) on April 9, 2020, and signed by 60 experts, the call to action urges world leaders to keep food supplies flowing, specially support vulnerable people, and finance sustainable, resilient food systems.
Covered by major world media, the declaration encourages governments to treat food production, processing, and distribution as an essential sector â similar to public health care â and thus to support continued, safe, and healthy activities by farmers and others who contribute to the sector, according to Martin Kropff, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and a signatory of the call to action.
âConsumers in low-income countries face the greatest threat of food insecurity,â said Kropff. âTheir tenuous access to nutritious food is jeopardized when surplus food-producing nations choose to close trade as a defensive measure.â
Kropff added that many households in low-income countries depend on agriculture or related activities for their food and livelihoods. Their productivity and food security are compromised by illness or restrictions on movement or working.
âThe call to action resonates with the findings of a landmark 2015 study by Lloydâs of London,â he explained. âThat work highlighted the fragility of global food systems in the event of coinciding shocks, an outcome that seems entirely possible now, given the health, cultural, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.â
At the same time, the work of CIMMYT, other CGIAR centers, and their partners worldwide helps to stabilize food systems, according to Kropff.
âOur research outputs include high-yielding, climate-resilient crop varieties and more productive, profitable and sustainable farming methods,â he said. âThese give farmers â and especially smallholders â the ingredients for more efficient and effective farming. They are grounded in reality through feedback from farmers and local partners, as well as socioeconomic studies on markets and value chains for food production, processing, and distribution.â
A maize farmer in southern Ethiopia. (Photo: S. Samuel/CCAFS)
Because of unpredictable climate conditions, agricultural production in Ethiopia faces uncertainties during both the growing and harvesting seasons. The risk and uncertainty are bigger for smallholder farmers, as they canât protect themselves from climate-related asset losses. Access to insurance schemes, climate information and other tools could help to minimize climate risks for smallholder farmers.
A new collaborative project launched in Ethiopia aims to reduce agricultural investment risk. The Capacitating African Stakeholders with Climate Advisories and Insurance Development (CASCAID-II) project builds on learnings from the CASCAID-I project in West Africa. It will target Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal, focusing not only on smallholder farmers but on the food value chain as a whole. In a context of increasing integration of farmers into urban markets, the project will improve agricultural productivity, food security and profitability of agricultural enterprises.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will partner with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the University of Florida, with the support of the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
Kindie Tesfaye, CIMMYT, presents an overview of climate services in Ethiopia. (Photo: Simret Yasabu /CIMMYT)
Physical and digital tools across the value chain
In October 2019, thirty partners gathered for the CASCAID-II project launch and meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They agreed on the project goals, a set of priority research questions and a schedule of activities for the next two years.
Partners also reviewed the tools that could be used to deliver climate advisories and agricultural insurance products, ensuring that all the actors in the value chain are engaged from the start. Team members aim to embed services in existing physical and digital (âphygitalâ) data infrastructures and to collect user feedback, so performance can be improved. Users will be segmented according to advanced socioeconomic and agro-ecological factors, so they can be targeted more efficiently with appropriate services and climate-smart agriculture options. The project will draw on real-time and multi-scale yield forecasting for better preparedness and decision-making.
Project partners agreed to start with the CCAFS Regional Agricultural Forecasting Tool (CRAFT) for sub-national yield forecasting in Ethiopia and to develop climate advisories and insurance services in line with the needs of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Participants of the launch of the digital agro-climate advisory platform gather for a group photo. (Photo: Semu Yemane/EIAR)
Precise data from scientists to farmers
In a related development, Ethiopia recently launched a digital agro-climate advisory platform, which offers great potential to improve farmersâ management of climate-induced risks, facilitate technology adoption and improve livelihoods.
Speaking at the platformâs launch ceremony, Eyasu Abraha, advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, thanked development partners for supporting the establishment of the platform in the timely move towards digitalization and use of precise data.
The platform incorporates location-specific climate information, as well as soil- and crop-specific best-bet agronomic management recommendations for farmers, development agents and extension officers. It automates crop-climate modeling and uses technologies such as text messaging, interactive voice response (IVRS) and smartphone apps for dissemination.
âToday, 7.8 billion humans exploit almost each and every ecosystem of the planet. Livestock have followed humans in most of these ecosystems and are now far more numerous than wild vertebrates,â Frederic Baudron, a systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, said in an interview. For example, there are 4.7 billion cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and 23.7 billion chickens on Earth. âWe live on an increasingly âcultivated planetâ, with new species assemblages and new opportunities for pathogens to move from one species to another.â
However, the biodiversity crisis is seldom considered a global issue and often not a pressing one, and conservationists say it isnât written about as often as it should be. âMedia coverage for the biodiversity crisis is eight-times lower than for the climate crisisâ, according to Baudron. âWe need to reduce the frequency of pandemics like COVID-19 by conserving and restoring biodiversity globally, most crucially in disease hotspots.â
A woman sells maize at the market in Sidameika Tura, Arsi Negele, Ethiopia. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or position of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
While all eyes are on Lombardy, Madrid, New York and Wuhan, what do we know about the impact of COVID-19 on the rural poor and on food security in developing countries? How can the impact of the crisis be moderated? What positive breakthroughs could be provoked by this shock to move us into a better ânew normalâ? What can donors and implementing organizations do to support low- and middle-income countries during and beyond this crisis?
Members of the Agriculture and Rural Development working group of the international Scaling Up community of practice held a virtual meeting to discuss these questions and how scaling-up innovations could help to recover from the current crisis and mitigate future ones.
Poor rural communities are particularly vulnerable
When it comes to a highly contagious disease, being in a rural area sounds better than being in a busy city, but that is a deceptive impression. Smallholder farmers often are older than average and hence more vulnerable to the virus, and they have less access to health services.
They also depend on field laborers that are not able to travel from surrounding villages to help with planting, weeding and harvesting. To process crops, smallholder farmers need to transport crops to processing centers, which may be closed, as are the markets where they obtain agricultural inputs or sell farm products. Large international agrobusiness firms, which supply inputs and purchase local famersâ products may withdraw, at least temporarily, from the rural economies. There are already reports of farmers feeding cattle strawberries and broccoli in India, as they are unable to get their goods to the market.
Most farmers also depend on non-farm and off-farm activities for their livelihoods, as they may be field laborers for other farmers, work in the processing industry or work in construction. Interrupted transportation and closures pose serious challenges to maintain safe business continuity throughout the rural economy. The risk is not only that immediate rural production, food deliveries, exports, employment and incomes will collapse, but also that planting for next yearâs crops will be disrupted.
It is key to differentiate between global and local supply chains, which will suffer in different ways. For example, in Uganda, supermarkets are open but small, informal markets are closed. In past crises, governments have focused on the survival of global value chains over local ones. Small, rural businesses are more likely to close permanently than large international ones.
Globally, international support for agriculture and rural development has been lagging in recent years. Â Today, the international support from aid agencies and NGOs is interrupted, as travels are restricted and community meetings are prohibited. With increased donor attention to a domestic and international health crisis, aid for rural communities may drop precipitously.
Men transport wheat straw on donkey karts in Ethiopiaâs Dodula district. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Opportunities for an improved ânew normalâ as we respond to the crisis
The short-term response to help minimize the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the rural poor is critical, but we also need to support the shaping of a ânew normalâ where rural food systems are resilient, profitable and inclusive for poor rural communities. Members of the Scaling Up community of practice explored various ideas.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic could present opportunities to break silos and show how closely health and agriculture are related.
âCOVID-19 cuts across sectors and jurisdictions in ways that single organizations and established governance structures are ill-equipped to accommodate,â said Larry Cooley, Scaling Expert and Founder and President Emeritus of Management Systems International (MSI)
For example, rural agricultural extension networks could be used to disseminate information on health awareness and education around COVID-19 and collect data on local impacts. This may cause and provide relief in the short term, but may also provide opportunities for collaboration in the long run.
âOur agricultural networks go deep into the rural areas and we are training our agri-entrepreneurs in India to disseminate health messages, products and services to help address COVID-19,â said Simon Winter, Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation.
âAt the African Development Bank we are providing emergency relief finance and re-purposing funding to have a link with COVID-19,â said Atsuko Toda, the bankâs Director of Agricultural Finance and Rural Development.
Second, a ânew normalâ could also mean an even stronger independence from externally funded projects, experts and solutions to more local ownership and expertise in rural areas, something that the community of practice has been promoting strongly. We could help to support more autonomy of the farmer, a strong local market and scale-up local value chains. Strengthening the capacity of small and medium enterprises linking farmers to urban markets could help ensure stability in future economic shocks.
âGovernments and donor âprojectsâ looked too much at export and global value chains. I see great opportunities to scale up local and regional input and output value chains that benefit local farmers and small and medium enterprises,â said Margret Will, expert on value chains.
Third, the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to accelerate the scaling of innovations.
âLack of access to labor could be disrupting harvesting and planting in our Feed the Future countries, accelerating an already predominant trend of migration, especially among the young, to urban areas. We see a looming need for mechanization of farms at scale, using mini-tillers, planters, harvesters and other time- and labor-saving equipment,â said Mark Huisenga, Senior Program Manager for the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security.
Masimba Mawire collects bare maize cobs after removing the grain using a mechanized maize sheller in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Matthew OâLeary/CIMMYT)
Rural communities that use more ecological intensive practices, such as conservation agriculture and push-pull farming or safe storage practices are less dependent on external inputs and labor.
The current crisis forces us to use digital communication systems, replace human work with digital tools where possible and use technology to help target interventions. Both the public and private sector could build on this opportunity to invest in increased access to internet, electricity and other digital resources, including in impoverished areas. All these technological innovations can help farmers to better cope with the constraints of COVID-19 and any future crises or stresses to the food system, while also making agriculture more productive and more attractive to the young.
âThe pandemic creates an opportunity to accelerate the use of digital technologies in smallholder agriculture, not only for extension advice but to crowdsource information about COVID-19 impacts,â said Julie Howard, Senior Advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Finally, COVID-19 will change our global governance system, and the agriculture, research and development sector has a role to play in this transformation. A systems change must focus on dietary diversity and food safety and security, paying attention to the rural poor in low- and middle-income countries. We can work together to scale cross-sector platforms to build solid networks and scale-up innovations to strengthen sustainable and resilient food systems.
Systems change beyond the agricultural sector, sustainability through local ownership and uptake of innovations that support profitable and resilient agricultural and related rural activities are key components of how the Scaling Up Community of Practice approaches scaling. A systems change is imminent, and it is important to support a transformation in a direction where local markets, rural labor and regional economies come out stronger in the long term. This requires vision, expertise, mobilization of resources, information sharing and crowdsourced leadership, and the network of scaling experts can contribute to this.
The Agriculture and Rural Development working group of the international Scaling Up community of practice is made up of individuals from more than 100 official donors, foundations, think tanks, research and development organizations united by their interest in scaling the impact of innovations on food security and rural poverty. Areas of particular interest for the group include designing for scale, using scaling frameworks, learning about scaling, responsible scaling, sustainability and system thinking. Members of the working group include professionals with vast experience from the field, and the group explicitly tries to learn from the application of complex concepts such as sustainability, systems change and scaling in real world settings by local actors. In addition to quarterly virtual meetings, the working group encourages and supports exchanges among its members on a variety of subjects. Participation in, and management of, the Agriculture and Rural Development working group is done on a purely voluntary basis.
About the Authors:
Lennart Woltering â Scaling catalyst at CIMMYT and chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development working group.
Johannes Linn â Non-resident Senior Fellow at Brookings and former Vice President of the World Bank.
Maria Boa â Scaling coordinator at CIMMYT and secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development working group
Mary Donovan â Communications Consultant at CIMMYT.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or position of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
What trends are we seeing with infectious diseases like COVID-19?
We see that outbreaks of infectious diseases are becoming more frequent, even when we account for the so-called âreporting biasâ: surveillance of such events becoming better with time and surveillance being better funded in the North than in the South.
60% of infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning that they are spread from animals to humans and 72% of these zoonoses originate from wildlife. COVID-19 is just the last in a long list of zoonoses originating from wildlife. Other recent outbreaks include SARS, Ebola, avian influenza and swine influenza. As human activities continue to disturb ecosystems worldwide, we are likely to see more pathogens crossing from wildlife to humans in the future. This should serve as a call to better manage our relationship with nature in general, and wildlife in particular.
Why are we seeing more cases of diseases crossing from animals to humans? Where are they coming from?
Evidence points to bushmeat trade and consumption as the likely driver for the emergence of COVID-19. The emergence of SARS and Ebola was also driven by bushmeat consumption and trade. However, when looking at past outbreaks of zoonoses caused by a pathogen with a wildlife origin, land use changes, generally due to changes in agricultural practices, has been the leading driver.
Pathogens tends to emerge in well known âdisease hotspots,â which tend to be areas where high wildlife biodiversity overlaps with high population density. These hotspots also tend to be at lower latitude. Interestingly, many of these are located in regions where CIMMYTâs activities are concentrated: Central America, East Africa and South Asia. This, in addition to the fact that agricultural changes are a major driver of the emergence of zoonoses, means that CIMMYT researchers may have a role to play in preventing the next global pandemic.
Smallholders clear forests for agriculture, but they also have an impact on forests through livestock grazing and fuelwood harvesting, as on this picture in Munesa forest, Ethiopia. (Photo: Frederic Baudron/CIMMYT)
How exactly does biodiversity loss and land use change cause an increase in zoonotic diseases?
There are at least three mechanisms at play. First, increased contact between wildlife and humans and their livestock because of encroachment in ecosystems. Second, selection of wildlife species most able to infect humans and/or their livestock â often rodents and bats â because they thrive in human-dominated landscapes. Third, more pathogens being carried by these surviving wildlife species in simplified ecosystems. Pathogens tend to be âdilutedâ in complex, undisturbed, ecosystems.
The fast increase in the population of humans and their livestock means that they are interacting more and more frequently with wildlife species and the pathogens they carry. Today, 7.8 billion humans exploit almost each and every ecosystem of the planet. Livestock have followed humans in most of these ecosystems and are now far more numerous than wild vertebrates: there are 4.7 billion cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and 23.7 billion chickens on Earth! We live on an increasingly âcultivated planet,â with new species assemblages and new opportunities for pathogens to move from one species to another.
Wildlife trade and bushmeat consumption have received a lot of attention as primary causes of the spread of these viruses. Why has there been so little discussion on the connection with biodiversity loss?
The problem of biodiversity loss as a driver of the emergence of zoonoses is a complex one: it doesnât have a simple solution, such as banning wet markets in China. Itâs difficult to communicate this issue effectively to the public. Itâs easy to find support for ending bushmeat trade and consumption because itâs easy for the public to understand how these can lead to the emergence of zoonoses, and sources of bushmeat include emblematic species with public appeal, like apes and pangolins. Bushmeat trafficking and consumption also gives the public an easy way to shift the blame: this is a local, rather than global, issue and for most of us, a distant one.
There is an inconvenient truth in the biodiversity crisis: we all drive it through our consumption patterns. Think of your annual consumption of coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, textiles, fish, etc. But the biodiversity crisis is often not perceived as a global issue, nor as a pressing one. Media coverage for the biodiversity crisis is eight times lower than for the climate crisis.
The Unamat forest in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios department, Peru. (Photo: Marco Simola/CIFOR)
Agriculture is a major cause of land use change and biodiversity loss. What can farmers do to preserve biodiversity, without losing out on crop yields?
Farming practices that reduce the impact of agriculture on biodiversity are well known and form the foundation of sustainable intensification, for which CIMMYT has an entire program. A better question might be what we can do collectively to support them in doing so. Supportive policies, like replacing subsidies by incentives that promote sustainable intensification, and supportive markets, for example using certification and labeling, are part of the solution.
But these measures are likely to be insufficient alone, as a large share of the global food doesnât enter the market, but is rather consumed by the small-scale family farmers who produce it.
Reducing the negative impact of food production on biodiversity is likely to require a global, concerted effort similar to the Paris Agreements for climate. As the COVID-19 pandemic is shocking the world, strong measures are likely to be taken globally to avoid the next pandemic. There is a risk that some of these measures will go too far and end up threatening rural livelihoods, especially the most vulnerable ones. For example, recommending âland sparingâ â segregating human activities from nature by maximizing yield on areas as small as possible â Â is tempting to reduce the possibility of pathogen spillover from wildlife species to humans and livestock. But food production depends on ecosystem services supported by biodiversity, like soil fertility maintenance, pest control and pollination. These services are particularly important for small-scale family farmers who tend to use few external inputs.
How can we prevent pandemics like COVID-19 from happening again in the future?
There is little doubt that new pathogens will emerge. First and foremost, we need to be able to control emerging infectious diseases as early as possible. This requires increased investment in disease surveillance and in the health systems of the countries where the next infectious disease is most likely to emerge. In parallel, we also need to reduce the frequency of these outbreaks by conserving and restoring biodiversity globally, most crucially in disease hotspots.
Farming tends to be a major driver of biodiversity loss in these areas but is also a main source of livelihoods. The burden of reducing the impact of agriculture on biodiversity in disease hotspots cannot be left to local farmers, who tend to be poor small-scale farmers: it will have to be shared with the rest of us.
Cover photo: Forests in the land of the Ese’eja Native Community of Infierno, in Peru’s Madre de Dios department. (Photo: Yoly Gutierrez/CIFOR)
Three years ago, farmers in the country were combatting the threats of a destructive tomato pest, Tuta Absoluta, and are now battling their way to manage the attack of fall armyworm on maize fields across the country. Since the governmentâs Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre (PQPMC) declared the arrival of fall armyworm on August 2019, this pest is reported to have infested almost half the districts of Nepal and continues to spread further.
âI wasnât able to gather even half the yields I used to get from my maize field following the fall armyworm outbreak last year,â said Pavitra, a farmer from Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal.
The level of incidence and damage varies from place to place, but farmers have reported up to 80% crop loss in extreme cases. In Nepal, the fall armyworm has the potential to cause maize yield losses of 20-25%, which translates to the loss of more than half a million tons of the annual maize production â estimated at around $200 million. If the pest is left unrestrained, its impact will be huge for farmers and the economy.
This calls for a collective effort and broad mobilization to effectively manage fall armyworm and limit its spread across the country. Since the pest was expected to reach Nepal, partners have conducted workshops and community mobilization initiatives.
Experts at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been working with public and private partners before and after the arrival of the invasive pest in Nepal. The shared efforts have focused on creating awareness, disseminating appropriate technologies and management techniques, and strengthening the capacity of communities, institutions and governments.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has established a national taskforce to fight the pest. Most provinces have established similar taskforces that include researchers, agriculture extension agents, farmers and entrepreneur associations.
Training participants examine a fall armyworm on a maize leaf. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)
Fall armyworms are found on leaves in a maize field in Nepal. (Photo: Shailaja Thapa/CIMMYT)
A pheromone trap is installed next to a maize field in Nepal. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)
Participants in one of the trainings learn how to scout and collect data on fall armyworm in a maize field. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)
Training participants imitate the fall armywormâs white inverted Y mark visible on the front of the head of the larva. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)
Gearing up to fight the very hungry caterpillar
In collaboration with national and provincial governments, CIMMYT has trained 426 agricultural professionals, including lead farmers, on how to identify and manage fall armyworm.
In February 2020, CIMMYT partnered with agricultural development directorates in two provinces to train 130 people on how to scout for fall armyworm and recommended solutions, based on integrated pest management principles.
In late 2019, CIMMYT engaged with the public and private sector through training workshops to disseminate proven practices to control the pest.
âBefore, I was unable to recognize the pest that had destroyed my maize field. The hands-on training has been very informative,â said Urmila Banjgayu, a lead farmer who participated in one of the trainings. âI am certain to share the knowledge and practices that I learned with other farmers in my locality. They need to know what to do and what not to.â
Through the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, CIMMYT staff is working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), the PQPMC, provincial governments, and other USAID-funded projects and development partners in Nepal. Together, they have developed integrated pest management packages, informative factsheets and surveillance guidelines. CIMMYT researchers have shared experiences on pest management, surveillance and scouting techniques from other countries in Asia and Africa. They have also demonstrated digital tools that will help map the spread of the pest and build accurate interpretation for better management.
Outreach workers use an auto-rickshaw equipped with a sound system and infographics to disseminate information about armyworm in Nepalâs Banke district. (Photo: Darbin Joshi/CIMMYT.)
Farmers listen to information about fall armyworm displayed on an auto-rickshaw in Nepalâs Banke district. (Photo: Darbin Joshi/CIMMYT)
Fall armyworm awareness campaign
Farmers must learn how to identify and manage this pest. Bijaya Ghimire, a lead farmer from Kanchanpur district, had heard about fall armyworm from a nearby seed company and a few of his friends. He informed the Agriculture Knowledge Center about the symptoms he observed in his maize field, and verification of the larvae and damage confirmed the presence of fall armyworm. Luckily, Ghimire was able to control the pest before severe damage was done.
CIMMYT researchers collaborated with the Prime Minister Agricultural Modernization Project (PMAMP) to implement outreach campaigns in Banke district. This included a mobile information booth, local dissemination of audio messages, and distribution of posters and fact sheets about fall armyworm. The two-day campaign successfully raised awareness about the pest, reaching more than 1,000 farmers from four villages in maize growing areas.
Researchers also worked with Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) and adapted an educational video on how to identify and scout for fall armyworm in a field into Nepali. In collaboration with the PQPMC, the video was broadcast 42 times on three local TV channels, to an estimated audience of more than one million viewers in June 2019. The video has also received over 2,000 online views. The animated video is being shown to farmers using mobile phones and displayed on big screens during community events and workshops.
âSeamless collaboration is required among the major stakeholders in the country to collectively fight the pest,â said AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT seed systems lead for the NSAF project and member of the national fall armyworm taskforce. âThe potential impact of fall armyworm poses a fundamental challenge for smallholder farmers in Nepal. If unattended, it is going to be a food security issue and an equally daunting task to safeguard livelihoods.â
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or position of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Daily life as we know it has grinded to a halt and crop scientists are pondering next steps in face of the global COVID-19 crisis. Hans Braun, Director of the Global Wheat Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, joins us for a virtual chat to discuss the need for increased investment in crop disease research as the world risks a food security crisis.
What have you learned from your work on contagious wheat diseases that we can take away during this time?
Wheat epidemics go back to biblical times. Wheat scientists now believe Egyptâs âseven bad yearsâ of harvest referenced in the Bible were due to a stem rust outbreak.
So, we know what happens when we have a crop epidemic: diseases can completely wipe out a harvest. I have seen subsistence farmers stand in front of their swaying, golden wheat fields, but there is not a single grain inside the spikes. All because of wheat blast.
There are a lot of parallel issues that I see with COVID-19.
The epidemiology models for humans which we see now have a lot in common with plant epidemiology. For example, if you take a wheat field sown with a variety which is rust-resistant and then you get a spore which mutates and overcomes the resistance â like COVID-19 overcomes the human immune system â it then takes about two weeks for it to sporulate again and produce millions of these mutated spores. They sporulate once more and then you have billions and trillions of spores â then the wheat fields at the local, national and, in the worst case, regional level are severely damaged and in worst case are going to die.
The problem is that since we cannot quarantine wheat, if the weather is favorable these spores will fly everywhere and â just like with COVID-19 â they donât need a passport to travel.
Could you elaborate on that? How can wheat diseases go global?
Usually it takes around 5 years, sometimes less, until a mutation in a rust spore can overcome the resistance of a wheat variety. Every so often, we see rust epidemics which cover an entire region. To monitor this movement, the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative of Cornell University and CIMMYT, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DFID, established a global rust monitoring system that provides live data on spore movements.
For example, if you have a new race of stem rust in Yemen â and in Yemen wheat matures early â and then farmers burn the straw, their action âpushesâ the spores up into the air, thus allowing them to enter the jet stream and cover 2,000 to 5,000 kilometers in a short period of time. Spores can also be carried on clothes or shoes by people who walked into an infected wheat field. Take Australia, for example, which has very strict quarantine laws. It is surrounded by sea and still eventually they get the new rust races which fly around or come with travelers. One just cannot prevent it.
Stem rust resistant (left) and susceptible (right) wheat plants at the stem rust phenotyping facility in Njoro, Nakuru County in Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Could climate change exacerbate the spreading of crop diseases?
Yes, the climate and its variability have a lot to do with it. For example, in the case of yellow rust, whatâs extremely important is the time it takes from sporulation to sporulation. Take a rust spore. It germinates, then it grows, it multiplies and then once it is ready it will disperse and infect wheat plants. From one dispersal to the next it takes about two weeks.
In the last decades, in particular for yellow rust, new races are better adapted to high temperature and are multiplying faster. In a Nature paper, we showed that 30 years ago yellow rust was not present in the Great Plains in the US. Today, it is the most important wheat disease there. So there really is something going on and changing and thatâs why we are so concerned about new wheat disease races when they come up.
What could an epidemiologist specialized in human viruses take from this?
Well, I think human epidemiologists know very well what happens in a case like COVID-19. Ordinary citizens now also start to understand what a pandemic is and what its related exponential growth means.
Maybe you should ask what policymakers can learn from COVID-19 in order to prevent plant epidemics. When it comes to epidemics, what applies to humans applies to plants. If there is a new race of a given crop disease, in that moment, the plant does not have a defense mechanism, like humans in the case of COVID-19, because we havenât developed any immunity. While in developed countries farmers can use chemicals to control plant diseases, resource-poor farmers do not have this option, due to lack to access or if the plant protective has not been registered in their country.
In addition to this, our lines of work share a sense of urgency. If âdoomsdayâ happens, it will be too late to react. At present, with a human pandemic, people are worried about the supply chain from food processing to the supermarket. But if we have an epidemic in plants, then we do not have the supply chain from the field to the food processing industry. And if people have nothing to eat, they will go to the streets and we will see violence. We simply cannot put this aside.
What other lessons can policymakers and other stakeholders take away from the current crisis?
The world needs to learn that we cannot use economics as the basis for disease research. We need to better foresee what could happen.
Letâs take the example of wheat blast, a devastating disease that can destroy the wheat spike and was initially confined to South America. The disease arrived in Bangladesh in 2016 and caused small economic damage, maybe 30,000 tons loss in a small geographic area â a small fraction of the national production but a disaster for the smallholder farmer, who thus would have lost her entire wheat harvest. The disease is now controlled with chemicals. But what if chemical resistance is developed and the disease spreads to the 10 million hectares in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and the south of Pakistan. Unlikely? But what if it happens?
Agriculture accounts for 30% of the global GDP and the research money [going to agriculture] in comparison to other areas is small. Globally only 5% of R&D is invested in research for development related to agriculture. Such a discrepancy! A million U.S. dollars invested in wheat blast research goes a long way and if you donât do it, you risk a disaster.
If there is any flip side to the COVID-19 disaster, it is that hopefully our governments realize that they have to play a much more serious role in many areas, in particular public health and disease control in humans but also in plants.
A Lloydâs report concluded that a global food crisis could be caused by governments taking isolating actions to protect their own countries in response to a breadbasket failure elsewhere. Iâm concerned that as the COVID-19 crisis continues, governments will stop exports as some did during the 2008 food price crisis, and then, even if there is enough food around, the 2008 scenario might happen again and food prices will go through the roof, with disastrous impact on the lives of the poorest.
Nancy Wawira strolls through a small plot of maize at Kithimu, in Kenyaâs Embu County. She is charmed by the attributes of a maize variety that can yield 2,700kg per acre or more. The variety can endure drought-like conditions, matures in less than 120 days and has potential for double-cobbing.
Wawira is visiting a demonstration farm to witness the performance of several high yielding, early to medium maturing, drought-tolerant maize varieties.
By coming to this demonstration farm, Wawira hoped to identify a newer maize variety she could plant on her quarter-acre of land to get higher yield. The plot she stood on was the exact replica of what she was looking for. âOccasions such as this field day are very important for me and I always endeavor to attend them, as there is always something new to see or learn,â she says.
On her farm, she has been planting one of the old but popular commercial varieties suitable for this mid-altitude ecology. She normally harvests 4 bags of maize, of 90kg each, every season. However, if there is not enough rain or if there are pests or diseases, which is often the case, she harvests just 2 bags or less. This is hardly enough to meet her familyâs food requirements for the year.
Switching to the maize variety she was interested in, and applying recommended farming practices, she could harvest 6 bags per season or more.
âToday, I have learnt how to improve my farming,â says Wawira. âEven when I access the variety that is high yielding, drought-tolerant and can mature in about three and a half months, as I witnessed on one of the plots, I still need to pay attention to proper crop husbandry related to spacing, timing of the planting, seed, fertilizer and pesticide application besides weed control,â she says.
Nancy Wawira examines maize in one of the demo plots. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Made-to-order
Wawira was one of the more than 400 farmers from nearby Manyatta sub-county visiting the demonstration farm on February 7, 2020. They were able to see varieties and learn about their traits, invited by the Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK) with the support of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
The demonstration is a continuation of the work started under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project and later under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project.
Officials from Embu County, led by its minister in charge of agriculture Jamleck Muturi, were present during the farmersâ visit. Ten seed firms, some of which use CIMMYTâs germplasm for seed propagation and marketing, participated as well.
âSeveral of our member seed companies are showcasing the varieties developed through CIMMYTâs breeding pipeline,â said Duncan Ochiengâ, the chief executive officer of STAK. âThe maize varieties showcased on these demo farms were designed to be drought-tolerant, high yielding and range from early to medium maturing. These varieties are juxta-posted with other commercial varieties suitable for this region.â
During visits to demonstration farms, farmers give feedback on their variety preferences. Seed companies can then align their breeding, germplasm-access requests, seed production or marketing plans with farmersâ expectations.
Some of the farmers who participated in the field day in Embu County, Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Jackline Wanja in one of the demo plots of the variety she liked. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
A seed company representative shows seeds to a farmer during the visit to the demonstration farm. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
STAK chief executive officer Duncan Ochieng’ examines a maize cob in one of the demo plots. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Dire traits
Farming stresses such as pests, diseases, heat and drought have made targeted breeding a critical necessity.
Young farmers are increasingly choosing varieties that can mature faster, typically in less than three months. They also favor varieties that offer higher yield than the popular commercial varieties, many of which have been on the market for at least a decade. Other sought-after traits are good performance in low or erratic rains, tolerance to maize lethal necrosis, reduced lodging, and efficiency in nitrogen use.
Jackline Wanja, 25, relies on her one-acre farm for survival. âOn average, I harvest about 25 bags per acre. On the demo farm, I got to know of a variety than can yield at least 30 bags per acre. I also learnt that the variety is not only drought-resilient but can also mature in about three and a half months. This is the variety that I plan to plant my farm next season,â Wanja said.
For John Njiru, 52, a higher-yielding variety with a lot of foliage, which remains green even after the maize cob has dried, is what he came looking for. For this farmer with 12 acres of land, the green maize foliage is a significant source of income when sold to livestock keepers. Njiru feeds his own livestock with it, making substantial savings on animal feed expenditure. âIf this variety is as high yielding as I have been made to understand and can offer me at least 30 bags per acre, I would be a happy farmer. My farming would be very profitable,” he says.
John Njiru on a demo plot of the variety he liked. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Cesar Petroli, High-throughput Genotyping Specialist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), develops genomic profiles of DNA samples, generating tens or even hundreds of thousands of molecular markers. This helps the team to set up genetic diversity analysis, improve genebank collections management and identify genomic regions associated with the expression of important agronomic traits.
Watch him explain how this molecular information can help the breeding process, to ultimately help farmers face climate change and food security challenges.
On February 27, 2020, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) opened a new greenhouse at its research station in TlaltizapĂĄn, in Mexicoâs state of Morelos. The Garrison Wilkes Center for Maize Wild Relatives is named after a pioneering scientist in the field of maize genetics.
âThe name teosinte refers to a group of wild relatives of maize,â said Denise Costich, manager of the maize germplasm collection at CIMMYT. âThe seven members of this group â all in the genus Zea â are more grass-like than maize, produce hard-shelled seeds that are virtually inedible, and are capable of enduring biotic and abiotic stressors better than their crop relative.â Teosintes must be protected, Costich explained, as they possess some desirable qualities that could help improve maize resilience in difficult conditions. Since CIMMYTâs Germplasm Bank is the global source for teosinte seed, the new greenhouse, designed exclusively for the regeneration of teosinte accessions from the bank collection, will ensure that there will always be seed available for research and breeding.
Garrison Wilkes was one of the first scientists to emphasize the importance of the teosintes and their close biological relationship to maize. He spent more than 50 years working on maize conservation in collaboration with CIMMYT. Â Together with scientists such as Angel Kato, a former CIMMYT research assistant and longtime professor, Suketoshi Taba, former head of CIMMYTâs Germplasm Bank, and Jesus Sanchez, as researchers at the University of Guadalajara, he contributed to the development of the global maize collection of CIMMYTâs Germplasm Bank as it exists today.
(From left to right) Garrison Wilkes, Angel Kato and Jesus Sanchez, study a teosinte population in Los Reyes, near Texcoco, Mexico, in 1992. (Photo: Mike Listman/CIMMYT)
Keeping seeds alive
Teosintes are the wild plants from which maize was domesticated about 7,000 years ago. They are durable, with natural resistance to disease and unfavorable weather, and grow primarily in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. âWhat makes [teosinte] a wild plant is its seed dispersal. Corn doesnât disperse its seed â itâs stuck on the cob. To be a wild plant means they can sow their own seed and survive,â explained Wilkes. Keeping these seeds alive could be the key to developing resilient modern maize with the potential to feed millions.
One of the difficulties in growing maize and teosinte in TlaltizapĂĄn to produce seed for global distribution is that the station is surrounded by sugarcane fields. Sugarcane carries a disease called the Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV), to which maize and teosinte are susceptible, and SCMV-positive seed cannot be distributed outside of Mexico. Additionally, if teosinte and maize are grown in close proximity to one another, it becomes very difficult to control gene flow between them via airborne pollen. Several experiments, ranging from growing the teosinte in pots to monitoring that the maize and teosinte flower at different times, could not fully guarantee that there was no cross-contamination. Therefore, in order to continue to cultivate maize and teosinte within the same station, the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank needed to create an isolated environment.
On average, the teosinte seed collections in the germplasm bank were nearly 19 years old, and 29% were not available for distribution due to low seed numbers. Researchers needed to find a way to produce more high-quality seed and get started as soon as possible. âMy staff and I visited Jesus Sanchez, a world-renowned teosinte expert, and learned as much as we could about how to cultivate teosinte in greenhouses,â explained Costich âWe realized that this could be the solution to our teosinte regeneration problem.â
Construction of the new greenhouse began in late 2017, with funding received from the 2016 Save a Seed Campaign â a crowdfunding initiative which raised more than $50,000. Donations contributed to activities such as seed storage, tours and educational sessions, seed collection, seed repatriation and regeneration of depleted seeds. With the new greenhouse, CIMMYT scientists can now breed teosinte without worrying about maize contamination, and prevent the extinction of these valuable species.
CIMMYT holds most of the worldâs publically accessible collections of teosinte. âThe wild relatives are a small part of our collection, but also a very important part, as they are theoretically the future of genetic diversity,â said Costich.âThey have been important in the evolution of the crop. If we lose them, we canât learn anything more from them, which would be a shame.â
