By Dilli KC/CIMMYT

Beginning in August, the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP-IV), has worked with the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal and the District Agriculture Development Office to facilitate formal contracts between 51 community-based seed production (CBSP) groups and 25 seed buyers/traders for a total of 201 tons of improved seed of different maize varieties. Of the total contracted seed, seed companies account for 55 percent; agrovets, 20 percent; community seed banks, 13 percent; and cooperatives, 12 percent.

Launched in 1999, HMRP is in its fourth phase. The project focuses on improving the food security and income of resource-poor farm households in the hills of Nepal by raising the productivity, sustainability and profitability of maize-based cropping systems. Work now covers 20 hill districts of Nepal and is jointly funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CIMMYT implements the project in partnership with an array of public and private sector institutions in Nepal. Principal partners include the National Maize Research Program under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, the Crop Development Directorate under the Department of Agriculture, the Seed Quality Control Centre and the National Seed Board under the Ministry of Agriculture Development. Other partners include community-based organizations, farmer groups, NGOs, private entrepreneurs, seed companies and universities.

Community Based Maize Seed Production
The project began multiplying seed of improved maize varieties through CBSP groups in 2000. That year, about 14 tons of improved maize seed were produced by seven CBSP groups. By 2011, more than 1,140 tons of improved maize seed were produced by 195 CBSP groups and, in 2012, 207 groups produced 1,036 tons. Of the total marketable surplus seed produced in 2011, about 75.1 percent was marketed or exchanged, compared to 83.3 percent in 2012. The seed was marketed mainly across the 20 hill districts of the HMRP project area. Seed production through CBSP groups has been a successful model in Nepal and has contributed to increasing the adoption of improved maize varieties and technologies. The CBSP model helps ensure the availability of improved maize seed in remote hill areas on time at lower prices.

Pre-sowing seed contract
Maize seed marketing is one of HMRP’s major challenges. Until 2012, CBSP groups did not consider the supply and demand in markets, resulting in surplus seed in some areas and deficits in others. The 2013 project phase initiated pre-sowing seed contracts for improved maize varieties, assisting and guiding CBSP groups and seed buyers/traders (agrovets, community seed bank cooperatives and seed companies) to sign formal agreements.

By Frédéric Baudron/CIMMYT

The Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project is addressing the decline of farm power in Africa. The project is working with smallholder farmers to deliver small mechanization based on inexpensive, two-wheel tractors and introduce power-saving technologies, such as conservation agriculture.

Last March, participants evaluated the performance of the Gongli seeder – a seed drill sold in China – under the typical conditions of maize smallholder farmers in Kenya and Tanzania. Gongli inventor Jeff Esdaile, engineers from the Centre for Agricultural Mechanization and Rural Technology (CAMATEC) and engineers from the Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies met at a CAMATEC workshop from 9 to 20 September in Arusha, Tanzania, to modify the Gongli seeder and produce the Gongli Africa +. The original Gongli seeder is well suited to seed small-grain crops in close rows into fields without long, loose residue or heavy weeds. For sowing maize in a typical field around Arusha, however, the machine had several shortfalls: it handled loose maize residues and heavy weeds poorly; the pressing wheels got in the way of the operator’s walk; the seed and fertilizer hoppers were too high and blocked the operator’s visibility; the seed meters were not precise enough for maize planting; and transporting the machine from field to field required walking long distances because the machine cannot be ridden and does not fit in a trailer.

The modified Gongli Africa + features cutting discs that can be fitted in front of the standard tines for heavy mulch and weed loads. Two large back tires, used as pressing wheels in the field, were added, as well as a platform for the operator to stand on, facilitating transport to and from the fields. Because the machine will be used to sow a maximum of two rows, the third bar was removed from the seeder. The seed and fertilizer hoppers were lowered, and, finally, specialized seed metering systems for large seeds such as those of maize were installed. Results from initial field testing were encouraging. Thorough field testing will take place next November in Tanzania and Kenya. After minor modifications, the specifications of the Gongli Africa + will be sent to Gongli LTD for commercial manufacturing.

By Miriam Shindler, CIMMYT

The Honorable Shri Sharad Pawar, India’s Minister of Agriculture, and Jeanie Borlaug Laube, daughter of the late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, unveiled a statue of Borlaug at the National Agricultural Science Complex in Delhi on 19 August. Working for its precursor and later CIMMYT, Borlaug developed semi-dwarf, disease-resistant wheat varieties and led the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques in Mexico, India and Pakistan. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in India and Pakistan, greatly improving food security in those nations. These collective increases in yield have been labeled the Green Revolution, and Borlaug is often called the “Father of the Green Revolution” and credited with saving more than 1 billion people worldwide from starvation. Borlaug was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work and contributions to world peace through an increased food supply.

The CIMMYT-commissioned statue was donated to the people and scientists of India as a gift to mark 50 years of partnership (Dr. Borlaug introduced his new wheat varieties in India in 1963). The statue leaves a permanent reminder of Dr. Borlaug’s achievements and a legacy for the future. The statue was handmade by the artist Katharine McDevitt, professor of sculpture at Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (Chapingo Autonomous University) in the Mexican State of Texcoco. It is the oldest agricultural university in the Americas and is also where Dr. Borlaug started his research in Mexico in 1944, sleeping on the floor of a university barn. The Borlaug statue holds a book inscribed with the names of some of the leading visionaries who worked with him during the “Green Revolution” – M.S. Swaminathan, C. Subramaniam, B. Sivaraman, A.B. Joshi, S.P. Kohli, Glenn Anderson, M.V. Rao andV.S. Mathur. It also contains a list in Latin and Hindi script of the original Mexican wheat varieties that were so productive in India. Speaking at the event, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Director General of both CIMMYT and the Borlaug Institute of South Asia, said, “In his vigorous support for an agricultural revolution in South Asia and his passion for understanding their circumstances, Norm won the hearts of Indian farmers and helped deliver 50 years of food security to the region. The National Agricultural Science Complex, where Norm spent a lot of his time in India, is a fitting place for this statue, and hopefully will inspire a new generation of scientists to conquer the great new challenges facing the country and the region.”

CSISA scientists address farmers’ concerns on Direct Seeded Rice method in Haryana
The Dry Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method is gaining popularity in north India, thanks to the researchers, agricultural departments, and enterprising farmers of Punjab and Haryana who have made efforts to implement it on a large scale. Faced with the threats of depleting groundwater, shortage of farm labor, rising production costs, and climate variability, more and more farmers are adopting this alternative method of sowing rice. It promises to be both environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

Compared to the more widely used method where seeds are first germinated in a nursery and then the rice seedlings are manually transplanted to the fields, DSR involves sowing seeds directly in the fields with the help of a machine called a Multi Crop Planter. This technique has been popular in some developed countries of the world, including the U.S., but is new for farmers in India. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of India has been promoting this technique through its two flagship schemes, the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY). DSR brings many benefits to farmers—it reduces cultivation costs by 5,100 rupees (78 USD) per hectare, reduces water consumption by 25%, and increases profitability up to 4,600 (70 USD) rupees per hectare. “Moreover, when wheat is grown after a crop of DSR, wheat productivity has been found 8 to 10% higher than when grown after a crop of conventional cultivated rice,” says Virender Kumar from CSISA.

Reports find DSR effective in reducing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. CCAFS and Greenhouse Gas Emission quantification project are studying the benefits of conservation agricultural practices, like zero tillage DSR, on greenhouse gas emissions. “For each tonne of rice production with conservation agriculture based management practices, on average 400 kg CO2 equivalent was reduced compared to conventional puddled transplanted rice,” says ML Jat from CCAFS.

Haryana promotes direct seeded paddy
The State Agriculture Department, Haryana Agricultural University, and Farmers Commission are now promoting the use of DSR in Haryana because of its benefits. Four years ago, only 226 hectares of area was under DRS in Haryana. This number has increased to 8000 hectares in 2012 and is targeted to cover 20,000 hectares in 2013. However, access to effective weed management and cost-effective herbicides still remain a challenge and will affect the success of this technology in the long term.

As with any new technique, the phase of building awareness, training and responding to farmers’ concerns is integral to making DSR technique successful. Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a project funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID along with other stakeholders, launched a campaign in May to encourage farmers to adopt DSR in Haryana. The campaign included technical trainings on DSR for farmers and service providers, meetings with different stakeholders to identify and solve the problems of availability of inputs including machinery and seed, mass-media programs like radio talks, and distribution of pamphlets in the local language. The campaign reached the farmer at the field and village level for their direct feedback and to understand their problems. “Synergy between different public-private stakeholders, feedback from farmers, and technical inputs to the farmers at the right time are necessary after a series of intensive trainings to make a transformation like Direct Seeded Rice technology a success,” says B.R. Kamboj from CSISA. CSISA, in collaboration with IFC-Dunar Foods Limited and the Haryana State Department of Agriculture, organized a travelling seminar on 14 August in different villages of the Asandh block of the Karnal district. Farmers highlighted their concerns, which included late availability of the subsidized inputs such as seeds, herbicides, and machinery, and weed problems even after the proper application of herbicides.

Responding to various issues, representatives from the organizations suggested the application of preemergence herbicide, which prevent the germination of weed seeds such as pendimethalin, is necessary for effective weed management in DSR; on machinery, farmers could establish farmer cooperatives and pool resources to purchase the machinery; on less germination, sowing should be done by the expert service providers. It is also critical to use the proper setting of the sowing depth of the machine. The participants also visited the DSR fields of different villages including Balla, Salwan, Dupedi, and Padhana. While the crops looked very healthy, symptoms of zinc deficiency and excessive use of urea were seen. B. R. Kamboj demonstrated how to identify the weeds and advised on judicious use of pesticides for effective control of insects, diseases, and weeds. To ensure a good harvest from the DSR fields, the next step is timely control of insects and pests. Farmers must learn to identify the insect and pests and the right stage to control them. The Department of Agriculture will provide regular visits and trainings on insect pest management (IPM) in some identified DSR villages. “This will be a very important activity to build the confidence in the farmers to continue using DSR technique,” Kamboj says.

Mobile phones promise new opportunities for reaching farmers with agricultural information, but are their potential fully utilized? CIMMYT’s agricultural economist Surabhi Mittal and IRRI’s economist Mamta Mehar argue that institutional and infrastructural constraints do not allow farmers to take full advantage of this technology. In India, agro-advisory service providers use text and voice messaging along with various mobile phone based applications to provide information about weather, market prices, policies, government schemes, and new technologies. Some service providers, such as IKSL, have reached more than 1.3 million farmers across 18 states of India. But what is the real impact of such services? Are messages available at the right time? Do they create awareness? Do they strengthen farmers’ capability to make informed decisions? Are they relevant to his or her farming context?

Mittal and Mehar say there is still a long way to go. While farmers get information through their mobile phones, it is often general information irrespective of their location and crops, which is information they cannot effectively utilize. In 2011, CIMMYT conducted a survey with 1,200 farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains; the survey revealed the farmers needed information on how to address pest attacks and what varieties better adapt to changing climatic conditions. Instead, they received standard prescriptions on input use and general seed varietal recommendations. To provide the information farmers really need, dynamic databases with farmers’ land size, cropping pattern, soil type, geographical location, types of inputs used, variety of seed used, and irrigation must be developed.

Sustainability is another problem. Such agro-advisory projects require continued financial assistance; when money runs out, the project ends and the people are again left without information, feeling cheated and without trust for any similar project that may come in the future. There is a need to assess the willingness of farmers to pay for these services and develop sustainable business models, say Mittal and Mehar. Furthermore, it has been shown that the benefits of mobile phone services are not reaching the poor, as they do not have access to the technology despite its increasing availability. The main beneficiaries of the mobile phone revolution are the ones with skills and infrastructure, and the poor are thus left even further behind.

What can be done? Agro-advisory providers need to develop specific, appropriate, and timely content and update it as often as necessary. This cannot be achieved without a thorough assessment of farmers’ needs and their continuous evaluation. To ensure timeliness and accuracy of the provided information, two-way communication is necessary; Mittal and Mehar suggest the creation of helplines to provide customized solutions and enable feedback from farmers. The information delivery must be led by demand, not driven by supply. However, even when all that is done, it must be remembered that merely receiving messages over the phone does not motivate farmers to start using this information. The services have to be supplemented with demonstration of new technologies on farmers’ fields and through field trials.

For more information, see the full article published on the AESA website. This work is based on the ongoing research at CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program funded by CCAFS.

Farmers need to be more involved in developing and refining technology. This was one of the key conclusions of a technology working group comprised of leading Asian scientists, representatives of farmer groups and entrepreneurs who met during “The 50 Pact,” an international conference jointly organized by the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to celebrate 50 years of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s first visit to India. Held in New Delhi during 16-17 August, the event brought together more than 200 participants from agriculture institutions, the government, think tanks, industry, and civil society of various countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

South Asia is the most populous region in the world and several models predict that this region is going to be dramatically impacted by climate change. “We must devise new ways to feed more people with less land, less water and under more difficult climate change conditions,” said Thomas Lumpkin, Director General of CIMMYT, highlighting a significant challenge that requires critical innovations, collaborations and commitments to solve food insecurity and strengthen agriculture in South Asia. This sentiment was echoed by others in the opening session of the conference, including S. Ayyappan, director general of ICAR, government of India, R.S. Paroda, president of Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), R.B. Singh, president of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), Swapan Datta, ICAR and Marianne Bänzinger of CIMMYT. Remembering their personal interactions with Dr. Borlaug, “the Nobel laureate with a heart for the poor,” and his association with CIMMYT and India, they also felt the need to make a pact to bring about a second green revolution in the South Asia region. M.S. Swaminathan, a legendary figure in Indian agriculture, paid tribute to Dr. Borlaug for his immense contribution in agriculture during the opening ceremony. “From Bengal famine to Right to Food Act of India, it has been a historic transition and Dr. Borlaug played a very important role in this transition through his work in the last 50 years,” Swaminathan said. Jeanie Laube Borlaug, chairperson of BGRI and the daughter of Dr. Norman Borlaug, presented Swaminathan with the Dr. Norman Borlaug Award.

Technology and innovations will play a key role
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka will have to work together to find regional solutions to food insecurity. Representatives from these countries talked about different agricultural developments during the post-green revolution period and emerging challenges and opportunities. They also highlighted how the BISA, with its mandate, furthers research on farming systems in addition to focusing on an eco-regional approach involving other CG centers. Utilizing all technologies, including molecular breeding, biotechnology, precision agronomy, and mobile-based decision making will be crucial. The session on technology highlighted this and also pushed for greater involvement of farmers at every step of new technology development. It is important to capture the process of adoption of innovation by farmers and use new technology to provide feedback to the researchers. The group advocated for increased political will and a better policy environment on the adoption of GM crops. Making agriculture profitable is important for producers and the entire agricultural value chain. Ramesh Chand of ICAR said that his recent analysis in India shows the real farm income is not declining, but the income gap between agricultural and non-agricultural income is widening. Agricultural infrastructure is not well developed, investments are low and land fragmentation is increasing. These are major concerns for this sector. The participants talked about a need for an enhanced cyber infrastructure for crop research, open access to agriculture database, and strengthening the value chain balancing the role of market, price, and technologies.

Greater regional synergy needed
More emphasis on synergy, partnerships, farmer’s welfare, productivity, profitability, and nutrition will be critical to address the problem of hidden hunger and food security in this region. Other areas to focus on include providing access to and the use of cutting edge research and new technologies that are not yet available in the region, ensuring commitments from governments and other donors for investments in agricultural research, advocating for a policy environment that embraces new technologies and invests in agricultural research, building a regional platform of collaboration with partners from all sectors, research centers, governments, the scientific world, and the farming community who share our mandate to transform farmers’ lives in the region.

Yield is one of the key things farmers consider when deciding what seed to buy. Farmers in Arusha, Tanzania shared this fact during a field day held by Suba Agro Trading & Engineering Company. The seed company held two field days in June in Arusha and Moshi to give farmers the chance to examine new drought tolerant maize hybrids, TZH536 and TZH538, in the field.

Farmers often get information on what variety to plant based on what they observe doing well in fields in their locale, the advice they receive from other farmers, and the information they receive from the agrovets they buy seed from. About 30 farmers drawn from the Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Moshi districts attended the Moshi field day, as well as local agricultural extension workers and civic leaders from the area. The meeting was held just in front of the field by the roadside, so as the discussions were going on, farmers were able to see the maize being referred to. The maize was labeled and Suba Agro field staff also cut some plants and exposed the cobs for the farmers to see their yield potential.

In Arusha, the field day was held on a Saturday which was market day. Many people popped in to learn about the new maize varieties before returning to the market to buy or sell wares. “Comparing what I see on this [demonstration] field with what is on the neighboring plot, I can see it is drought tolerant,” said Mariamu Hemedi, a local farmer. “We can see that it has not been watered—there is no tap or well here but the maize has thrived. Now we want to know how it is when it is shelled,” Hemedi added. As participants walked through the field examining the cobs, Sarah Muya, an administrator and assistant to the managing director at Suba Agro encouraged them to taste the grains from the green cobs. “It has a good taste,” she said while offering a cob to taste.

Farmers identified the double cobbing in TZH538 as a key feature they liked because it demonstrated they would get higher yields. “When farmers get good yields, it contributes to development as the extra money gained from selling surplus grain contributes to other development initiatives,” said Eliahidi Mvambi, another farmer. W. S. Chonya, the company’s product development manager, told farmers to buy seed early to be prepared for the rain. Muya advised farmers to ensure they buy certified seed and keep receipts of all their seed purchases to enable them trace the source of ‘bad’ seed. “Take up farming as a business,” Muya said, advising farmers to invest in inputs such as improved seed and fertilizer.

Rose E. Moshi, the ward agricultural extension officer, spoke at the event and urged the seed company to ensure the new seed varieties were distributed in the area before the start of the planting season. “Sometimes farmers identify good seed but when they go to the shops, it is unavailable,” Moshi said. She also spoke on the importance of seed purity, citing it as one of the key challenges farmers face. Chonya then explained the features on Suba Agro seed packets to the farmers, highlighting the quality of the paper and the Tanzanian flag at the top of the pack to help farmers identify and avoid counterfeit seed. “Now that you have seen how this seed performs in a farmer’s field, we request you to be our ambassadors in your villages,” Chonya said. The company is in the process of multiplying the seed for these varieties in preparation for the next planting season. The company also participated in agricultural shows in August in Arusha, Mbeya and Morogoro to give more farmers information about its products.

“When Richard Pamo, the then Caritas Development Coordinator [Homa Bay] introduced the metal silo technology to me in 2008, I felt I had received the solution to my perennial problems of storing my grains, particularly maize that was prone to weevil attack,” said Bishop Philip Anyolo of the Catholic Diocese of Homa Bay, Kenya, to a visiting team from the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP-II). “I instantly ordered two silos, of 1- and 1.8-ton capacity. And I have never been disappointed. I was so satisfied with the ability of the metal silos to protect my maize against weevils that I acquired another 720-kg capacity metal silo for my mother in 2009.”

The Bishop, who was among the first people to use metal silos after the project introduction in Kenya, noted how widely appreciated the technology has become: “Since I acquired the metal silos, word about its effectiveness has spread within and beyond my home county of Bungoma, which was not even in the project target area. Like in Homa Bay, farmers there are making all efforts to acquire the metal silos.” And it is not just the farmers who use the technology these days; Rose Owanda in the poultry business has acquired six 2.7-ton capacity metal silos. “I intend to be buying grains from the market during times of glut. This will not only ensure that I buy the grains at the lowest prices, I am assured of enough grain for making the feeds for the birds throughout the year.” The success of the silo has also created brisk business for trained metal silo artisans who are receiving orders from beyond the Homa Bay County.

Impressed with the technology, the Bishop has advised all schools and institutions sponsored by the Catholic Church in Homa Bay to acquire metal silos for grain storage. His advice has since caught the attention of other institutions, including St. Vincent De Paul Boys Boarding School in Kisii County who acquired seven 2.7-ton metal silos in December 2011 after the Nyambururu Teachers College, Kisii County, bought ten 1.8-ton silos earlier in the year; the College had learned of the technology from the Kokwaro Secondary School in Homa Bay Diocese who had acquired eight 2.7-ton silos in 2010. Since the launch of EGSP-II in October 2012 in Kenya, Homa Bay farmers have acquired 230 metal silos, and institutions in the area, particularly boarding schools and colleges, have bought 47 more, according to Beautrice Otieno, Livelihoods Program Manager at Caritas Homa Bay and the site coordinator for western Kenya.

“Production is all in vain if farmers cannot store the harvested produce. Effective storage is even more critical at these times of climate change, where the associated weather vagaries adversely affect production. Whatever little that we produce should be well managed, and that includes being well stored for use at the desired time,” stressed Jennifer Ndege, Chief Officer, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries at Homa Bay County. Tadele Tefera, CIMMYT entomologist and EGSP-II coordinator, agrees: “A lot of agencies focus on increasing productivity but very few on the management of what has been harvested. Yet this is a very important aspect in any food security chain.” The information was collected during an assessment tour of Homa Bay and surrounding counties conducted by the EGSP-II Kenyan team during 15-19 July 2013; the team consisted of Tefera, Isaac Mutabai (CIMMYT), Wandera Ojanji (CIMMYT science writer/editor), Zachary Gitonga (CIMMYT Socioeconomics Program research associate), Addis Teshome (CIMMYT entomologist), Jackson K. Njana (Caritas-Embu), Everastus Okumu (Caritas-Homa Bay director), Otieno, Paddy Likhayo (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, KARI), and Kimondo Mutambuki (KARI and EGSP-II Kenya national coordinator).

“All the maize for my home consumption comes from my aflasafe™-treated field,” says farmer Alhaji Al-Hassan from Nigeria’s Kaduna State. “When I take my maize to the market, buyers rush for it because the quality looks better. The grains look clean.”

First developed by the USDA and adapted for use in Nigeria by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), aflasafe™ is fast gaining ground across Africa as a non-toxic and affordable solution to one of the continent’s most serious food safety issues.

Aflatoxins are invisible, tasteless poisons produced by Aspergillus flavus, a mould commonly found infecting crops such as maize and groundnut, both in the field and in storage. While acute exposure to aflatoxins can kill, prolonged exposure leads to impeded growth, liver disease, immune suppression and cancer with women, children and the poor and most vulnerable. Aflatoxins also impact international trade, with African economies losing US$450 million every year from barred exports.

Competitive exclusion

Aflasafe™ works by ‘pushing out’ harmful, toxin-producing strains of A. flavus from the field through the deliberate introduction of indigenous but non-toxic, harmless strains – a process known as ‘competitive exclusion’. Heat-killed sorghum grains are coated with the non-toxic fungal strains and scattered by hand in the field prior to crop flowering. Field tests in Nigeria between 2009 and 2012 showed that use of aflasafe™ consistently reduced aflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnut crops by 80-90%.

In 2012, these findings led to the adoption of the biocontrol product by several extension agencies in Nigeria. IITA is currently constructing a low-cost manufacturing facility at its Ibadan campus in order to optimize the production process for aflasafe™ so that it can be taken up by other developing countries. The facility, which will be able to produce up to five tons of aflasafe™ per hour will also test commercialization models. Market linkages between aflasafe™ users and quality conscious food processors are also being developed, in collaboration with the private sector. With aflatoxin-contaminated maize in poultry feed being a major risk to animal health, links are also being developed with poultry producers.

Spreading the science

The success of aflasafe™ has led to an expansion in biocontrol research in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. In Kenya, IITA has identified four non-toxic strains of A. flavus in locally grown maize, which are now being used to make a Kenya-specific product called aflasafe™-KE01. Researchers from the Institute are currently gathering efficacy data to determine where the product will be deployed. “We are happy with the innovative scientific solution which has done well in Nigeria,” says Wilson Songa, Kenya’s agriculture secretary. “The ball is now in our court, and we shall move fast… We needed the technology yesterday!”

Senegal is also developing its own version – aflasafe™-SE01, and IITA is optimistic that both Kenya and Senegal will have their own fully registered versions of aflasafe™ in two years, with Burkina Faso reaching the same point in three years and Zambia in four. Meanwhile, at the 2012 G20 meeting in Mexico, G20 leaders announced that aflasafe™ will be one of three initial pilot projects to be supported under the ‘AgResults’ initiative which aims to incentivize the adoption of agricultural technologies by the poor.

Affordable technology

IITA’s experience in Nigeria suggests that the cost of aflasafe™ – at US$1.5 per kg, with a recommended usage of 10 kg per hectare – is affordable for most farmers in the country. The Institute calculates that adoption of biocontrol with other management practices will reduce aflatoxin contamination by more than 70% in maize and groundnut and increase crop value by at least 25%, as well as improving the health of women and children.

With mass production and commercialization of the technology now imminent in Nigeria, the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Akinwumi Adesina, has been enthusiastic in his support. “For too many years we have neglected to regulate aflatoxin in the production of food,” Adesina says. “IITA has worked tirelessly to control aflatoxin and educate farmers on the harmful effects of this toxin. When we consider the potential benefits of aflasafe™, it is ultimately smallholders who stand to gain the most,” he concludes.

The CRP MAIZE will be discussing the role of maize in Africa at the Africa Agriculture Science Week (15-20 July) on 16 July in Accra, Ghana. Join us if you can and follow the AASW Blog and #AASW6 on Twitter.

The Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) works closely with partners all over the world toward an ultimate vision of widespread use of sustainable systems by smallholder farmers, based on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA). Our key partner in Africa is the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT). We asked their Executive Secretary, Saidi Mkomwa, about the current status and future of CA in Africa.

ACT was established in 1998. Has Africa seen a big change in CA adoption since then?

Mkomwa: The adoption rate isn’t very big, but we think it’s good. It took Brazil 17 years to get the first one million hectares under CA; it’s been a shorter time in Africa and we have almost reached one million hectares already. It is happening at a slower rate than we would want, but it’s getting there. We have seen partial adoption of CA principles across the continent. For example, during one of our exchange visits to Zambia, we met a woman – we nicknamed her Barefoot Woman – who had no shoes but she was rich and she was proud to be a farmer. She wasn’t practicing all three principles, only reduced tillage combined with some mechanization, but it’s a start.

Why do you think that CA is key in improving food security in Africa?

Mkomwa: The Green Revolution that has been so helpful in Asia has passed by and Africa has not benefited from it. We think it’s primarily because of the continent’s poor infrastructure: getting fertilizers to people is a problem because transportation is difficult; farmers don’t have cash and there are no banks to borrow from. But even when farmers can efficiently utilize fertilizers and improved seeds, their work is hampered by degraded soil, inadequate soil moisture, and inadequate access to water. For Africa to benefit, the soil has to improve. We believe that the Green Revolution in Africa has to start with smallholder rainfed farmers and CA is a possible intervention, more affordable than, for example, building irrigation schemes.

We have been promoting CA a lot by looking at the yields. A lot of people will ask how much the yield increase is. I’ll say that we should also be looking at the annual productivity of the land, annual productivity of labor. You can have a modest yield of 3 tons per hectare, but if you can have two crops in there instead of one, we’re looking at 6 tons per hectare per year in the end. This is affordable intensification. And it’s not only that: CA also increases the soil moisture retention, thus increasing annual productivity of the land and – through the use of crop residues – decreasing the dependency on external inputs, such as fertilizers, which farmers fail to acquire.

What are the biggest challenges you’re facing in your work?

Mkomwa: One is that people don’t know about CA. We organize a lot of awareness creation activities, from conferences to exchange visits. What makes this worse, though, is that many of our colleges are still training their graduates to work in conventional systems. We are telling people not to plough and the professors are training the next generation of extension staff to plough. We have established a community of practice of researchers and academia through which we try to sensitize the professors themselves so that they can change their curricula. Changing people’s mindset is another challenge. They have been farming a certain way all their lives and, all of a sudden, we come and tell them to do something different.

However, the challenges differ depending on the farming system and farmers’ resources. You cannot be prescriptive; you have to work with the farmers to create a solution relevant to them. In an agropastoralist system, you have to integrate livestock, although we have seen promoters of CA seeing livestock as a threat. In reality, livestock integration benefits the farming system; it can increase the value of our cereals: instead of taking grains to the market, you take milk or eggs. In West Africa, you literally can’t talk about leaving crop residues on the field as soil cover. People will think you’re crazy, since some of the crop residues have a higher value as livestock feed. Again, you have to look into alternatives, such as shrubs and trees.

Are there any downsides to CA?

Mkomwa: So far we have not encountered any. CA should create a win-win-win situation: provide more food for farmers, reverse environmental degradation, and arrest climate change for future generations.

Does the climate change argument help convince African farmers to adopt CA?

Mkomwa: It is one of the biggest promoters of CA. Farmers practicing CA have proven to their neighbors that they’re able to get some crop when conventional agriculture gets zero. Then we don’t need to say anything. The resilience of CA fields is much higher. The message is straightforward.

If I was an African smallholder farmer, how would you convince me to adopt CA?

Mkomwa: You’ve been farming for the last 40 years, can you tell me how far has this farming taken you? The reflection on how conventional farming has managed to feed farmers’ families is important: it has failed to feed them and they have to look at alternatives. And we’re offering one. But if you’re an African farmer, we should take you to your nearest neighbor who is doing well so that you can talk to them. If we talk to you as scientists or development workers, you might think we’re adding salt to the benefits. That’s the challenge we’re facing: having enough model farmers.

How is CIMMYT helping your work?

Mkomwa: CIMMYT is an important partner in capacity building and research. We don’t have a research system in place and GCAP is thus a great asset to our work. CIMMYT is also leading the ‘Farm power and conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification’ (FACASI) project. We are part of this project and as we see mechanization as one of the bottlenecks hindering CA adoption in Africa, it is a very valuable partnership. Furthermore, we are jointly organizing – with CIMMYT, FAO, and NEPAD – the upcoming Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture (18-21 March 2014, Lusaka, Zambia). With farmers at the center of the Congress, we hope to hear about their problems and progress. We need them to move forward as we believe that an increase in CA adoption would have a great impact on food security on both national and continental level.

The past few weeks have been busy and interesting in China: preparing for the International Conservation Agriculture Forum in Yinchuan and work travels to Beijing, Yangling (Shaanxi province), and Xuchang (Henan province) are a sure way to keep oneself occupied.

Strengthening partnerships in Beijing

I travelled to Beijing during 2-4 May to discuss future cooperation between the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and the China Agricultural University (CAU) at a meeting with Jan Thomas, USQ vice-chancellor, and K.E. Bingsheng, CAU president, accompanied by the USQ delegation and CAU senior professors. What does this have to do with CIMMYT? Part of my mandate in China is to forge new partnerships, especially with universities seeking to expand internationally. This requires putting on the CIMMYT uniform to demonstrate presence and reinforce linkages with old and new colleagues. As a result, we hope to see a memorandum of understanding and the facilitation of staff and student exchanges between these universities, Ningxia institutions, and CIMMYT.

Water-use efficiency in Yangling

The Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling hosted the final review of the ACIAR “More effective water use by rainfed wheat in China and Australia” project led by Tony Condon (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO), in which the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences is a partner (led by Yuan Hanmin). The project aims to improve and stabilize farmer returns from growing wheat in dry, rainfed environments in northwest China through development of higher-yielding wheat germplasm that uses water and soil resources more effectively. I spent 6-10 May first hearing about and seeing the extensive breeding work with Australian and Chinese lines, and later discussing the role of conservation agriculture and soil management in breeding with the reviewers and other participants, including Greg Rebetzke from CSIRO. During a Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on Phenotyping for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Water-Use Efficiency in Crop Breeding, which followed the review, Richard Richards (CSIRO) presented a very pertinent paper on “Opportunities to improve cereal root systems for greater productivity.” His focus on below-ground processes provides considerable and significant support for conservation agriculture and associated management practices in improving root system functions.

Farm mechanization in Xuchang

The 30th anniversary of the Henan Haofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company in Xuchang, Henan province, provided an excellent opportunity to present conservation agriculture and small machinery requirements for developing countries to 4 academicians, about 10 high level officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Henan Provincial Government, and many highly regarded Chinese mechanization scientists and extension workers.

During 16-18 May, the factory hosted two forums, one focused on combination of wheat agricultural machinery and agronomy, and another on scientific innovation and development of Chinese agricultural machinery. Although the language of the forums was Chinese, my presentation in English was understood by the senior people, some of whom later inquired about the new Chinese Turbo Happy Seeder developed by CIMMYT. The discussion on conservation agriculture per se was limited, but I was able to meet many old Chinese friends and strengthen new relationships for CIMMYT and the Global Conservation Agriculture Program.

High fertilizer prices are among the major constraints facing maize farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. “We apply just a little fertilizer, just the way you would apply salt to taste,” says a maize farmer in the Embu County, Kenya. “We lack enough fertilizer for our maize crop,” explains another one during a focus group discussion.

Kenya imports all its fertilizer, which results in high input costs borne by smallholder farmers. As agriculture forms the backbone of Kenya’s economy, the government offers farmers fertilizer at subsidized rates. “The subsidized price of Urea is about US$ 30 per 50kg bag, while without the subsidy it goes for up to US$ 50 per 50kg bag,” said the County’s land development officer Samuel Kibiu. “Despite the subsidy, not all farmers can afford the fertilizer,” he added. But even if they can, they still have to face several other challenges, such as transporting the fertilizer to their farms in Kieni, about 40 kilometers from the collection point in Embu town, after going through an elaborate process of obtaining subsidy receipts from the local agriculture office.

In October 2012, a team from CIMMYT’s Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project, together with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and extension workers from the Ministry of Agriculture, visited a group of farmers in the Kieni Division, Embu County. “Fertilizer is essential in Sub-Saharan Africa,’’ says Biswanath Das, IMAS project leader, “but fertilizer use in the region is amongst the lowest in the world, averaging less than 20kg per hectare.” This falls way below the recommended application rates and below average of what farmers apply in Asia and Latin America. “Most smallholder farmers in Africa are extremely risk averse, as the bulk of smallholder production is under rain-fed systems,” says Das. “As a result, farmers are reluctant to invest in expensive inputs such as fertilizer due to unpredictable rainfall.”

Making fertilizer more accessible in Africa has proved extremely difficult and researchers have thus begun searching for other ways to address the issue. The IMAS project is developing new maize varieties that are more efficient at using the small quantities of nitrogen currently applied in smallholder maize production systems in Southern and Eastern Africa. The goal is to develop maize varieties that yield up to 50% more than the existing varieties through better nitrogen use efficiency. The first set of varieties developed through the IMAS breeding pipeline showed promising results during onstation trials and is being tested by farmers in Kieni. “Despite the poor rains, we got good yields,” said Mercy Wawira commenting on the IMAS hybrid she planted on her farm. “We have seen our yields improve with this new variety,” said John Bosco Mugendi who also participated in the IMAS on-farm trial. “This variety is good,” he added. Members of the community were present to help Wawira and Mugendi harvest the maize from the small trial plot. “We hope we shall get this variety again to plant in the next season,” said Obed Nyaga Njamura, agribusiness development officer in Embu’s Kieni Division.

As yield gains observed under managed low-nitrogen stress trials on station are being replicated under farm conditions in the region, IMAS scientists feel encouraged. Together with partners in the national agricultural research systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (KARI and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa, ARC) and Pioneer Hi-Bred in the USA, IMAS is developing nitrogen use efficient varieties to benefit smallholder maize farmers in Africa. “We broker technology through these partnerships. We also build capacity through the comparative advantage in the different institutions,” said KARI’s director Ephraim Mukisira.

The fourth confined field trial of MON87460, a genetically modified maize variety developed to tolerate moderate drought, recently concluded at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Kiboko with promising results.

The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project has been conducting field trials of MON87460 since 2010. The most recent trial was planted on 28 November 2012 and harvested on 16 April 2013. Throughout the season, the genetically modified plants outperformed those without the drought-tolerance-enhancing gene, including commercial checks.

This was even more evident at harvest, with ears from the genetically modified plants looking superior to the conventional checks. Charles Kariuki, center director at KARI-Katumani, who was present during the harvesting, was particularly impressed with the performance of the WEMA 18, 36, 41, 50, and 55 entries. “From these, we should be able to generate high quality data to back these impressive performances,” he said. Kariuki urged the project to nominate the conventional entries (without the MON87460 gene), that were also tested in the trials and performed very well, to the Kenya National Performance Trials to fast-track their commercial release.

Murenga Mwimali, WEMA’s national coordinator for Kenya, was looking forward to the outcomes of the data analysis to ascertain this yield performance in detail, comparing the performance against those without the gene and the commercial checks: “This will enable us to make informed conclusions on the potential benefits of MON87460.” Representatives from the regulatory authorities—the Kenya National Biosafety Authority (NBA) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)—also lauded the WEMA team for their good confined field trial management.

Biosafety training for harvest staff

The day before the harvest, required training on regulatory compliance was conducted for everyone expected to participate in the harvest. The training covered management requirements and standard operating procedures for confined field trials as well as biosafety requirements for planting, harvesting, and post-harvest monitoring. The 46 participants were drawn from WEMA partner institutions (CIMMYT, African Agricultural Technology Foundation, KARI, and Monsanto), as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, KEPHIS, and NBA.

Jane Otadoh, assistant director for biotechnology in the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasized the importance of training to enable staff to effectively handle confined field trials. “There is lack of awareness, information, and knowledge on biotechnology in Kenya, and more so on confined field trial operations, requirements, and regulations. This training is to help you understand the process, the role of scientists, the regulatory process, and the regulators,” she said. She reiterated the ministry’s support for technology that boosts agricultural productivity.

James Karanja of the KARI-Katumani biotechnology program took participants through the standard operating procedures for harvesting confined field trials. Julia Njagi, biosafety officer at NBA, noted that staff training was critical to ensure compliance with biosafety regulations while performing the trials. As part of confined field trial management and regulatory compliance, all harvested materials including grains had to be destroyed by burning and burying, to avoid unintended release of genetically modified materials into the environment.

Eveline Shitabule, an inspector with KEPHIS, noted that training helped the participants to understand and follow instructions to ensure compliance. Having competent and well-trained personnel is one of the three pillars of compliance, the other two being a secure facility and records that are accessible and understandable.

Participants said they gained valuable knowledge during the workshop that improved their ability to work on confined field trials.