CIMMYT E-News, vol 6 no. 6, October 2009

In 2009, out of a global population of 6.8 billion people, more than 1 billion regularly woke up and went to bed hungry. By 2050 the population is expected to grow to 9.1 billion people, most of whom will be in developing countries. Unless we can increase global food production by 70%, the number of chronically hungry will continue to swell. To help ensure global food security, a new research consortium aims to boost yields of wheat—a major staple food crop.

There is no easy fix for world hunger. Any improvement will require complex collaborative efforts and funding to support them. With this in mind, wheat scientists and agricultural experts from diverse private and public institutions are joining to form a Wheat Yield Potential Consortium (WYC). This group will strive to improve wheat yields, which must increase 1.6% annually to meet a projected demand of 760 million tons by 2020.
The unofficial launch of the WYC happened in November 2009, when over 60 world-renowned experts gathered for a USAID-sponsored symposium at CIMMYT’s Mexico headquarters to integrate various research components into a common breeding platform for improving wheat yields.

“Over the past year we’ve been pulling together experts in photosynthesis who have ideas on how to raise the overall biomass of the crop, as well as other experts in crop adaptation to make sure that increased biomass will also translate into better yields,” says Matthew Reynolds wheat physiologist and initiator of the WYC.

In recent decades, wheat yields have increased nearly 1% each year, but global population is growing roughly 1.5% annually. Climate change, unsustainable cropping practices, and changes in diet preferences further challenge wheat’s ability to meet the demands of a global population that relies on the crop for more than one-fifth of its caloric intake.

Meeting of the minds

“The international wheat community recognizes that each of us has different skills and that, though individually we cannot solve the problem of insufficient wheat yields, collectively we can,” said Richard Richards chief research scientist at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Plant Industry, who has been commissioned to review a WYC project proposal under development.

The Consortium will pursue advanced approaches to increase wheat yields, including increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis, improving the plant’s adaption to target environments, and using physiological and molecular breeding. To date, selective, conventional breeding has been the main force behind yield improvement. Scientists breed a large number of high-yielding wheat plants, select early generations with good agronomic traits, populate trial fields with the offspring, and move the best forward in the breeding program. The cycle is then repeated. This system has been successful, but precedent suggests it will not be fast enough to overcome the combined challenges of population growth and climate change. “Instead of going straight to the end product —yield—we must look at every yield-determining physiological process and improve the efficiency of the limiting ones,” Richards said.

Powering up photosynthesis

Under favorable conditions, yield is a function of the interception, conversion, and distribution of solar energy. To increase yield, one or more of these components must be improved. Thanks to years of wheat improvement, the efficiency of solar energy intercepted is nearly 90% and energy distribution results in an almost optimal proportion of total biomass to grain, roughly 50%. “This leaves the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy—mainly controlled by photosynthesis—as the main yield component left to improve,” said Xinguang Zhu, group leader of Plant Systems Biology at the CAS-MPG Partner Institute of Computational Biology.

One way to do this is to increase carbon-fixing efficiency during photosynthesis. Plants that thrive at moderate temperatures, like wheat, tend to use C3 carbon fixation, a slow system that accepts both carbon dioxide and oxygen. The fixation of oxygen, called photorespiration, reduces the efficiency of photosynthesis. Plants that inhabit warmer locations, like maize, tend to use C4 carbon fixation, which increases chloroplastic CO2 concentration, reduces photorespiration, and improves energy-use efficiency.

The fact that the C4 system has evolved many times in nature has inspired scientists to look for ways to introduce parts of it into wheat, so that the plant can thrive at relatively high temperatures. This will be essential as temperatures in tropic and subtropic regions continue to climb. Studies show that for every 1°C of warming, wheat yields in these areas will fall 10%. Given that 95% of the world’s malnourished people live in these regions—which also have the highest rates of population growth—high-yielding wheat that can beat the heat could make a world of a difference.
For more information: Matthew Reynolds, wheat physiologist (m.reynolds@cgiar.org).

August, 2004

The official opening on 23 June 2004 of a level-two biosafety greenhouse in Nairobi, Kenya was marked by happy fanfare, but more importantly, a serious commitment from the highest levels to use biotechnology to help solve Africa’s pressing agricultural problems.

The biosafety greenhouse, constructed as part of the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project, is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. A biosafety greenhouse is very similar to a normal greenhouse except that it has special features to prevent the transfer of pollen, seed, and other plant material from transgenic plants to the outside environment.

The first order of business for the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute’s (KARI) new biosafety greenhouse will be the continued development of maize that resists stem borers and is environmentally friendly. This is the IRMA project’s primary objective. Stem borers typically inflict losses of about 15% annually to the Kenyan maize crop, and IRMA’s farmer surveys indicate that their control is a high priority for both small- and large-scale farmers.

The President of Kenya, his Excellency the Hon. Mwai Kibaki, officially launched the facility. He was joined by Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT’s Director General; Romano Kiome, Director of KARI; Andrew Bennett, Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, which provided funds for the new facility; Shivaji Pandey, Director of CIMMYT’s African Livelihoods Program (ALP); and the Hon. Kipruto Arap Kirwa, Minister of Agriculture.
“We must embrace and apply modern science and technology in farming,” President Kibaki said. “Indeed, there is evidence that countries that have embraced modern agricultural technologies have improved economic performance, reduced poverty, and ensured greater food security for their people.”
“In embracing biotechnology, I am fully aware of the ongoing debate on biotechnology and its products, particularly genetically modified organisms,” President Kibaki added. “We in Kenya have resolved to apply biotechnology in line with the existing biosafety frameworks, national statutes, and international obligations. The newly constructed Biosafety Greenhouse Complex symbolizes that effort and will provide the internationally required containment for genetically modified material at the experimental stage. This will facilitate high-tech research in support of current and future agricultural endeavors.”

Speaking to more than 500 dignitaries, scientists, and representatives of farmers’ and civic organizations, CIMMYT Director General Iwanaga clearly laid out the case for using high science to meet the needs of resource-poor farmers. “What we now need, as with the first Green Revolution, is technology that is well-suited to the economic and physical circumstances of the region’s farmers and the political will to support development of that technology and create conditions conducive to its adoption,” says Iwanaga. “With this greenhouse opening and the training of competent staff to manage it, Kenya and KARI have positioned themselves to be leaders in sub-Saharan Africa in using the tools of biotechnology to meet the rapidly growing need to increase food production.”

In addition to constructing the biosafety greenhouse, the IRMA project is a pioneer in several other respects. To date, the project has focused on using Bt genes produced by the public sector and on using “clean genes” by removing antibiotic and herbicide resistant marker genes from the final products. Considerable effort has gone into collecting and characterizing the organisms typically found in maize fields in order to assess possible environmental impacts from the Bt maize. They have conducted extensive farmer and field surveys, which enable scientists to develop strategies that smallholders can employ to prevent the Bt resistance buildup by stem borers.

“We’ve set high goals for ourselves in terms of environmental safety, public awareness, farmer and stakeholder participation, developing human capacities where needed, and in developing effective products for farmers,” says IRMA coordinator Stephen Mugo. “It’s not often you see an international agriculture project moving forward successfully on so many fronts at one time.”

For more information: Dr. Stephen Mugo

When a devastating stripe rust epidemic hit Ethiopia last year, newly-released wheat varieties derived from international partnerships proved resistant to the disease, and are now being multiplied for seed.

Wheat farmers and breeders are embroiled in a constant arms race against the rust diseases, as new rust races evolve to conquer previously resistant varieties. Ethiopia’s wheat crop became the latest casualty when a severe stripe rust epidemic struck in 2010. “The dominant wheat varieties were hit by this disease, and in some of the cases where fungicide application was not done there was extremely high yield loss,” says Firdissa Eticha, national wheat research program coordinator with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). “This is a threat for the future because there is climate change—which has already been experienced in Ethiopia—and the varieties which we have at hand were totally hit by this stripe rust.”

Ethiopia is not alone; stripe rust has become a serious problem across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, with epidemics in 2009 and 2010 which many countries have struggled to control. What’s new is the evolution of stripe rust races that are able to overcome Yr27, a major rust resistance gene that many important wheat varieties rely on. Although recent weather conditions have allowed the new rust races to thrive, they first began to emerge more than a decade ago, and CIMMYT’s wheat program, always looking forward to the next threat, began selection for resistance to Yr27-virulent races in 1998.

“CIMMYT has a number of wheat lines that have shown good-to-excellent resistance to stripe rust without relying on Yr27, in screening in Mexico, Ecuador, and Kenya,” says Ravi Singh, CIMMYT distinguished scientist and rust expert who leads the breeding effort in Mexico. Many of these are also resistant to the stem rust race Ug99 and have 10-15% higher yields than currently-grown varieties, according to Singh. The current step is to work with national programs to identify and promote the most useful of the resistant materials for their environments—a process that was underway in Ethiopia when the epidemic struck.

Eticha is leading his country’s fight against stripe rust. Reflecting on the disease, he says: “For me it is as important as stem rust. I find it like a wildfire when there is a susceptible variety. You see very beautiful fields actually, yellow like a canola field in flower. But for farmers it is a very sad sight. Stripe rust can cause up to 100% yield loss.” There is no official figure yet on the overall loss to Ethiopia’s wheat harvest for 2010, but it is expected to be more than 20%.

Stripe rust symptoms in the field in Ethiopia. | Photo: Firdissa Eticha

The other common name for stripe rust is yellow rust. Severely-infected plants look bright yellow, due to a photosynthesis-blocking coating of spores of the fungus Puccinia striiformis, which causes the disease. These spores are yellow to orange-yellow in color, and form pustules. These usually appear as narrow stripes along the leaves, and can cover the leaves in susceptible varieties, as well as affecting the leaf sheaths and the spikes. The disease lowers both yield and grain quality, causing stunted and weakened plants, fewer spikes, fewer grains per spike, and shriveled grains with reduced weight.

Epidemic flourishes with damp weather

Normally, Ethiopia has two distinct rainy seasons, one short and one main, allowing for two wheat cropping cycles per year. However, 2010 saw persistent gentle rains throughout the year, with prolonged dews and cool temperatures—perfect weather for stripe rust. Most wheat varieties planted in Ethiopia were susceptible, including the two most popular, Kubsa and Galema, so damage was severe. Under normal conditions, the disease only attacks high-altitude wheat in Ethiopia, but last year it was rampant even at low altitudes. This could reflect the appearance of a new race that is less temperature sensitive, or simply the unusual weather conditions; Ethiopian researchers are currently waiting for the results of a rust race analysis.

There was little Ethiopia could do to prevent the epidemic; imported fungicides controlled the disease where they were applied on time, but supplies were limited and expensive. Newly-released, resistant varieties provide a way out of danger. In particular, two CIMMYT lines released in Ethiopia in 2010 proved resistant to stripe rust in their target environments: Picaflor#1, which was released in Ethiopia as Kakaba, and Danphe#1, released as Danda’a. Picaflor#1 is targeted to environments where Kubsa is grown, and so has the potential to replace it, and Danphe#1 could similarly replace Galema. Both varieties are also high-yielding and resistant to Ug99.

CIMMYT scientists Hans-Joachim Braun (left) and Bekele Abeyo visit the fields of the Kulumsa Research Station where CIMMYT materials resistant to stripe rust are being multiplied for seed supply to Ethiopian farmers.

Seed multiplication of resistant CIMMYT varieties

As soon as the situation became clear, EIAR and the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (the state-owned organization responsible for multiplication and distribution of improved seed of all major crops in Ethiopia) worked together to speed the multiplication of seed of these varieties, using irrigation during the dry seasons. This is happening now, with almost 500 hectares under multiplication over the winter—421 of Picaflor#1 and 70 of Danphe#1. Financial support from this project came from the USAID Famine Fund. Two resistant lines from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) were released in Ethiopia in 2011, and will add to the diversity for resistance.

Eticha does not foresee any difficulty encouraging farmers to adopt the new varieties. In 2010 they were grown by 900 farmers on small on-farm demonstration plots, as part of EIAR’s routine annual program, so they have been seen—free of stripe rust—by thousands of farmers, and there will be more demonstration plots as more seed becomes available. However, “farmers are at risk still even if the varieties are there,” he says, “the problem is seed supply.” Some seed will reach farmers this year, but the priority will be ongoing multiplication to build up availability as fast as possible.

Hans-Joachim Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, visited Ethiopia in 2010. “The epidemic was a real wake-up call,” he says. “Researchers have known for more than ten years that the varieties grown are susceptible. Farmers are not aware of the danger, so it is the responsibility of researchers and seed producers, if we know a variety is susceptible, to replace it with something better.”

Exploring rust solutions in Syria The ongoing fight against the wheat rust diseases is an international, collaborative effort involving many partners in national programs and international organizations. CIMMYT works closely with ICARDA, which leads efforts against the wheat rust diseases in Central and West Asia and North Africa. At the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, organized by ICARDA in Aleppo, Syria, during 18-20 April 2011, global experts developed strategies to prevent future rust outbreaks and to ensure the control and reduction of rust diseases in the long term. Other participating organizations included CIMMYT, the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN, the International Development Research Center (IDRC, Canada), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). More than 100 scientists from 31 countries presented work and shared ideas on wheat rust surveillance and monitoring, development and promotion of rust-resistant wheat varieties, and crop diversity strategies to slow the progress of rust outbreaks. CIMMYT was represented by Hans-Joachim Braun and Ravi Singh. “Wheat crops and stripe rust like exactly the same conditions,” says Braun, “and they both love nitrogen. This means that where a farmer has a high yield potential, stripe rust takes it away, if the wheat variety is susceptible. In addition to the really devastating epidemics, the disease is very important because even in bumper years, farmers who grow susceptible varieties still can’t get a good yield.” One thing all the attendees agreed on was the immediacy of the rust threat. New variants of both stem rust (also known as black rust) and stripe rust (or yellow rust), able to overcome the resistance of popular wheat varieties, are thriving under the more variable conditions caused by climate change, increasing their chances of spreading rapidly. Breeders in turn are quickly developing the varieties farmers need, with durable resistance to stem and stripe rust, as well as improved yield performance, drought tolerance, and regional suitability. Other major areas of focus are the development of systems for monitoring and surveillance of rust to enable rapid response to initial outbreaks, and overcoming bottlenecks in getting resistant seed quickly to farmers. There is much to be done, but Singh is confident: “If donors, including national programs and the private sector, are willing to invest in wheat research and seed production, we can achieve significant results in a short time.”

“Ethiopian scientists responded quickly to the epidemic”, says Braun, “but there were heavy losses in 2010. What we need is better communications between scientists, seed producers, and decision makers to ensure the quick replacement of varieties.”

Building on a strong partnership

The value of the collaboration between CIMMYT and Ethiopia is already immeasurable for both partners. CIMMYT materials are routinely screened for rust at Meraro station, an Ethiopian hotspot, in increasing numbers as rust diseases have returned to the spotlight in recent years. CIMMYT lines are also a crucial input for Ethiopia’s national program.

“The contribution of CIMMYT is immense for us,” says Eticha. “CIMMYT provides us with a wide range of germplasm that is almost finished technology—one can say ready materials, that can be evaluated and released as varieties that can be used by farming communities.” Ethiopia has favorable agro-environments for wheat production, and the bread wheat area is expanding because of its high yields compared to indigenous tetraploid wheats. “Wheat is the third most important cereal crop in Ethiopia,” explains Eticha, “and it is really very important in transforming Ethiopia’s economy.”

Bekele Abeyo, CIMMYT senior scientist and wheat breeder based in Ethiopia, works closely with the national program. CIMMYT helps in many ways, he explains, for example with training and capacity building, as well as donation of materials, including computers, vehicles, and even chemicals for research. “In addition, we assign scientists to work closely with the national program, and facilitate germplasm exchange, providing high-yielding, disease resistant, widely-adapted varieties.” Speaking of the stripe rust epidemic, he says, “last year, the Ethiopian government spent more than USD 3.2 million just to buy fungicides, so imagine, the use of resistant varieties can save a lot of money. Most farmers are not able to buy these expensive fungicides. During the epidemic, fungicides were selling for three to four times their normal price, so you can see the value of resistant varieties.”

“I think East Africa is colonized by rust. Unless national programs work hard to overcome and contain disease pressure, wheat production is under great threat,” says Abeyo. “It is very important that we continue to strengthen the national programs to overcome the rust problem in the region.” With Yr27-virulent stripe rust races now widespread throughout the world, Ethiopia’s story has echoes in many CIMMYT partner countries. The challenge is to work quickly together to identify and replace susceptible varieties with the new, productive, resistant materials.

For more information: Bekele Abeyo, senior scientist and wheat breeder (b.abeyo@cgiar.org)

East Africa is struggling with the worst drought in more than half a century. In Kenya, a lack of supply has pushed food prices to dangerously high levels.

In June 2010, a 90-kilogram bag of maize – the primary food for most Kenyans – cost $16. By July 2011 the same bag was $44 – a 160% increase.

Half of the people in the region live on less than $2 a day and spend about half their income on food. The rising price of staple foods has tragic consequences for the poor who must simply make do with less, or do without.

There is hope for East Africans, even in the midst of drought. CIMMYT (The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) has developed varieties of maize seed bred specifically for dry conditions.

Meet Philip Ngolania, an ex-schoolteacher and current maize farmer who planted the new seeds this February.

Other resources on drought tolerant maize:

• New maize varieties keeping Kenyan inmates fed
• Roger Thurow – Outrage and Inspire – “Countering Drought”
• Fighting drought in Kenya

CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 9, September 2008

Looks can deceive. Striga, a deadly parasitic plant, produces a lovely flower but sucks the life and yields out of crops across Africa and Asia. A new strain of improved maize seed is helping farmers reclaim their invaded crop lands.

Striga, which typically attacks cereal crops, launches its takeover from the ground up: its deadly seedlings attach to sprouting maize plants and begin siphoning off water and nutrients before either plant emerges from the soil. The parasite also poisons its host, further stifling crop development.

Worse, Striga seems to seek out the farmers least suited to control it.

“Striga thrives in low-fertility soils, which are typically owned by the poorest farmers,” says Fred Kanampiu, CIMMYT maize agronomist. National experts estimate 14% of the maize area in sub-Saharan Africa is infested with Striga, amounting to 3.64 million hectares.

Big benefits seen for Kenya

Work by a multilateral partnership has resulted in a promising Striga control measure that has recently started moving from the laboratory to farmers’ fields. The practice is based on a type of maize with a natural mutation that allows it to resist the chemical imidazolinone—active ingredient in many herbicides. Seeds of this imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize are coated with a herbicide and, when sown, the coated seed kills sprouting Striga, allowing the crop to flourish.

“Economic studies estimate that if a third of the Striga-infested area were planted with herbicide-coated seed, benefits to farmers in Kenya would be between USD 51 million and 102 million, after production costs,” says Kanampiu, who coordinates the Striga Management Project. “This would be topped off by a yield effect of similar magnitude, because the herbicide resistance comes in seed of improved, locally-adapted varieties.”

A complex, multilateral effort

The idea of using herbicide-resistant maize to control Striga was first proposed by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in the 1990s. CIMMYT worked with that organization, as well as the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), BASF, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), non-governmental organizations, and seed companies including Pioneer to develop, evaluate, and spread the practice, particularly among small-scale farmers for whom other control methods, such as spraying, are expensive or impractical. A key part of the work involved developing high-yielding, locally-adapted maize varieties that were also herbicide tolerant. The coating method was fine-tuned by Weizmann and the company Hi-Cap Formulations.

Support for more recent tests and promotion came from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Rockefeller Foundation. By 2006 CIMMYT and KARI scientists had provided almost 300 herbicide-tolerant maize varieties for regional testing. Studies in randomly-selected farmers’ fields showed that with 30 grams (a little more than 1 ounce) of imazapyr herbicide per hectare as a seed coat in heavily infested fields, Striga was reduced by 81% and farmers enjoyed a 63% net return.

Striga meets its match

“The IR-maize reduces the Striga seed bank in the soil, lessening the need for future Striga control measures,” says Gospel Omanya, a Stewardship Manager from AATF, which is leading region-wide public awareness campaigns, field testing, and risk assessment. In addition, smallholder farmers who have tested the new maize and seed-coating practice on their land have obtained as much as a five-fold increase in grain yield.

Positive results like these led to the release of five IR varieties to farmers in Kenya, and nine other varieties are in performance evaluations for eventual release in Tanzania and Uganda.

More than 50,000 packages of IR-maize seed were distributed to farmers at 140 locations in Kenya for comparison with other Striga control practices. AATF surveyed more than 5,000 farmers and found they overwhelming favored the IR-maize seed. At least 10 seed companies, including Western Seed Company in Kenya and Tanseed International in Tanzania, are using IR maize and 60 tons of certified seed were marketed during 2007-2008.

“It was years of intense research and collaboration between partners dedicated to a unified objective, in addition to a willingness to invest human and financial resources, that allowed this concept to become a reality,” says Kanampiu. “The practice offers real, life-changing benefits for subsistence farmers like many in western Kenya, who tend 1.5 hectare plots of mostly maize just to feed their families. Their crops are normally so decimated by Striga that they harvest barely enough.”

Meanwhile, CIMMYT is working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a leader in the effort to identify and breed maize strains that contain genetic resistance to Striga. The aim is to offer farmers yet another way of controlling this lovely but lethal pest.

For more information, contact Fred Kanampiu (f.kanampiu@cgiar.org).

CIMMYT E-News, vol 4 no.11, November 2007

Two years after its release by Western Seed Company, WH502, a hybrid maize variety derived from research by CIMMYT and partners in eastern Africa, was being grown by nearly a fifth of the farmers surveyed in western Kenya for its high yields, resistance to lodging, tolerance to low nitrogen soils, and other good qualities.

Socioeconomist Beatrice Salasya, of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), had heard talk that farmers liked the hybrid WH 502, released by Kenya’s Western Seed Company. So she led a survey in the hybrid’s target region, western Kenya, to assess actual levels of adoption and to help breeders better understand the factors that influence a farmer’s choice to use a new variety or not.

Of the 504 households surveyed, 86—or 17%—had adopted the hybrid, which was derived from experimental maize developed as part of CIMMYT’s Africa Maize Stress (AMS) Project.¹ “We found that farmers were growing it; although they were fewer than the talk had suggested,” says Salasya, who published her results in a joint KARI-CIMMYT report.²

According to the report, the households adopting the hybrid were characterized by higher levels of education than those that did not; had larger farm sizes and areas under maize, and had more cattle and land under cash crops, such as sugarcane or coffee. “These results are as expected, because more educated farmers have greater exposure to information about technology and better chances of learning about new varieties,” says Salasya. “Similarly, larger farm size and cattle are proxies for wealth, so that wealthier farmers are able to purchase farm inputs, including seed of improved varieties.”

The survey was conducted in an approximately 100,000-hectare area dominated by smallholder, low-input maize cropping. “In the region where the study was done, most farmers have less than two hectares of land,” says Salasya. Maize yields are very low on average, and harvests typically provide enough grain to meet household needs for no more than six months; thereafter, families must purchase more maize or substitutes. Most farmers grow local varieties and recycle their own seed. Few follow practices to replenish soil nutrients.

WH 502 selling points: More than just yield

The adopters liked the high yields of WH 502, according to the survey, and farmers also felt the hybrid was relatively early maturing, although it is not considered early by the breeders who developed it. “High yield, early maturity, and good storability are the three most commonly mentioned characteristics that households look for in a variety,” Salasya says. The study showed that the hybrid’s perceived advantages include resistance to lodging—that is, falling over in high winds—and tolerance to low nitrogen soil conditions. Finally, though the farmers did not mention these traits, WH 502 is resistant to maize streak virus, one of the most common and damaging diseases of the crop in sub-Saharan Africa, and also tolerates the parasitic weed Striga, which can destroy entire crop stands in western Kenya.

Notwithstanding these valuable traits of the hybrid, there is still more work for breeders, particularly on aspects that farmers identified as needing improvement. “The main characteristics of WH 502 that households did not like were poor storability and poor husk cover,” explains Salasya. Poor storability was mentioned as a weakness by 78% of surveyed farmers, and describes the susceptibility of the hybrid, which has a dent-type kernel, to maize weevil, a major pest of stored grain. The most popular local hybrid, H614, for example, features a harder, flint kernel type that better resists such pests. Poor husk cover was cited by 32% of the respondents, and means that the maize ears will be more prone to rotting, if there are heavy rains just before harvest time.

What actually holds back adoption?

Differing from the weaknesses described above, the key reasons cited by survey respondents for not adopting WH 502 were lack of cash to buy seed (36%) and satisfaction with the variety they were growing or not yet being convinced about the advantages of the new hybrid (41%). Most farmers (69%) who knew about WH 502 had heard about the hybrid from neighbors; underlining the significance of farmer-farmer technology transfer. “It’s also important to note that the time between farmers hearing about WH 502 and adopting it is fairly short,” says Salasya. “For example, 52% of all households interviewed had heard about the hybrid in 2005, the year the survey started. It may be necessary to carry out another adoption study when the hybrid has been with farmers for a longer period.”

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¹The AMS was begun in 1998 by CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) with researchers in the 21 main, maize-growing countries of West, Central, and eastern Africa to develop and deliver stress tolerant maize and related crop management practices. Work was co-supported by BMZ-Germany (2002–2005), IFAD (2004–present), the Rockefeller Foundation (2002-2005) , Sida-Sweden (1998–2001), and UNDP (1998–2001).

²Salasya, B., W. Mwangi, M. Odendo, D. Mwabu, A. Diallo, and O. Odongo. 2006. Factors influencing adoption of stress-tolerant hybrid maize (WH 502) in western Kenya. Nairobi: KARI and CIMMYT.

For more information: Alpha Diallo, Maize breeder (a.o.diallo@cgiar.org)

CIMMYT E-News, vol 4 no. 4, April 2007

The Seed Health Laboratory, part of CIMMYT’s Seed Inspection and Distribution Unit (SIDU) has become the first in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) to gain International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification

For the past 10 months there has been a little extra edge at the Seed Health Laboratory at the CIMMYT campus in El Batán, Mexico. Everything every researcher and technician did when handling maize and wheat seeds was being scrutinized in the minutest detail by inspection teams from the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) for the ISO. “It was sometimes tense, but I knew our procedures were already at a high level, so I wasn’t really worried,” says Monica Mezzalama, head of SIDU.

The routine shipment and reception of maize and wheat seed samples is the life blood of a global breeding center like CIMMYT. Its crop improvement research means breeding new types of seed that can enhance the livelihoods and food security of farm families in the developing world. You can improve all the seed you want at an experiment station, but eventually you have to ship seed for testing by farmers and national research programs outside of the country where the breeding was done. Also, given that CIMMYT holds the world’s largest collection of maize and wheat germplasm in trust in its genetic resources center, each year it sends hundreds of shipments of seed from those stores to breeders and other researchers from around the world, in response to their requests for samples.

Seed can carry pathogens—viruses, bacteria, or fungi—that reduce the viability of the seed itself or prevent the plants from growing well. When seed is consumed directly as food or feed, seed-borne organisms may cause chemical changes, degrade seed contents, or release powerful toxins that can harm humans and livestock. In the best of cases, food is simply wasted; in the worst, famine or poisoning can result. Certain seed-borne pathogens are endemic to specific areas of the world; great efforts are made to confine them and not allow their spread.

In 1989 CIMMYT established an independent Seed Health Laboratory and in 2004 the seed inspection and distribution unit (SIDU) to handle the inspection and shipment of seed, essentially ensuring that no seed with disease pathogens on board enters the center’s breeding programs or leaves its premises for other destinations. All CGIAR research centers with crop genetic resource collections produce and distribute seed from breeding trials or from their genebanks. All maintain their own, stringent standards and have shared their experiences. Until recently, seed health standards at CIMMYT were self-imposed, in cooperation with the government of Mexico. The implementation of free trade agreements between Mexico and other countries—particularly the USA and Canada—brought a commitment from Mexico to ensure that all seed originating from the country conformed to international norms.

The ISO is the world’s largest developer of standards. ISO standards have important economic and social repercussions, making a positive difference not just to organizations for whom they solve basic problems in production and distribution, but to society as a whole. Mexico adopted ISO standards for seed movement, to be administered by EMA. For CIMMYT it is the ISO/IEC 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. “We knew all along that our seed health procedures were the best,” says Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT Director General. “But having the toughest outside inspection in the world confirm what we knew is very gratifying, not only for us but for our partners in more than an hundred countries.”

More information Monica Mezzalana, Head, SIDU (m.mezzalama@cgiar.org).

CIMMYT E-News, vol 3 no. 9, September 2006

Farmers participate in a significant portion of CIMMYT research and technology testing, according to center researchers, and the scientists believe this makes their efforts more effective.

The combined budgets of 19 CIMMYT projects cited by their principal investigators in a 2004 survey as including participatory research components exceeded US$9 million—roughly a quarter of the center’s total budget at the time. “Not all that money was spent on participatory activities, but the figure bespeaks a significant investment,” says Nina Lilja, Agricultural Economist in the on Participatory Research and CGIAR Systemwide Program Gender Analysis for Technology Development and Institutional Innovation (PRGA Program).

This conclusion was one outcome of a study on participatory research at CIMMYT by Lilja and Mauricio Bellon, Director, Diversity for Livelihoods Program, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), and former Human Ecologist at CIMMYT. “Nearly all respondents felt that the use of participatory approaches had been worthwhile and most believed participatory methods had added value to the research,” says Lilja. “In support of this, many respondents provided evidence of project achievements through use of participatory approaches.”

Participatory research—particularly where farmers help evaluate and promote new crop varieties or farming practices—have been used increasingly in CIMMYT research in recent years. This study represents the first-ever analysis of participatory approaches, from the perspective of center researchers. Through the 2004 survey, the scientists reported on projects they considered as having a participatory component. The range of the study was broad: there was great variation in the types and characteristics of participatory research for which researchers provided information. The survey allowed characterization of the projects, but not further critical analysis of the quality or the appropriateness of the methods applied nor an objective assessment of impacts. Information was received for 19 projects from 18 scientists—15 male, 3 female; 5 social scientists, 13 biophysical scientists. Sixteen of the projects involved farmer-participatory research; three targeted national-program scientists and seed agronomists. Most of the projects covered work in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia; only two had activities in Latin America. About a third of the projects involved participatory testing of crop varieties or production practices; the remainder involved focus group activities or stakeholder meetings.

The issues most frequently addressed via participatory methods related to increasing productivity and understanding farmers’ needs and constraints. “Participatory research at CIMMYT was largely of the functional type—that is, aimed at improving the efficiency and relevance of the research, rather than specifically to empower farmers,” says Bellon. “Also, there was an overall lack of awareness of multiple beneficiaries or of differential effects owing to gender. None of the respondents had been trained previously in participatory methods.”

Two major recommendations of this report for adding value to CIMMYT’s participatory research efforts are to (1) create a more conducive environment within the center for scientists to share experiences and learn from each other, and (2) better document outcomes and impacts of the center’s participatory research.

To view or download a copy of the study, click here.

For further information, contact John Dixon (j.dixon@cgiar.org)

March, 2005

The greatest pest of crops
-Roman philosopher Pliny, AD 100

Nearly 2000 years after Pliny’s description of stem rusts, plant disease scientist William Wagoire made a startling observation in a Ugandan wheat field. The telltale reddish brown spores he saw on the wheat plants were unmistakable and most unwelcome—they heralded a resurgence of stem rust.

The interim between Pliny and Wagoire’s sightings saw the scourge, which is capable of destroying 100% of a crop, emerge and dissipate countless times at various locations worldwide. Ancient Greeks struggled with it, the Romans sacrificed red animals such as foxes and dogs every spring to appease their rust god Robigus, and the US epidemics of 1916 and 1957 ravaged the nation’s wheat belt. A reprieve came in the 1960s with Norman Borlaug’s semi-dwarf wheat lines, which carried resistance to rust and wiped the worry from farmers’ and scientists’ minds. But now a new strain, called UG99, has reared its head—it is destroying harvests in East Africa and moving fast.

Wheat’s nemesis, rust is a fungus that spreads quickly over large areas. Tiny spores readily take to the wind and can travel thousands of kilometers via the atmospheric jet streams. With the proliferation of intensive agricultural systems since the 1970s, the stem rust fungus has greater opportunity to multiply, mutate, and evolve, and this is what we may now be witnessing. Since Wagoire’s discovery in Uganda, it was found in Kenya in 2000, Ethiopia in 2002, and there is no reason to believe it will halt its march.

“Stem rust has been a severe disease in the Indian Subcontinent, and it is only a matter of time until the new strain reaches across the Saudi Arabian peninsula and into the Middle East, South Asia, and eventually East Asia,” says Ravi Singh, CIMMYT wheat pathologist. It could also reach Australia and the Americas in the clothes of people who travel in and out of East Africa.

For those Eastern African farmers who can afford it, fungicides offer a short-term defense. When the disease is in epidemic form, however, greater and greater amounts of chemicals are needed to achieve control. Also, this method exerts a considerable toll on the environment. Breeding for new genetic resistance is the preferred technique, especially given the estimates that half of the world’s bread wheat is susceptible.

“The situation is ready for an explosive disaster,” warns Borlaug, who is leading a campaign for concerted action against the new strain.

Funding is currently being sought for a CIMMYT-led Global Rust Initiative (GRI), promoted by Borlaug and others, which will allow breeders to better monitor the spread of the disease and to develop resistant wheat varieties. There is also a vital need to revive training for rust research, and to support such work at the national level.

For further information, contact Dr. Ravi Singh (r.singh@cgiar.org).

 

CIMMYT E-News, vol 2 no. 8, August 2005

“The maize brought by CIMMYT and implemented by Kunduz Rehabilitation Agency is doing wonders.”
Years of war (1979-1989) and subsequent internal instability, plus a prolonged drought and an earthquake, devastated Afghanistan’s agricultural infrastructure, production capacity, and agricultural research capabilities. As a result, agricultural production fell to an estimated 45% of 1978 levels, with crop yields declining to about 50% of pre-war levels.
Wheat is the number-one staple crop in Afghanistan, and maize is the third. Together they occupy 80% of the area planted to annual crops in the country. A central aim of CIMMYT in Afghanistan is to make improved, high quality seed of both crops available to farmers, along with appropriate crop management technologies. To date CIMMYT has responded to Afghanistan’s most urgent needs by:

• Distributing 300 tons of quality seed of the locally-adapted wheat MH-97 to 9,000 farmers in four provinces of Afghanistan.
• Producing and delivering tons of breeder’s and foundation maize seed.
• Planting 35 wheat variety trials at 6 sites and 24 maize trials at 8 sites to identify additional materials suited to farmers’ needs.
• Training Afghan researchers through courses in-country and at CIMMYT in Mexico.

CIMMYT has collaborated with Afghan researchers for over three decades—even during the war. Thanks to the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and the FAO, Afghan researchers maintained contact with the Turkey-CIMMYT-ICARDA International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP) and continued to select the best new wheats from international nurseries. The new seed moved from farmer to farmer; without it, people would have suffered even more hunger and malnutrition than they did. All winter and facultative wheat cultivars currently registered in Afghanistan are derived from those nurseries. In total, several hundred CIMMYT wheat and maize nurseries have been evaluated in Afghanistan over the past 30 years.

Recent Update from the Field

An important component of a current ACIAR-funded project (“Wheat and Maize Productivity Improvement in Afghanistan”) has included collaborative work with farmers and non-government and international organizations to verify in farmers’ fields the performance and acceptability of improved wheat and maize varieties. For wheat, the project uses two approaches:

1. A traditional approach where demonstrations are planted in farmers’ fields and the farmer assessments are recorded informally through topic focused interviews during field days. The varieties included in these demonstrations are released in the country and made available where security allows. Using this approach in Parwan Province, farmers showed a keen interest for the variety ‘Sohla,’ which yielded well and showed superior resistance to diseases like rust. The project is helping to ensure that demand for seed of the variety is met.
2. A participatory technology development approach implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation brings farmers to research stations to observe yield trials of promising varieties. Farmers identify preferred varieties with red tags; their assessments determine the selection of wheat lines for advancement and subsequent release.

For maize, the project provided non-government organizations with seed of open-pollinated varieties that were distributed to rural communities. Farmer testing and feedback resulted in the identification of two promising varieties: Rampur 9433 and PozaRica 8731. Farmers said the varieties performed well but did not mature quickly enough to fit local cropping systems, so project participants are identifying earlier-maturing varieties. To offer farmers sufficient seed, the project is pursuing two approaches:

1. A formal scheme whose main partners are the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) and the FAO, through the Improved Seed Enterprise (ISE), and under which breeder’s seed will be offered to recognized producers of certified seed.
2. Informal farmer-to-farmer distribution systems, which have resulted in up to a 10-fold increase in some areas under improved varieties. For example, the Norwegian Project Office-Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (NPO-RRAA) reported that farmers who had planted open-pollinated varieties from the project in 2003 had bartered and sold more than two tons of seed of the varieties in 2004.

The project has built human capacity through in-country, technical workshops, five of which have been conducted since 2000 on topics including: agricultural development potential and constraints in specific zones; yellow rust and field scoring for the disease; research methodologies; variety evaluation; and several field days. The workshops have drawn 70 participants, including farmers, workers from non-government organizations, and officers from research stations.

CIMMYT partners in Afghanistan include:

• The Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan, funded by USAID and coordinated by ICARDA.
• AusAID and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
• The FAO.
• The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)-USAID.
• The French non-government organization, ACTED.
• The Aga Khan Development Network.
• Improved Seed Enterprise.
• The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture.
• ARIA.

For further information, contact Mahmood Osmanzai (m.osmanzai@cgiar.org).

This write-up draws on contributions from Alma McNab, former CIMMYT science writer and the CIMMYT team in Afghanistan, including team leader Mahmood Osmanzai and former CIMMYT maize agronomist Julien de Meyer. De Meyer manages the Effective Development Group (EDG), a non-government organization based in Australia and has been commissioned by ACIAR to assist the Afghanistan project in data analysis, training, planning workshops, and reporting.

August, 2004

On 22 June 2004, CIMMYT culminated a year of hard work and planning to bring a new focus and intensity to the Center’s efforts in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by launching its new African Livelihoods Program (ALP) in Nairobi, Kenya. An extensive strategic planning exercise involving stakeholders, donors, and Center staff in the year before the launch resulted in a restructuring of the Center and its programs along with the creation of the ALP.

CIMMYT is no stranger to Africa. We began working with national research programs in the region even before our official opening in 1966. Today, around 40% of our budget is spent in the continent, representing one of the higher investments across the entire CGIAR. Outside of headquarters, CIMMYT’s largest contingent of international scientists is based in SSA, primarily in eastern and southern Africa. Center scientists based in Mexico provide active support, and a steady stream of African scientists have been training at headquarters.

Early work focused on the development of improved, higher yielding maize varieties adapted to African agroecosystems. Over time, the mission broadened to include the development of stress and disease tolerant varieties, crop management responses to declining soil fertility, overcoming the parasitic weed Striga, strengthening seed industry and distribution networks, and socioeconomic diagnostic and impact studies.

CIMMYT’s research foci in SSA, which have largely been on target, will not change drastically under the new African Livelihoods Program. However, CIMMYT is going to increase the emphasis on improving rural livelihoods through specific maize system interventions. That could include better nutrition through quality protein maize, higher profitability through intercropping/multicropping systems and access to technology and knowledge, or better and more sustainable land use through conservation agriculture techniques.

This new course relies on an integrated approach based on teams from diverse fields that bring their expertise to bear on specific problems. Projects will go beyond just the development of variety and technology to explore how to reach farmers with these improvements. CIMMYT cannot do this alone, and there will be a new focus on effective partnerships and networks to “deliver the goods” to farmers.

On hand for the launching event were Kenya’s Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Kipruto Arap Kirwa; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Joseph Kinyua; CIMMYT Director General, Masa Iwanaga; Director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Dr. Romano Kiome; the ALP director, Shivaji Pandey; and other distinguished guests.

Activities and Impact Highlights

High yielding hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPVs), and promotion of varieties resistant to maize streak virus, gray leaf spot, and E. turcicum.

Since the mid-1960s, more than 150 hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPV) released and planted on more than two million hectares in SSA contain CIMMYT germplasm. About 55% of the disease resistant varieties released since 1988 have contained CIMMYT germplasm.

Abiotic stress tolerant maize varieties

SSA farmers say drought is one of their main constraints. In response, CIMMYT is trying to move stress tolerance into OPVs and hybrids. Seed companies and farming communities are producing seed, with deployment exceeding 250,000 hectares in southern Africa. Sales of these varieties have quadrupled over each of the past four years.

Insect Resistant Maize

Conventionally bred maize varieties with resistance to stem boring insects have entered Kenya’s National Performance Trials. Transgenic Bt maize is charting new ground and is expected in farmers’ fields in 2008. “Firsts” produced by the Insect Resistant Maize in Africa (IRMA) project include the development of insect resistance management strategies for smallholder farmers, extensive pre-release studies on non-target organisms in African cropping systems, marker-free Bt constructs for the African varieties, and construction of the only biosafety greenhouse in SSA outside of South Africa.

Striga resistance and control

Striga inflicts roughly US$2.7 billion in maize losses in SSA annually. CIMMYT and partners have developed a technology based on coating seeds with a herbicide that offers Striga resistance. More than 130 OPVs, inbreds, and hybrids have been converted to herbicide resistance. Five hybrids were nominated for the Kenya National Performance Trials and three have been pre-released.

Quality Protein Maize (QPM)

QPM provides more complete dietary protein, which improves people’s nutrition and also their incomes through its use as animal feed. QPM is rapidly being moved into locally adapted varieties in SSA for distribution to farmers. Uganda has released a QPM OPV (Nalongo) that garnered the interest of the World Food Program, which is encouraging local farmers to grow it for emergency food rations.

Regional approach to soil fertility research and diffusion

CIMMYT has served a prominent coordinating and facilitating role in the formation of the SoilFertNet and the soon to be launched Soil Fertility Consortium, which will serve four countries directly in southern Africa and other countries indirectly through the ECAMAW network.

Training and capacity building

Between 1998 and 2004, CIMMYT either sponsored or coordinated more than 150 training events ranging from PhD committee membership, to GMO awareness programs for parliamentarians, to farmer participatory research workshops. Participants from the region took advantage of about 2,500 individual training opportunities.

Socioeconomics

The CIMMYT Economics program has been active in Africa since the 1970s. It has been instrumental in developing the Farming Systems Research approach, which has been a key link in bringing agricultural research closer to farmers. CIMMYT economists in East Africa organized farm surveys, including 22 adoption studies, which provided the basis for most of the quantitative analysis on maize systems we have today.

Mother-Baby participatory research and diffusion

Participatory research has emerged as a major tenet of CIMMYT’s research efforts. This has been married with the need to improve technology transfer to farmers in the form of the mother-baby trials—a farmer-centered approach promoted and constantly refined by CIMMYT scientists in southern and eastern Africa. Mother-Baby trials, with the involvement of more than 100 partner organizations, are today grown in 12 African countries.

For more information: Dr. Shivaji Pandey

 Preston Auditorium, Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 9:15 a.m.
DRAFT AGENDA

Participants:

The Preston Auditorium is expected to be filled.  The audience will include CGIAR Consortium and Fund Council representatives, Directors General of Centers, agricultural research partners, IFPRI Center staff, past CGIAR chairs, World Bank staff, and other external guests.  In addition, the event will be webcast for the benefit of staff at all CGIAR Centers and other partners.

Mr. Zoellick, Ms. Andersen, Mr. Shah, and Mr. Castañeda, will be on stage in the Preston Auditorium, with the podium stage right. A backdrop will feature an image of the 40th anniversary of CGIAR.

Overall Objectives:

• To celebrate CGIAR’s tremendous achievements in agricultural research over the past 40 years
• To showcase, through the launch of a CGIAR Research Program (CRP), how the CGIAR has repositioned itself to continue to address emerging challenges for the next 40 years
• To reiterate the World Bank’s and other donors’/partners’ support to the CGIAR in its drive to enhance food security

 

 

9:15 a.m.	Roger V. Morier – Call to order and introduces Inger
9:15 a.m.	Inger Andersen: Welcome remarks Introduction of other platform personnel and introduction of each as they speak Introduction of the short video preceding Mr. Zoellick’s remarks.
9:20 a.m.	Video Presentation – The Story of the Start of the CGIAR, as told by Norman Borlaug and Robert McNamara
9:30 a.m.	Inger Andersen: Invitation to Mr. Zoellick to make remarks (approximately 10 minutes) Focus on state of food security, role of WB and challenge to CG
9:40 a.m.	Rajiv Shah, Administrator, USAID invited to make remarks (TBC) On behalf of developed country partners of the CG USAID’s efforts re: food security
9:50 a.m.	Mariano Ruiz-Funes, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Mexico, invited to make brief remarks On behalf of the developing country partners of the CGIAR Mexico’s commitment to combating food insecurity
9:55 a.m.	Presentation by the CGIAR Fund Office to Mr. Zoellick, Mr. Shah, and Mr. Castañeda of a book produced for the 40th anniversary of the CGIAR
10:00 a.m.	Mr. Zoellick’s departure from Preston Auditorium. Platform personnel change
	Launch of MAIZE CRP
10:05 a.m.	Introductory remarks by Inger Andersen, Chair, Fund Council Will emphasize the role and responsibility of donors in new compact
10:15 a.m.	Remarks by Carlos Perez del Castillo, Board Chair, Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers Introduction of other platform personnel and introduction of each as they speak Introduction of the exciting new CGIAR Research Program portfolio and makes the link to MAIZE
10:25 a.m.	Video: African farmer and Asian farmer Will emphasize perspective of farmers in developing countries in regard to food security issues A view from the ground
10:35 a.m.	Remarks by Ephraim Mukisira, Director, KARI Will emphasize the need for cooperation to address complex challenges of food security No one organization can do it alone
10:45 a.m.	Launch of MAIZE Program, Tom Lumpkin, DG, CIMMYT Will explain the composition of the plan including how it was developed, how it will be managed, and what the overall goals are Will emphasize the need for cooperation and commitment over a long period of time Will emphasize the immense challenge – but we can address it if we act now
10:55 a.m.	Closing Remarks by Jonathan Wadsworth, Executive Secretary, Fund Council and Head of Fund Office

– Based in three key agricultural states of India

– Builds on legacy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug

The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) was officially launched on Wednesday, 5 October 2011, at the A.P. Shinde Symposium Hall, NASC Complex in New Delhi, India.

The event commenced with a welcome by the Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR, S. Ayyappan. The Agriculture Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Ramkrishna Kusmaria; Punjab Agriculture Minister, S. Sucha Singh Langah; and the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industry, Sharad Pawar, accompanied by Pratibha Pawar, delivered speeches at the event. Also in attendance was Mr. Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary of ICAR.

The three agricultural ministers of the states that will be hosting BISA facilities delivered speeches in recognition of the important role which BISA will play in improving food security not only in their own states, but throughout the whole of South Asia. Mr. Pawar highlighted the concerns of population growth both globally and especially in South Asia, in addition to rising food prices and unrest caused by food insecurity. He stated that “it would not be an overstatement to say that Norman Borlaug is a household name in India.” On a personal level, he also recalled his interaction with Dr. Borlaug in India in the 1960s.

BISA will have centers in Ludhiana in Punjab, Pusa in Bihar, and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Each of the states contains varied agro-ecological zones allowing for testing a variety of maize and wheat cultivars suited to the equally varied environments of South Asia.

Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General, delivered the closing remarks, reminding the audience of the challenges of global food security as well as the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. He also highlighted the support of the Mexican government and CIMMYT’s role in facilitating and promoting cooperation through its centers in India, Mexico, and Africa. Dr. Lumpkin concluded his speech stating that “CIMMYT has been in India for 50 years. It’s time we laid down some roots.”

The official opening ceremony was marked by a cultural event featuring classical Indian dancing including choreographical styles from all three states. In addition to CIMMYT-India staff and speakers, also present at the launching ceremony were the management committee of CIMMYT and its Board of Trustees. The launching ceremony was attended by representatives from CIMMYT’s sister institutions ILRI, IRRI, and Bioversity, as well as by the Allan Mustard Institute of the US Dept. of Agriculture and the private sector. The event was closed by a dinner and a speech by the Board of Trustees Chair, Sara Boettiger.

BISA was officially approved by India’s Union Cabinet, based on a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Research and Education on 30 September. In a press release issued by the government of India (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=76358), the approval of BISA is described as follows: “The establishment of BISA in India will enable India to harness the best of international science, in meeting food security challenges. India would be able to rapidly and effectively absorb the research output of BISA thus benefiting farmers of the country.”

The Borlaug Institute of South Asia was conferred international status as detailed in clause 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act of 1947. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), on behalf of the government of India, will be authorized in all matters regarding the establishment of the institute.

Read more:

India and CIMMYT agree to establish new research institute for South Asia

Borlaug Institute South Asia to address food security

CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 11, November 2008

Sandwiched between China and India, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a small country that relies on maize in a big way. But maize yields are typically low due to crop diseases, drought, and poor access to seed of improved varieties, among other reasons. CIMMYT is committed to improving Bhutan’s food security by providing high-yielding, pest-resistant maize varieties to farmers and capacity-building for local scientists.

“If there is no maize there is nothing to eat,” says Mr. S. Naitein, who farms maize on half a hectare of land in Bhutan. But it’s not easy to grow, he says, citing challenges such as animals (monkeys and wild boars), insects, poor soil fertility, drought, poor access to improved seed varieties, and crop diseases like gray leaf spot (GLS) and turcicum leaf blight (TLB).

But since planting Yangtsipa—an improved maize variety derived from Suwan-1, a variety introduced from CIMMYT’s former regional maize program in Thailand—Naitein has seen a real improvement in his maize yields. The local maize variety yielded 1,700 kilograms per hectare, whereas Yangtsipa gave him 2,400 kilograms per hectare, a 40% yield increase.

“It’s no wonder that Yangtsipa is by far the most popular improved variety among Bhutanese farmers,” says Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, CIMMYT regional cereal breeder posted in Nepal. “Nonetheless, many local varieties of maize still occupy large areas of the country and don’t yield well.”

Maize is a staple food in Bhutan. Many people eat Tengma (pounded maize) as a snack with a cup of tea and Kharang (maize grits) are also popular. “Among the food crops, maize plays a critical role in household food security, especially for the poor,” says Ortiz-Ferrara. About 38% of the rural Bhutanese population lives below the poverty line and some 37,000 households cultivate maize. It’s estimated that 80% of this maize is consumed at the household level, according to Bhutan’s Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNRRC).

Leaf us alone: CIMMYT maize varieties help combat foliar diseases

Many farmers in Bhutan have been struggling with crop diseases that cut maize yields. “The recent outbreak of gray leaf spot and turcicum leaf blight affected 4,193 households and destroyed over 1,940 hectares of maize crop,” says Thakur Prasad Tiwari, agronomist with CIMMYT-Nepal. He estimates that maize is grown on 31,160 hectares in the country.

Gray leaf spot is a devastating leaf disease that is spreading fast in the hills of Bhutan and Nepal. To deal with this threat, CIMMYT sent more than 75 maize varieties with possible resistance to GLS and TLB to Bhutan in 2007. Tapping into the resources of its global network of research stations, CIMMYT sent seed from Colombia, Zimbabwe, and Mexico that was planted in GLS and TLB ‘hot spot’ locations in the country.

Ortiz-Ferrara and Tiwari then worked with Tirtha Katwal, national maize coordinator-Bhutan, and his team to evaluate these materials for their resistance.

“Together we identified the top performing lines for gray leaf spot and turcicum leaf blight which will be excellent candidates for Bhutan’s maize breeding program,” says Ortiz-Ferrara. “We are now combining their disease resistance with Yangtsipa, because we know it is high-yielding and well-adapted to Bhutan.”

Kevin Pixley, associate director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, helped to develop a detailed breeding scheme or work plan for Bhutan’s national GLS breeding program. “We want to provide capacity-building for local maize scientists so they themselves can identify and breed varieties that show resistance to crop diseases,” he says.

“We feel more confident in moving forward with the next steps in our breeding program,” said Katwal. He and his team also attended a training course on seed production, de-tasselling, and pollination given by Dr. K.K. Lal, former CIMMYT maize trainee and former chief of the Seed Quality Control Center at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) in Nepal.

That’s what friends are for: CIMMYT, Nepal, and Bhutan collaboration

In 2001, Bhutan began collaborating on maize research with CIMMYT-Nepal, the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) of Nepal, and the Hill Maize Research project (HMRP) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Nepal. The terrain and agro-climatic conditions of Bhutan and the Nepalese highland are similar, meaning that technologies adapted for Nepal will likely work well in neighboring Bhutan.

CIMMYT aims to facilitate regional and national partnerships that benefit farmers. For instance, during the past 7 years CIMMYT-Nepal has worked with NMRP and RNRRP to introduce 12 open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) to Bhutan. These modern varieties yield more than the local varieties whose seed farmers save to sow from year to year. Included in these 12 OPVs were several quality protein maize (QPM) varieties; these have nearly twice as much usable protein as other traditional varieties of maize.

“Our CIMMYT office in Nepal has assisted Bhutan with maize and wheat genetic material, technical backstopping, training, visiting scientist exchange, and in identifying key consultants on research topics such as grey leaf spot and seed production,” says Tiwari.

Simply put, CIMMYT has useful contacts. For example, at the request of Bhutan’s Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNRRC), CIMMYT-Nepal put forward Dr. Carlos De Leon, former CIMMYT regional maize pathologist, to conduct a course on identifying and controlling maize diseases in February 2007. In September 2008, CIMMYT and HMRP also recommended two researchers (Dr. K.B. Koirala and Mr. Govinda K.C.) from Nepal’s NMRP to give a course on farmer participatory research that has been successful in the dissemination of new technologies.

“Ultimately, our goal is to improve the food security and livelihood of rural households through increased productivity and sustainability of the maize-based cropping system,” says Thakur Prasad Tiwari.

For information: Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, cereal breeder, CIMMYT-Nepal (g.ortiz-ferrara@cgiar.org) or Thakur Prasad Tiwari, agronomist, CIMMYT-Nepal (tptiwari@mos.com.np)