Skip to main content

A tribute to Alejandro Ortega, former CIMMYT maize scientist

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Features.

Photo courtesy: Jorge Castro/PIEAES

In communion with family members, Mexican and global partners and past colleagues, CIMMYT mourns the passing and celebrates the extraordinary life of Alejandro Ortega y Corona, former CIMMYT maize scientist who died in his native Mexico on 9 September at the age of 83. Ortega’s professional contributions include developing techniques to mass rear insects for use in insect-resistant maize breeding, as well as quality protein maize (QPM) improvement and screening techniques for heat and drought tolerance.

“Alex was an accomplished and dedicated entomologist and served as a mentor and an example of dedication to improving the lot of the poor, for many of us,” said Greg Edmeades, former leader of maize physiology at CIMMYT. “He believed we could make a difference in this world – and he did through his sheer hard work.”

A graduate in biology of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 1953, Ortega obtained a M.Sc. (1954) and a Ph.D. (1960) in Economic Entomology from Ohio State University. Among the first Mexican students to complete graduate studies outside of Mexico with Rockefeller Foundation support, during 1952-57 Ortega served in the Office of Special Studies, the joint Rockefeller Foundation-Mexican Ministry of Agriculture program where Norman E. Borlaug pursued the research that led to the Green Revolution and the creation of CIMMYT. After working during 1961-66 as head of entomology at Mexico’s national agricultural research institute (now the National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research, known as INIFAP), Ortega joined the CIMMYT Maize Program in 1967, where he focused on entomology, physiology, breeding and pathology. In 1988 he left CIMMYT and worked for two years as a volunteer and later as a salaried researcher in INIFAP in northwestern Mexico. He worked on a number of things at INIFAP, including the development of heat-tolerant maize (one resulting hybrid, H431, is still popular in the region). Most recently, Ortega served as national coordinator for the Global Maize Project, a large effort to collect and document Mexican maize landraces during 2008-2011.[1] Ortega is also author of a 1987 CIMMYT field manual on insect pests of maize that is still used by researchers worldwide.

In August 2013 Ortega was honored for his service and contributions to maize drought and heat research at a special ceremony at CIMMYT’s Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station (CENEB) in Ciudad Obregón. He was revered by staff at all levels, according to Martha Willcox, CIMMYT maize landrace coordinator who helped organize the CENEB event. “A former maize program secretary said Alex was the most polite scientist she ever worked for,” said Willcox. “Tractor drivers and field workers at the station took up a collection to give him a special, carved-wood statue of a Yaqui Indian dancer, after the ceremony.”

“Alejandro will always be remembered for his exemplary work in maize improvement at CIMMYT and INIFAP,” said Pedro Brajcich Gallegos, INIFAP director general. “He achieved results of national and international recognition, but he leaves a legacy of modesty and care for others. May he rest in peace.”

The CIMMYT community sends profound condolences to Ortega’s wife Eliavel and his children Lidia, Lucía, Alejandro Ortega González, Glenda, Alejandro Ortega Beltrán and Alejandra.

[1] Ortega Corona, A., M. de J. Guerrero Herrera and R.E. Preciado Ortiz (eds.). 2013. Diversidad y Distribución del Maíz Nativo y sus Parientes Silvestres en México. Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP).

Synthetic wheat in China continues to flourish due to grassy species

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Zhonghu He, Garry Rosewarne and Wuyun Yang

A seed production crop of Chuanmai 104. This Provincial government initiative pays a private seed company to produce seed, which is then freely distributed to local farmers to facilitate the efficient uptake of this high- yielding variety. Photo: Garry Rosewarne.

Genes found in million-year-old grass species are helping scientists multiply the genetic diversity of wheat and generate varieties that yield more than eight tons of grain per hectare in southwestern China, where rain-fed wheat grows in low temperatures after sowing and winter droughts can hold back productivity.

Many wheat x grass crosses – known as “synthetic” wheats – were developed 25 years ago by a CIMMYT research team, and have since been used in breeding programs worldwide. The first synthetic variety to reach Chinese farms, Chuanmai 42, arrived in the Sichuan Basin in 2003, and allowed wheat farmers there to boost yields by as much as 20 percent – the most significant increase in the region for decades.

“Despite major research and breeding efforts, on-farm wheat yields in southwestern China had stagnated below eight tons per hectare,” said Dr. Zhonghu He, CIMMYT distinguished scientist and wheat breeder. “Chuanmai 42 and  more recent synthetic-derived varieties changed that. It has been the leading variety in the Sichuan Basin for a decade.” Chuanmai 42 was developed by Professor Wuyun Yang, senior wheat breeder at the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Science (SAAS) and a CIMMYT wheat training graduate. “In 2011, the China State Council gave SAAS the scientific progress award for the creation of Chuanmai 42 and the exploration of genetic diversity from synthetic wheat,” He said.

A new report in the journal Crop Science (1) has shed light on the physiological differences that give Chuanmai 42 and other synthetic derivatives better yields. “In our three-year study, the synthetic crosses were more vigorous in early growth stages, and grew more above ground at flowering time than non-synthetic varieties,” said Dr. Garry Rosewarne, CIMMYT wheat scientist and co-author of the report. “At maturity, more dry matter was partitioned to grain in the synthetic varieties and the plants were more erect and compact,” he added. These differences gave the synthetics a nearly 12 percent yield advantage, according to Rosewarne. “It’s very encouraging to see the newer synthetic derivatives significantly out-performing Chuanmai 42,” he said.

A report published  in the journal BMC Plant Biology (2) in May describes a study that combines digital imaging of grain and molecular markers to analyze grain size and shape and their effects on yield in synthetic-derived wheat. This work was accomplished under the Valilov-Frankel Fellowship, involving scientists from institutes in Australia, China and Pakistan, as well as CGIAR Centers Bioversity International and CIMMYT. The study found that parts of the synthetic genome originating from a wild grass might carry genes that enhance grain weight, a key component of higher yield in wheat. “This study involved 231 synthetic derivatives,” said He, a co-author of the report. “It confirms the great potential of this type of wheat to help low- and middle-income countries meet the rising demand for wheat-based products, as their populations grow and urbanize.”

Dr. Abdul Mujeeb-Kazi, retired CIMMYT distinguished scientist who led the team that performed the original wheat x grass crosses 25 years ago, is also a co-author of the study.

1. Tang, Y., G.M. Rosewarne, C. Li, X. Wu, W. Yang, and C. Wu. 2014. Physiological factors underpinning grain yield improvements of synthetic derived wheat in South Western China, accepted paper, Crop Science, posted 07/29/2014. doi:10.2135/cropsci2014.02.0124.
2. Rasheed, A., X. Xia, F. Ogbonnaya, T. Mahmood, Z. Zhang, A. Mujeeb-Kazi, and Z. He. 2014. Genome-wide association for grain morphology in synthetic hexaploid wheats using digital imaging analysis. BMC Plant Biology 2014, 14:128 doi:10.1186/1471-2229-14-128

CIMMYT hosts field days in Kenya showcasing fertilizer-friendly maize

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Florence Sipalla

Some of the CIMMYT partners who participated in a field day showcase fertilizer friendly maize in Kiboko, Kenya. Photo: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT
Some of the CIMMYT partners who participated in a field day showcase fertilizer friendly maize in Kiboko, Kenya.
Photo: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT

Many smallholder farmers in Africa can only afford to apply small amounts of fertilizer to their maize crop. Fertilizer-friendly maize, bred to more efficiently use the small quantities of fertilizer that farmers apply, is helping to address this challenge. On 8 and 25 July, the Improved Maize for African Soil (IMAS) project, led by CIMMYT, hosted two field days at Kiboko, Kenya, to showcase fertilizer-friendly pre-commercial maize hybrids and inbred lines. CIMMYT also held a similar field day on 4 March in Harare, Zimbabwe attended by 50 partners from the southern Africa region. The event was organized by CIMMYT breeder Dr Amsal Tarekegne.

Thirty-three partners representing seed companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national agriculture research systems (NARS) from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda participated in the field days. They were able to evaluate and select IMAS pre-release hybrids and advanced inbred lines. “The focus of the IMAS line development pipeline is nitrogen use efficiency, which has been added to other adaptive traits relevant for Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Biswanath Das, breeder and co-leader of the IMAS project. “The germplasm is very diverse, incorporating nitrogen use efficiency from Latin American and temperate sources in the Africa-adapted materials,” said Das. Over 3,000 advanced inbred lines were on display at Kiboko for selection by partners.

The deadly maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease has emerged as a primary challenge to maize breeding in the East African region. “The lines displayed at Kiboko are also being evaluated in parallel for their responses to MLN at the MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha,” said Das. The results from the trials at Naivasha will further help partners in making use of selected germplasm in their breeding programs.

“I gained insight into the work that IMAS is doing,” said Saleem Ismail, chief executive officer of the Western Seed Company. Ismail said that he had selected germplasm from this field day; “I plan to cross these materials with my testers for evaluation in western Kenya.” He added that he would like to see how the germplasm combines with early- and late-maturing materials.

“This germplasm is very useful,” said Wilson Muasya, a breeder with Kenya Seed Company. “You never see this kind of germplasm assembled in one place. We can diversify and improve our germplasm and our own varieties,” added Muasya. “We can also identify materials that can effectively fight the MLN disease.”

Philip Leley, a maize breeder with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Muguga Station, said he wanted to introduce diversity into KARI’s maize breeding program, especially for traits such as nitrogen use efficiency and MLN tolerance.

Partners from BRAC, one of the largest NGOs in the world, and Nuru International, an NGO based in Kenya, also participated in the field visit. Shahadat Hossain of BRAC-Uganda and Peter Wangai of Nuru International were keen to identify hybrids that could be marketed to their target farmers. In 2013, Nuru International worked with 6,000 farmers in Kenya’s Kuria district, and plans to expand to 10,000 farmers by next year.

“We provide farmers improved seed and fertilizer for one acre of land,” said Wangai. “We also advise them on varieties to plant,” explained Wangai, who indicated that the organization is eager to identify maize varieties that can tolerate MLN. “We are discouraging farmers from planting maize in the short rain season because of MLN,” he said, explaining that part of Nuru’s extension service is to advise farmers on how to manage the spread of MLN.

BRAC provides integrated services in agriculture, health and microfinance in several countries in Africa, including Tanzania and Uganda. “Since 2000, we have trained more than 100,000 farmers in Uganda,” said Hossain. The NGO provides different types of seed to farmers including maize, rice and vegetables. “We have BRAC-branded maize open-pollinated varieties,” said Hossain. “We currently procure hybrids from a commercial seed company in Uganda but plan to put our own hybrids on the market in the future.”

“Organizations such as BRAC and Nuru International help to diversify the suppliers of CIMMYT’s improved maize germplasm. Together with other development partners in the region, they play a very important role in ensuring that thousands of smallholder farmers have access to new improved varieties, as well as information,” said Das.

Study shows climate change could negatively Impact maize and wheat yields by 2030

Written by on . Posted in Features.

Global demand for food is expected to grow rapidly leading up to 2050, and the ability to meet such demand is of the utmost importance in order to maintain food security. However, a recent study shows projected climate change threatens to compromise the world’s ability to meet this demand – especially in global cereal yields – as soon as the next 10 years, given that the bulk of the demand will occur in the next two decades.

The authors emphasize the importance of this information for organizations that deal in international food prices, stability and peace. The study “Getting caught with our plants down: the risks of a global crop yield slowdown from climate trends in the next two decades,” published in Environmental Research Letters by David Lobell, an associate director at Stanford University’s Center on Food Security and the Environment, and Claudia Tebaldi, a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, used computer models to examine the potential impact of climate change on food yields in the next 20 years, particularly of wheat and maize.

Photo: A. Yaqub/CIMMYT

The models combined global climate trends with data on weather patterns and crops in order to estimate the likelihood that global agriculture would be able to keep up with increased demand under a changing climate. According to the study, under natural climate shifts the likelihood that agricultural production will take a downturn in the next 20 years is very low, but when projected climate change is factored into the equation the results are quite different. “Climate change has substantially increased the prospect that crop production will fail to keep up with rising demand in the next 20 years,” stated Tebaldi. The study found that “because of global warming, the chance of climate trends over a 20-year period causing a 10 percent yield loss has increased from a less than 1 in 200 chance arising from internal climate variability alone, to a 1 in 10 chance for maize and 1 in 20 chance for wheat.” Maize faces a greater threat from climate change than wheat due to the fact that its main production areas are more geographically concentrated, meaning that “large regional trends can have more influence on global maize than wheat.” It is important to remember that one of the major assumptions of the study is that methods to adapt to climate change are not implemented on a large scale in the next 20 years, i.e. “the locations and seasons of maize and wheat production do not change.”

The study suggests that shifting production to cooler regions could help to offset the impacts of climate change on yield, but implies that at the present moment these shifts “are not occurring fast enough to significantly alter the global pattern of maize or wheat production.” While the likelihood of climate change having a devastating impact on wheat and maize yields is not very high, at one in 10 and one in 20 respectively, it is a concern that the odds are considerably higher under “human-induced global warming” than under “natural climate shifts.” It is for this reason that the authors recommend that anyone concerned with food security or international stability be aware of the potential risk climate change poses to global food production. The full article is available at IOPscience.

Sustainable intensification (GCAP)

Written by on . Posted in Features.

Go back to Conservation Agriculture

The primary purpose of the CIMMYT Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) is to co-develop sustainable intensification options for and with smallholder farmers in maize- and wheat-based farming systems in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Doing so contributes to CGIAR intermediate development outcomes on food security and poverty reduction. GCAP initially focused on conservation agriculture (CA) principles and high-quality, site-specific field agronomy research in a wide range of agro-ecosystems. Over the past few years, GCAP broadened its research portfolio in close collaboration with the CIMMYT Socio-Economics Program (SEP) to more holistically address sustainable intensification pathways and tackle adoption and adoptability of technical innovations.

In short, sustainable intensification of agriculture seeks to increase farming enterprises’ productivity in regard to land, water, labor and input productivity of farming enterprises in a socially equitable manner while preserving the natural resource base and the environment. This is easier said than done as the sustainable intensification paradigm requires understanding of the complex interactions (synergies and trade-offs) between bio-physical, environmental and socio-economic/market/policy factors at different scales/levels (field, farm, landscape, regions) in order to develop viable options in changing rural environments.

Not being ‘lost in, but dealing with complexity’ is GCAP staff members’ primary concern in order to achieve impact at scale and propose site- and farm-specific integrated adoptable solutions. This requires the use of systems research approaches and the development and use of conceptual frameworks. An example of this is the partnership with Wageningen University funded by the MAIZE and WHEAT CRPs.

Reaching impact at scale also requires strategic partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders – from advanced research institutions to government and private extension agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. GCAP’s flagship projects in South Asia (CSISA), Africa (SIMLESA) and Mexico (MasAgro/TTF) were all designed specifically to use agricultural research for development (AR4D) to intensify farming systems. At the same time, these projects implement innovative approaches with effective methodological use of gender and innovation. A specific program to backstop gender and innovation in GCAP projects is led by the Royal Institute of the Tropics (KIT) of the Netherlands and funded by the MAIZE and WHEAT CRPs.

GCAP operates on the principles that technical innovations and scientific progress have great potential to help smallholder farmers when properly put in context. Therefore, a large part of the GCAP research portfolio is still focused on technical innovations and on the following themes:

  • Conservation agriculture and its contribution to sustainable intensification (i.e. the Nebraska Declaration).
  • Small-scale mechanization and labor saving technologies (i.e. the FACASI project).
  • Decision support tools (DSTs) for site-specific nutrient/water management and precision agriculture/remote sensing for smallholders farmers.
  • Effective use of information and communication technologies.

For more information, please contact: Bruno Gerard (b.gerard@cgiar.org)

Strategic research theme leaders for sustainable intensification:

In East and Southern Africa: Peter Craufurd (p.craufurd@cgiar.org)
In South Asia: Andrew McDonald (a.mcdonald@cgiar.org)
In Latin America: Bram Govaerts (b.govaerts@cgiar.org)

 

Genetic Resources and Bioinformatics

Written by on . Posted in Features.

Genetic resources and bioinformatics are the responsibility of the Genetic Resources Program (GRP). It contributes to CIMMYT’s overall mission of increasing crop productivity to improve food security and improve livelihoods by storing, analyzing and disseminating the world’s largest collection of maize and wheat genetic resources, which are contained in the Wellhausen-Andersen Genetic Resources Center. The Center is one of only three ISO-certified seed banks in the world and the only one in North America. In its maize and wheat gene banks, seeds are held in trust for humanity under the framework of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Moreover, CIMMYT seed is made freely available to researchers and national agriculture institutions around the globe.

GRP scientists and staff work to provide healthy, viable seed and reliable information from the maize and wheat genetic resources collections and are responsible for more than 175,000 accessions. Their work enhances the use of maize and wheat genetic resources through research and technology, excellence in data stewardship and the creation of tools and methods that enable CIMMYT and its partners to readily use the available information.

The GRP consists of various units that work in tandem to achieve CIMMYT’S goals:

The Seed Health Laboratory staff members work on the safe exchange of wheat and maize seed around the world and are responsible for thousands of exchanges of maize and wheat samples annually.

The Biometrics and Statistics Unit provides service, research and training for CIMMYT and its partners, including methodology-model solutions, statistical analyses and experiment designs. A data stewardship approach strives for responsible stewardship and provides open access to CIMMYT’s seed data and the knowledge derived from it. Through this approach data standards, documentation, curation processes and timelines are established to coordinate the receipt, storage, manipulation and quality control of field and molecular data. It also enables accurate data documentation and storage throughout the analysis pipeline, versatile institutional databases and repositories, interfaces, output and informatic tools that are used by scientists and research assistants, reporting back the user requirements to CIMMYT’s software engineers in order to achieve continuous improvement of these tools.

CIMMYT recognizes that sustainably meeting the growing global demand for food may require the responsible use all of the available technologies, including genetically modified (GM) varieties of maize and wheat. Applying the practice of “sovereignty and safety first,” each nation will determine when and how GM crops will be used in their territory and this will require a legal and regulatory framework to be in place before any work can be done in this area (see CIMMYT’s guiding principles). CIMMYT is a member of “Excellence Through Stewardship,” which “promotes the universal adoption of stewardship programs and quality management systems for the responsible use and management of biotechnology-derived plant products.”

The Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) initiative systematically explores and mobilizes genetic variation in CIMMYT’s and other gene bank collections into maize and wheat breeding programs to increase productivity resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses such as heat, drought and disease.

The GRP’s activities can be summarized as:

  • Conservation, characterization, distribution and use of genetic resources.
  • Safe distribution of seed.
  • Stewardship and ensuring open-access to CIMMYT’s data and derived information.
  • Creation of quality, open-source software.
  • Development and validation of new tools and methods for gene mining and crop improvement.
  • Capacity building in all of these areas.

 

 

Beachell-Borlaug scholar dreams of giving back to developing countries

Written by Jennifer Johnson on . Posted in Features.

Silvano Ocheya is no stranger to the challenges developing countries face in improving agricultural production.

A native of Kenya, Ocheya’s interest in agricultural science started at an early age, growing up on a small farm that his mother ran by herself after his father’s death. “I saw how people back home are struggling, and their lack of knowledge, and thought if we can impact here, we will have an effect on a great number of families, and that is how the country can develop. We can’t think of industrialization until we have enough to feed our families,” said Ocheya.

Now, thanks to his excellent training and education in agricultural science and plant breeding as well as internships and research completed at CIMMYT, Ocheya is gaining the tools he will need to realize his dream of giving back. Ocheya received an undergraduate degree at the University of Nairobi, followed by an internship at CIMMYT-Kenya where he researched maize under his mentors, Dr. Dan Makumbi and Dr. Alpha Diallo. This research would eventually form the backbone of the thesis for his M.Sc. in genetics and plant breeding at the same university. Ocheya is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and is a member of Monsanto’s Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, working with CIMMYT to research drought tolerance in wheat and resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus.

Photo: Smit Dhakal

After earning his degree he hopes to utilize the skills he has gained to help improve agriculture in a developing country, perhaps his native Kenya. “That’s where I feel I am most relevant. I’ll make more impact if I apply the knowledge I’ve learned in a developing country, to make a difference in the lives of farmers and their families.” For Ocheya, the biggest challenges to agricultural production in Kenya are drought and disease, made even worse by climate change. These challenges inspire him to work to develop drought-resistant seed varieties that also give farmers high yields.

Ocheya also considers lack of information to be a setback for farmers in developing countries, especially for women. “We need to empower women by giving them information. There is a great deal of information out there but it is not accessible, including information like the right seed or amount of fertilizer to buy. Unless we empower them with that information, I think it will be very difficult to make a breakthrough in agricultural productivity,” said Ocheya. He cited the influx of mobile technology in developing countries as a potential platform to build agriculture-based apps that can be translated into local languages, providing a possible solution to this information gap. When asked about his plans for the future,

Ocheya mentioned that in addition to continuing his research he would also like to train young people using the knowledge he has gained. “If you look at the success of Norman Borlaug, for example, he trained thousands of scientists, and that’s how his impact was felt across the developing world. While he wasn’t able to do it himself (in Africa), he had people he could help and he trained them, and I think that’s the approach I will take.”

When rural farmers are given a voice: successful farmers share their experience with sustainable intensification

Written by on . Posted in Features.

When traveling from Chimoio to Tete along one of the main roads in central Mozambique, one inevitably passes through Malomue, a small rural village in Báruè District. Since 2008, conservation agriculture (CA) technologies and improved drought-tolerant maize varieties have been promoted to farmers through various donor-funded projects, including a USAID-funded Feed the Future initiative.

In the past, farmers in the area would cultivate their land, clear the surface of all protective cover and burn the residue from the previous cropping season. The main food security crop in the area is maize, and due to lack of access to improved seed, lowyielding landraces were often planted. The introduction of improved agriculture technologies developed and tested by the Platform of Agriculture Research and Innovation (PARTI) and the Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) of the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Lab (SANREM) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) implemented in collaboration with the University of Tennessee, have brought significant change to Malomue. Farmers have been exposed to improved seed, fertilizers, improved weed management practices and more sustainable planting techniques based on conservation agriculture principles and practices.

Josè Leuane Dicane, a rural farmer from the community with approximately 15 hectares of cultivated land, said, “The first lesson I learned is that no fire should enter my plots, and I have managed to avoid burning grass from my neighbors.” Dicane also appreciates the reduced labor required when chemical weed control options and direct seeding techniques are used, as well as the increased moisture retention and fertility increases when legume crops are rotated and crop residues are kept on the soil surface. Improved drought-tolerant maize varieties, developed by CIMMYT and extended through Mozambican private seed companies, have further increased the yields on the fields of farmers such as Dicane. Dicane and his large family have become food self-sufficient. He has planted a garden where he produces higher value horticulture crops under small-scale irrigation, and has become an emerging commercial farmer by successfully selling his produce at a profit in the nearby town of Catandica.

The project has identified him as one of the most visionary and successful farmers in central Mozambique, worthy of sharing his experiences with others in the world. With support from USAID, Dicane and his wife were invited to go to the United States to attend a meeting of SANREM/CRSP. On 16 May, Dicane and his wife Judisse boarded an airplane on their way to the U.S. Neither had ever flown, stayed in a hotel or seen the world outside of Mozambique. This was the experience of a lifetime for them. During the SANREM/CRSP meeting on 20 May, they shared their new farming expertise with other participants and farmers. They spoke as if they had presented to an audience many times. Their very impressive report on the lives of rural farmers from Mozambique made a difference to many of the participants. The farmers from Malomue have been given a voice and the opportunity to describe the gradual changes in their lives. The changes might be small, but viewed through another lens, they are also groundbreaking.

CCAFS study finds limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Clare Stirling/CCAFS

A study funded by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) CRP involving three CIMMYT staff and an international team of scientists has just been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The authors of “Limited Potential of No- Till Agriculture for Climate Change Mitigation” conclude that claims relating to no-till agriculture’s role in slowing climate change may be overstated. No-till and reduced tillage are methods of establishing crops with minimum soil disturbance, in contrast to conventional tillage involving plowing or other cultivation practices.

No-till agriculture can deliver benefits in many, though not all, situations; these benefits include improved soil quality and retention of water in soil for use by crops. Therefore the technologies have a clear advantage in dry regions of the world. No-till usually leads to an increase in the concentration of organic matter near the soil surface. This is often interpreted as an absolute accumulation or “locking up” of carbon in soil, termed carbon sequestration; this has led to no-till being promoted as a form of climate change mitigation. This claim was recently restated in the 2013 Emissions Gap Report of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

Contrast between maize grown in rotation with wheat, with zero tillage on the flat, and retention of all residues (left), with maize grown without rotation, with conventional tillage and removal of all residues (right), on long-term conservation agriculture (CA) trial plot D5 at CIMMYT’s headquarters, El Batán, Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT
Contrast between maize grown in rotation with wheat, with zero tillage on the flat, and retention of all residues (left), with maize grown without rotation, with conventional tillage and removal of all residues (right), on long-term conservation agriculture (CA) trial plot D5 at CIMMYT’s headquarters, El Batán, Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT

The review found that there was sometimes a genuine, but small, net accumulation of organic carbon in soil under no-till conditions compared with conventional tillage. However, much of the observed effects result from a redistribution of organic carbon with depth – extra organic carbon near the surface but less carbon in deeper soil. In addition, the soil sampling methods normally used tend to exaggerate the effect. Consequently the climate change mitigation achievable from converting to no-till agriculture is likely to be overstated. The authors of the new paper conclude that no-till agriculture has a role to play as one of the strategies contributing to global food security and the protection of soils, and thus to climate change adaptation (through building agricultural systems that are more resilient to climate and weather variability).

In regions where no-till or reduced tillage is agriculturally appropriate it should be promoted on these grounds, but not on the basis of equivocal evidence for climate change mitigation. Climate change mitigation is a small, but useful, additional benefit, not the key policy driver for its adoption. The review also states that those who promote no-till as a means of combating climate change frequently refer to the potential amount of additional carbon that may be stored, or sequestered, in soil. However, in the UNEP report and elsewhere, the barriers to adoption of no-till tend to be ignored.

The authors argue that there are numerous social, practical and infrastructural factors that can make its adoption difficult for farmers, particularly smallholder and resource-poor farmers in developing countries. These issues are being addressed by CIMMYT and others but progress in overcoming the barriers is often slow. Thus, even where there is a real potential for mitigating climate change, it is often difficult to achieve in practice.

Clare Stirling, CIMMYT-CCAFS Project Leader, said, “Overstating the climate change mitigation benefits of no-till is serious because it gives a falsely optimistic message of the potential to reduce climate change through altered agricultural practices.” She added, “Given that the climate change mitigation achievable through adoption of no-till is likely to be far less than claimed, there is even more pressure to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from other agricultural areas. In regard to wheat and maize – the two staple crops CIMMYT focuses on – improved nitrogen management is the key to low-carbon development.”

Ethiopian government adopts quality protein maize scale-out plan

Written by on . Posted in Features.

The Ethiopian government has embarked on a new initiative to improve nutritional security in the country through the widespread demonstration and use of quality protein maize (QPM), a type of maize that contains enhanced levels of protein. The new government initiative is a high-level endorsement of CIMMYT’s five-year Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project.

One of NuME’s goals is to promote the delivery and use of QPM seeds. Photo: NuME staff

The principal goal of NuME is to improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians through the widespread application and use of QPM and improved agronomic practices that increase productivity. NuME project leader Adefris Teklewold said, “The new government initiative will play a major role in making the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME target woredas (districts).”

The key aspects of NuME are in the government QPM scale-out plan, “Strengthening Quality Protein Maize Promotion and Seed Supply Systems in Ethiopia.” The plan sets a target to increase the area producing QPM in Ethiopia to 200,000 hectares in 2015-2017, roughly 10 percent of the total land currently devoted to maize production in the country.

After critical review and enrichment by key stakeholders, the initiative was approved by Ato Wondirad Mandfero, State Minister of Agriculture, as “an initiative that links agriculture and nutrition.” Mandfero issued directives for the initiative’s immediate implementation in high-potential maize growing areas in the country, as well as the inclusion of QPM technology dissemination in the regular government extension program starting this year. The Ethiopian government’s agricultural extension program focuses primarily on assisting small-scale farmers to improve their productivity by disseminating research-generated information and technologies.

Many Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source, but ordinary maize lacks essential amino acids and a maize-based diet can leave children at risk for protein deficiency. Photo: NuME staff

An alliance of key government institutions engaged in the agriculture sector, including the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), other key development partners and CIMMYT support the scale-out plan and will work together to help execute a variety of initiatives to fulfill the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians.

The government initiative will create synergies with NuME and expand QPM through more field demonstrations and field days. NuME is achieving success with these methods, but the government expansion will make the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME project woredas. The government initiative will also create opportunities for more collaborators to participate in the effort and thus for more experience-sharing and impact on the ground. According to Teklewold, “The ultimate winner will be small-scale Ethiopian farmers who will have access to the technology through a wide variety of outlets and extension services.”

A sizable number of Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source. However, a maize-based diet is generally deficient in the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. This can leave families — and particularly children — at risk for protein deficiency, especially in circumstances where intake of alternative protein sources is limited.

NuME promotes QPM, maize varieties developed by CIMMYT scientists through conventional breeding that contains enhanced levels of protein compared to common maize varieties. Two CIMMYT scientists (Dr. Evangelina Villegas and Dr. Surinder Vasal) who worked to develop QPM in the 1980s and 1990s were awarded the World Food Prize in 2000 for their work. QPM helps to fill the lysine intake gap in circumstances where maize is the dominant source of calories and protein and intake of alternative protein sources is limited. This analysis is strongly supported by various studies conducted in West Africa, Latin America and Asia, which concluded that children in vulnerable environments could benefit nutritionally from QPM consumption1.

Key objectives outlined in the scale-out proposal include:

  • Identifying options to enhance seed businesses and impact pathways by identifying constraints and opportunities in the seed value chain.
  • Enhancing the capacity of regulatory agencies and developing systems to track improved seed use and impact.
  • Demonstrating and creating awareness of seed companies and farmers regarding the performance and nutritional superiority of QPM varieties.
  • Providing sufficient quantities of quality of QPM varieties to farmers in a sustainable manner.
  • Supporting seed companies and community-based organizations to improve their capacity in seed production skills, post-harvest seed handling and seed business management to enable them to absorb available QPM varieties and increase quality seed.

The government initiative notes that five QPM varieties have already been officially released by Ambo, Bako and Melkassa Research Centers. Basic and adaptive research activities are being conducted concurrently by different centers of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) in collaboration with CIMMYT, to develop new improved QPM varieties adapted to different maize production environments and evolving stresses in the country.

As part of the initiative, a strategy will be developed to start QPM adoption by ensuring a sufficient QPM seed supply by:  improving access to credit and coordinated production of all seed categories (breeder, pre-basic, basic and certified) along the value chain; testing and demonstrating a stockist distribution plan for more efficient seed distribution; and providing seed business management and production training to emerging seed producers.

Target areas selected under the initiative include Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) woredas, most of which are in high-potential maize growing areas. An estimated 2.4 million people, comprising some 400,000 households in AGP woredas in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray regions, are expected to benefit from this initiative.

The NuME project is implemented by CIMMYT and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Among CIMMYT’s partners helping to implement NuME are EIAR, the Sasakawa Africa Association/ Sasakawa Global 2000; MoA; the Ethiopian Ministry of Health; the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute; Farm Radio International; Harvard School of Public Health; universities; agricultural, technical, vocational and educational training centers; and numerous seed companies.

Indian organizations honor Rajaram for World Food Prize win

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Gurdev Singh/CIMMYT

Dr. S. Ayyappan, director general of ICAR, honored Rajaram as “the best living wheat scientist in the world today.”

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was on board a flight to New Delhi on 18 June when he was announced as the recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize (WFP). Upon landing, he was given a warm welcome by his close associates in India, Dr. O.P. Shringi and Sanjaya Chhabra of DCM Shriram Ltd. and others, who informed him of the official announcement. After spending some quality time with his family in his hometown of Varanasi, he had a completely new itinerary for his visit that involved several congratulatory events at agriculture-related institutes and organizations.

Rajaram has been working closely with DCM   Shriram Ltd. in New Delhi since 2005 on its wheat project. Sovan Chakrabarty, the business head and executive director, congratulated Rajaram in the traditional Indian way, with a shawl and a bouquet, in the presence of the Shriram Farm Solutions team members.­ Shringi said the firm took pride in being the first to receive and honor Rajaram after the official W­­­FP announcement. During the ceremony, Rajaram said he is a strong proponent of public-private partnerships for food security and increasing wheat productivity in India. He applauded Shriram Farm Solutions’ excellent famer delivery mechanism and the progress it has made in developing and marketing new wheat varieties in a very short time.

At the request of Dr. R. R. Hanchinal, chairperson of Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority at the National Seed Institute of India, Rajaram attended a function at the National Agriculture Science Center Complex. Dr. S. Ayyappan, director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the chief guest, honored Rajaram as “the best living wheat scientist in the world today,” and Hanchinal shared his achievements with a select group of scientists and authorities from Indian agricultural universities and institutions.

Children of DWR staff members joined Dr. Indu Sharma, director of DWR, to welcome Rajaram with waving flags.

The Indian Agriculture Research Institute in New Delhi, where Rajaram earned his master’s degree in genetics and plant breeding, also held a function. The director, Dr. H.S. Gupta, lauded Rajaram’s contributions and congratulated him for being selected to receive the most prestigious prize in agriculture.

In a speech to several distinguished scientists, Rajaram emphasized the need to address the productivity problems in the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Rajaram has been a regular visitor at Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana, so the vice chancellor, Dr. B.S.  Dhillon, invited Rajaram to an event in his honor.  Dr. Darshan Singh Brar, former head of plant breeding, biotechnology and biochemistry at the International Rice Research Institute, and Dr. Gurdev Singh, a former professor at the university and adviser to DCM Shriram Ltd., were special guests. Rajaram took time to interact with the faculty, particularly Dr. Kuldeep Singh, director of biotechnology, and his Ph.D. students.

Dr. Indu Sharma, director of DWR, presented a memento to Rajaram during an event held in his honor.

Dr. Indu Sharma, director of ICAR’s Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), organized a large event for Rajaram’s visit to DWR on 27 June. Sharma joined a group of staff members’ children to welcome Rajaram by waving flags, and then she shared some fond memories in a staff meeting of him interacting with Indian wheat scientists in the field.  The DWR staff gave Rajaram a standing ovation for his unparalleled contribution to wheat production, particularly in Asia. Dr. A.K. Srivastava, director of the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, offered hearty congratulations and opined that wheat varieties with slightly more biomass would be handy in providing much-needed fodder for milking animals.

Addressing the audience, Rajaram congratulated the Indian wheat researchers for achieving remarkable wheat production again this year, and he emphasized the need to develop human resources and train the younger generations to work hard in the fields in an interactive mode. He also discussed the important issue of post-harvest handling and storage facilities in India. He then planted a tree at DWR’s new compound in Karnal.

Wheat Field Day in Georgia

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Alexei Morgounov/CIMMYT

Georgia has high soil fertility and good agro-environmental conditions for growing wheat, yet the country imports most of the grain it needs. To help make Georgia’s agriculture sector more self-sufficient, a small workshop and Wheat Field Day were held 7 June at Lomtagora Farm in Marneuli County.

The farm is a focal point in Georgia for the testing and adoption of winter wheat germplasm supplied by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program, a joint project of the government of Turkey, CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Several high-yielding varieties have been identified, multiplied and delivered to the farming communities in the country. During the field day, participants saw more than 70 varieties and breeding lines demonstrated on big plots and submitted seed requests for the ones they liked. Traditional Georgian bread was baked from different genotypes including the landraces, and samples were offered to the visitors.

Drs. Kakha Lashki and Alexei Morgounov discuss the performance of the new wheat lines. Photo: Alexei Morgounov

Dr. Kakha Lashki, head of the farm, emphasized the need for technological innovations and varieties to improve farms and increase wheat production. Dr. Alexei

Morgounov of CIMMYT-Turkey presented some of those technological solutions. He also addressed the challenges facing wheat farmers globally. Dr. Ram Sharma of ICARDA-Tashkent spoke about the outcomes of regional cooperation with ICARDA and how they can be applied in Georgia.

This was the fifth year for the Wheat Field Day, and it attracted around 100 participants from across the country.

New agreement with Mexican government will allow MasAgro to continue its groundbreaking work

Written by on . Posted in Features.

Photo: Conservation Agriculture Program staff

Dr. Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT Director General Mexico is seen by many as one of the strongest emerging economies, with a high GDP and strong purchasing power parity. Yet a commonly overlooked fact is that nearly 23 percent of Mexicans, some 27.4 million citizens, still suffer from food shortages and insecurity1. In late 2010, CIMMYT and the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) launched the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture project (MasAgro) to raise farm community living standards and foster sustainable food security through research, development, training and the transfer of technology —ultimately to make a difference to the lives of these millions.

From an initial budget of US$ 3 million to a budget of nearly US$ 20 million in 2014, MasAgro has been seen as a success and was described by the G20 Mexico Agriculture Group as “an experience that could serve as a model for coordinating research and development, innovation, transfer of technology, as well as public-private links in the agri-food sector.” Nonetheless, since the 2012 elections and change of government, as is typical, there has been a shift in priorities within SAGARPA with an increased focus on impact and downstream research. These changes also resulted in a changing vision for MasAgro, including new administrative rules. As a result, after months of extended negotiations, the technical annex between CIMMYT and the new SAGARPA administration was agreed upon by both parties, and signed last week.

For many across CIMMYT, the past few months have been a period of uncertainty, and I am grateful to all our staff for their patience during this difficult process. We are now entering a new phase of MasAgro with a broader vision and broader host of donors. MasAgro’s work, scientific research and innovation are integrated into CIMMYT’s strategy. MasAgro is an instrument to achieve a goal — to raise maize and wheat production in a sustainable manner in Mexico and perhaps other countries within Latin America — and this goal will remain beyond the parameters of a project’s lifespan.

CIMMYT’s mission — to increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems for global food security and reduce poverty — means that we must develop capacities across the entire value chain. Our challenge remains to accelerate the delivery of results but also to convince taxpayers, development agencies and policymakers that it is essential to invest in research. New crop varieties, good agronomic technologies and efficient value chains are the key drivers of growth in agricultural productivity.

Looking beyond the CIMMYT-SAGARPA relationship, CIMMYT is expanding MasAgro’s innovation and partnership model directly to Mexican state governments and to other Latin American countries.

For example, the Mexican state of Guanajuato has committed MX 10 million pesos (US$ 760,000) for 2014 to the Take It to the Farmer initiative, and there have been requests from the governments of Guatemala and Bolivia to replicate parts of the MasAgro model. Key innovations — ICT in agriculture, precision agriculture, post-harvest management, maize landrace improvement and conservation agriculture — are readily available for transfer to other countries. MasAgro and its many partners have achieved impressive results in just three short years (see box on page 2). Knowledge and insight gained from this pioneering project are serving as a blueprint for other CIMMYT projects and indeed other countries.

MasAgro’s Achievements and Impacts:

• 200,000 farmers are linked to MasAgro activities.

• 166 communities are engaged as part of the National Crusade Against Hunger.

• GreenSeekerTM technology has generated farmer savings in fertilizer application of US$ 1.7 million.

• 13 prototypes of agricultural machinery have been developed.

• 181 technicians have been certified in training on conservation agriculture.

• A network of more than 2,000 technicians is providing technical assistance to more than 60,000 farmers.

• Maize farmers applying MasAgro technologies have achieved an average yield increase of 25.4 percent. • More than 3,700 farmers are receiving agronomic and climate information via the MasAgro Móvil phone service.

• 40,000 ultra-high-density genetic profiles of wheat varieties and 20,000 of maize landraces have been generated.

• The largest search for heat and drought tolerance undertaken in any crop has been initiated, evaluating more than 70,000 wheat varieties for these traits.

• 4,000 landraces are being used to establish the relationship between genome-based information and traits such as drought tolerance and disease resistance. This is the most complete genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the history of maize research.

New Leadership for MasAgro

Dr. Bram Govaerts, Associate Director for the Global Conservation Agriculture Program, will assume the leadership of MasAgro, with responsibility for coordinating the evolution of related projects in Latin America. Bram joined CIMMYT in 2007 and since 2010 has been the leader for the MasAgro Take It to the Farmer initiative. Bram received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium in bioscience engineering and agricultural production systems.

The boom-bust cycle of rust resistance genes continues unabated in western China, but CIMMYT lines mostly unaffected

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Garry Rosewarne/CIMMYT

Pi’Xian yield trials of Chinese-bred, CIMMYT-derived stem rust lines (above) and the National Yield Trials (below) in the 2013-14 season that was particularly bad for lodging. Photos: Garry Rosewarne

The “boom-bust cycle” of resistance genes refers to the widespread use of a single resistance gene that protects multiple varieties of a grain from a disease (boom). When the disease overcomes this resistance gene many varieties simultaneously become susceptible (bust). The wheat cultivar Mianmai 37, released in 2004, has always had high levels of resistance to yellow rust. However, in the 2013-14 season in China’s Chengdu basin, this cultivar has high levels of the disease, indicating a new rust pathotype has likely evolved. CIMMYT researchers are awaiting investigations by pathologists to confirm the presence of a new race. Mianmai 37 has been extremely popular in western China and has been used as the high-yielding check in the government-run provincial yield trials for several years. It is also used extensively in breeding programs throughout the region, but with the outbreak of this new pathotype, several breeders have reportedly lost between 60 percent and 80 percent of their breeding stocks. About 60 percent of entries in the government trials have also showed susceptibility this year, despite testing last year that showed they were all highly resistant. It is unknown which resistance gene has been overcome.

Me Wu and Dr. Zhu Huazhong from the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences making final selections in Pi’Xian, Sichuan Province.

This new virulence comes on top of the V26 pathotype that first appeared in 2011-12. This pathotype took out the widely used gene Yr24/26, rendering many varieties susceptible. Of major concern was the apparent loss of resistance in the CIMMYT derived cultivar Chuanmai 42, the world’s first commercially released variety with a synthetic background, which showed a 15 to 20 percent leap in yield potential compared with the best non-synthetic lines in the region. Fortunately, Chuanmai 42 was segregated for resistance to V26, and reselections were quickly made and seed was bulked up so that this high-yielding variety can still be grown. The new yellow rust pathotypes have had virtually no effect on the CIMMYT nurseries in the region, where the vast majority of lines are maintaining their durability.

CIMMYT is collaborating with the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) and the Chinese Government State Affairs for Foreign Expert Administration, which partially funds Dr. Garry Rosewarne’s work, on various projects to improve China’s wheat yields. Over the past three years, in conjunction with Dr. Yang Ennian, a breeding program has been established that focuses solely on the use of adult plant resistances. This program is also virtually unaffected by the arrival of new pathotypes. This year, fixed lines were selected from the most advanced material, and these will be grown on small observation plots next year. Not only is the use of slow-rusting genes having an effect in this program, but the change from pedigree breeding to selected bulk generation advancement is resulting in much more efficient field operations. This, combined with extensive use of summer nurseries, will see an increase in efficiency of up to 50 percent in the breeding program.

Dr. Zhu Huazhong of SAAS is also using slow-rusting genes from CIMMYT, albeit for a different reason. Chinese material is generally completely susceptible to the wheat stem rust lineages of Ug99. Although stem rust is rare in China, Dr. He Zhonghu recognized that it would be prudent to employ a pre-emptive breeding strategy in preparation for a potential incursion of Ug99. To this end, Dr. Zhu has been making crosses between Sichuan material and several of the CIMMYT stem rust nurseries in China. Not only are these lines showing good yellow rust resistance in yield trials, there appears to be an increase in lodging tolerance.

A Chinese-produced small-scale combine harvester is being tested on yield plots at Guanghan, Sichuan Province. Photo: Garry Rosewarne

CIMMYT’s Sichuan office also is testing machine harvesting of yield trials using a Chinese-built small plot harvester that costs about US $6,000, with hopes of implementing multi-location yield trials so lines can be more rigorously tested for yield stability. Collaborative breeding and research activities throughout China are also being driven by the Sichuan office, where slow-rusting germplasm is being distributed to selected key breeding programs to use in their hybridizations. Genetic populations have also been distributed for multiple environment testing against yellow rust, leaf rust, powdery mildew and fusarium head blight. Other research is focusing on quantifying the value of slow-rusting genes under epidemic conditions, using molecular markers to pyramid slow-rusting genes behind major seedling resistances and identifying novel resistance genes to yellow rust.

Varietal uptake by farmers is particularly difficult in China, where new seed can cost up to US$ 1,000 per ton. In a novel venture for this region, a seed company is being paid by the provincial government to grow another CIMMYT synthetically derived cultivar, Chuanmai 104, and the seed will be given directly to farmers in an effort to improve yields in the region.

Crop yields and global food security: will yield increase continue to feed the world?

Written by on . Posted in Features.

By Tony Fischer (Honorary Research Fellow, CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, ACT, Australia), Derek Byerlee (Independent Researcher, Washington, DC, USA), Greg Edmeades (Independent Consultant, Cambridge, New Zealand) Monograph No. 158 (2014) of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

Co-authored by three former CIMMYT scientists and officially released at the recent Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, this book concludes that further, sustainable intensification of agriculture can produce enough food to meet the demand of a growing world population to 2050. Achieving this will require greater effort and investment in agricultural research, development and extension, especially in the developing world.

Moreover, the increased-but-efficient (i.e., environmentally friendly) use of inputs will challenge scientists and farmers alike, particularly in high-potential, high-input environments. The authors focus on the major grains maize, rice, soybean and wheat, but touch briefly upon 20 or so other crops. They see special potential in Sub-Saharan Africa, where intensification has barely begun and there is large scope for closing the “yield gap” – the difference between farmers’ yields and those obtained on research stations.

The three authors coincided at CIMMYT in the late 1980s-early 1990s and afterward continued eminent careers in agricultural research for development. Byerlee headed socioeconomics research at CIMMYT and later led the team at the World Bank that produced the agency’s influential 2008 World Development Report Agriculture for Development. Edmeades coordinated maize physiology research at CIMMYT and, notably, studies on drought and low-nitrogen tolerance whose principles were applied to develop maize varieties that benefit an estimated 3 million households in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A wheat physiologist, Fischer served as leader of CIMMYT’s global wheat program and subsequently as a program manager in crops and soils at ACIAR in Canberra, Australia. His research publications are widely cited, he has received numerous science and development awards and, in 2007, he was elected a Member of the Order of Australia. To download or order copies of the book, click here.