This international Womenâs Day, March 8, 2022, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates the essential role that women play in agriculture and food systems, and acknowledges that gender equality is essential to achieve a sustainable future. The burden of climate change impacts women disproportionately, even though we rely on them to drive change in climate adaptation, mitigation and solutions.
For example, in the last year, CIMMYT research found that educating women farming wheat in Bihar, India, increases the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, which, in turn, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and boosts nitrogen productivity, eco-efficiency and yield. Additionally, in Mexico, a CIMMYT study found that women are less likely to default on agricultural credit than men, but seldom receive loans. Connecting women to financial capital to obtain agricultural inputs is an essential step in boosting their decision-making in food production.
Read more about our pathbreaking work in gender research in the collection of stories below!
Gender equality for climate-resilient, sustainable food systems
A farmer weeds a maize field in Pusa, Bihar state, India. (Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT)
Gender-responsive and gender-intentional maize breeding
A new paper by CIMMYT researchers takes stock of lessons learnt on gender inclusivity and maize breeding in Africa. Scientists also assess knowledge gaps that need to be filled to effectively support gender-responsive and gender-intentional breeding and seed systems work.
Alice Nasiyimu stands in front of a drought-tolerant maize plot at her family farm in Bungoma County, in western Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Towards gender-transformative research in the CGIAR
Gender scientists from ten CGIAR centers and key partner institutions came together in a hybrid workshop to integrate gender-transformative research and methodologies into the new CGIAR Initiatives. In this series of videos, GENNOVATE partners share their insights on this topic.
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, CIMMYT speaks to Tripti Agarwal, whose research paper delves into the impact of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) on women and farming households in Bihar, India. CSAPs offer a promising solution to address environmental issues through gender-inclusive technological interventions. As we celebrate the achievements of women in science today, we see CSAPs bridging the gender gap and empowering women.
Hello Tripti, it’s great to talk to you about labor migration and how the adoption of CSAPs ensures household food security. Could you share how this approach influences gender equality in farming households?Â
My paper is titled “Gendered impacts of climate-smart agriculture on household food security and labor migration: insights from Bihar, India.” Bihar is highly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological natural disasters that cause agricultural production loss. The issue is that the male workforce migrates to other cities to seek different employment opportunities and improve their families’ livelihoods, often leaving the women behind to farm. Women left behind are then responsible for household and farming activities, making them overburdened. Therefore, Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) could play a vital role in safeguarding the loss in production and supporting livelihoods. The concept of Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) links this, acknowledging the gender gap and striving to promote gender-equitable approaches in knowledge enhancement, capacity development, and better practices. CSAPs empower women to support farming decision-making and a better utilization of resources
That is interesting. Would you also tell us how the CSV program addresses climatic risks from technological and social perspectives?Â
As per the study I mentioned earlier, climatic stress that affects crop production directly impacts a household’s food security and, more severely, women’s food security. The CSV program promotes adopting climate-resilient practices and technologies that mitigate the risk of crop loss and ensure enough food for the household. CSV is a promising solution to address environmental issues through gender-inclusive technological interventions.
Ensuring food for the household is the most important thing. We also see that this paper highlighted the knowledge gaps between men and women farmers in terms of CSAPs. What action plan is needed to have a more equitable gender-responsive environment at the policy level?Â
The paper attempts to drive the concentration of the state/policymakers in providing more opportunities to women in having access to resources. Policies or strategies â driven towards ensuring female education, knowledge and capacity building â are likely to play a significant role in providing access and control of resources to women across their lifetimes in varied areas of work.
As per the research paper, the probability of out-migration is reduced by 21% with the adoption of CSAPs. What factors do you think are the critical indicators of this trend?Â
The increase in knowledge about CSAPs, both for men and women, supports household decision-making in adopting CSAPs. With the adoption of CSAPs, the increase in agricultural production reduced the compulsion of males to migrate, and better female literacy also had a negative and significant effect on male out-migration
The study also reveals that the farmer’s education has a direct impact on the adoption of CSAPs. Is there any plan to bridge this gap? Or a suggestion for the policy makers to address this issue?Â
There are two steps to be covered on this front. First, to have gender-equitable knowledge dissemination and to ensure that women receive the required and necessary information about CSAPs. For this, the role of women in society needs to be strengthened and would primarily come from (i) support from the family & society and (ii) right to education. Second, knowledge alone is not enough to contribute to economic activities. Gender-inclusive strategies need to be framed and implemented to provide women the required access and control over resources. For this, multi-sectoral efforts are necessary, like having policies from the government, corporates supporting the cost of efforts, specialized agencies providing the expertise, NGO partners working with the community, and foremost, support from the society.
Very rightly said, and we hope that some strong measures are taken at the policy level. Today, women play a huge role in agriculture; thus, it becomes vital to enhance their capacities, especially in newer technologies. In this context, what approaches can you suggest to strengthening their skills and knowledge to achieve a gender-empowered agricultural domain?Â
There is no limit to enhancing the skills and capacities of an individual. And when we talk about women, especially in rural/agricultural contexts, we see that support from the family is critical for them. To ensure that, we need ways to educate men on how women can support them in providing better livelihoods. Creating plans and roadmaps for women would help achieve a gender-empowered agricultural domain, but we must also bring behavior change among men towards a more accepting role of women in farming and decision making.
One last question related to this special day. Why do you love your work? And how is science exciting for you?
I was assigned the position of Project Administrator; however, after working for many years with a team of experts, my interest in research slowly ignited. Thanks to the support I received, I decided to work closely on the subject and identify the areas where I may add value. Linking my knowledge and field studies, I started contributing to relevant publications like this one, which is the output of my years of experience at CIMMYT. I received a lot of support from my team, especially from Dr. M.L. Jat, who has been a great mentor throughout my journey of learning and growth.
M.L. Jat is a Principal Scientist at CIMMYT and co-author of the article. Building on this publication, CIMMYT’s gender research will be further strengthened under the One CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative on Transforming Agri-Food Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), which has a core learning site in Bihar.
New improved maize varieties may fall short in meeting the needs of women and the poorest of farmers â a concern that remains a focus of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the wider CGIAR.
Lower than expected adoption rates for some new maize varieties suggest that innovative strategies in breeding and seed delivery are likely needed. There is broad recognition of the need to get new germplasm from the CGIAR and its partners into the fields of more farmers in less time.
CIMMYT research on markets and social inclusion focuses on understanding two related dynamics: the unique preferences, needs and circumstances faced by women and the poorest farmers, and the implications these carry for how breeding programs and seed companies design and market new varieties.
Taking stock of knowledge and gaps in gender and maize breeding
Decades of research on maize preferences have sought to understand if and how menâs and womenâs preferences differ. However, existing data provides unclear guidance to maize breeders on gender-relevant traits to prioritize in product profile design. The evidence suggests a lack of meaningful differences in what men and women are looking for in maizeÂÂâyield, drought tolerance and early maturityâare high priorities almost across the board.
One reason for the similarity in preferences among women and men may relate to how we evaluate them, the authors argue. Preference studies that focus on evaluation of varietiesâ agronomic and productivity-related traits may overlook critical components of farmersâ variety assessment and seed choice, including their household and farming context. Ultimately, they say, we need to explore new approaches to evaluating farmer demand for seed, considering new questions instead of continuing to look for gender-based differences in preferences.
A first step in that direction is to figure out how demand for maize seed differs among farmers according to their needs, priorities and resource limitations. Gender is definitely a part of that equation, but thereâs much more to think about, like how maize fits into household food security and livelihoods, decision-making dynamics around maize production, and seed accessibility. New tools will be needed for understanding those and how decision-making around seed happens in real-world contexts.
Understanding how farmers make decisions on seed choice
The authors offer several practical suggestions for maize breeders and other researchers in this space:
First, explore tools that allow farmers to evaluate varieties in their household context. Large-scale farmer-managed on-farm trials have gained attention in the CGIAR as tools for more accurate assessment of farmer preferences. These approaches have several added advantages. They enable evaluation of variety performance under realistic management conditionsâincluding under management practices used disproportionately by women, such as intercropping, which is typically excluded from larger researcher-managed trials. These approaches also enable farmer evaluation of maize varieties not only in terms of in-field performance and yield at harvest stage, but in terms of grain quality after harvest. This is particularly important for social inclusion, given womenâs disproportionate attention to traits related to processing and consumption.
Second, move beyond gender-based preferences in evaluating seed demand. Gendered preferences matter, but they may not be the sole factor that determines a farmerâs choice of seed. We need to understand market segments for seed in relation to farmersâ aspirations, risk perceptions and tolerance, livelihood priorities, and household context. This also means exploring the intrahousehold gender dynamics of maize farming and seed choice to understand womenâs roles in decision-making in maize production, processing, and consumption.
Finally, consider questions related to maize seed systems more broadly. Are maize seed systems capable of delivering gender-responsive and gender-intentional varieties to women and men? What are the barriers to wider uptake of new varieties aside from variety suitability? Innovative marketing and delivery mechanisms may be critical to realizing gains from more gender-intentional breeding.
With the transition to the One CGIAR, sharing tools and lessons learned across crops will be increasingly important. Researchers in the CGIAR community have developed new tools for gender-responsive and gender-intentional breeding. This includes through the Gender and Breeding Initiative, which has published the G+ tools to support gendered market segmentation and gender-intentional product profile development.
While learning from one anotherâs experiences will prove essential during the transition, recognizing that the gender dynamics of maize production may be very different from sweet potato production will also be key. Here, the new Market Intelligence & Product Profiles initiative and SeEdQUAL initiative on seed systems will both create new spaces for exploring these issues across crops.
India has conferred posthumously upon Sanjaya Rajaram, 2014 World Food Prize laureate and former wheat breeder and Director of the Wheat Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), its prestigious 2022 Padma Bhushan Award in “Science and Engineering” in recognition of “distinguished service of high order.”
Among the most successful crop breeders in history, Rajaram, who passed away in 2021, personally oversaw the development of nearly 500 high-yielding and disease-resistant wheat varieties that were grown on at least 58 million hectares in over 50 countries, increasing global wheat production by more than 200 million tons and especially benefiting hundreds of millions of the resource-poor whose diets and livelihoods depend on this critical crop. In India and the neighboring South Asian nations of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, inhabitants consume more than 120 million tons of wheat and wheat-based foods each year.
âDr. Rajaram was a true titan of wheat breeding and an inspiration for young researchers, training and mentoring more than 700 scientists from developing countries worldwide,â said Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT director general. âHe was also a complete gentleman, comporting himself with modesty and grace despite his many honors and accomplishments; his first priority was helping and crediting others. Rajaram is an example today for all of us to keep working with the final stakeholder â the farmer â in mind.â
The rise from rural beginnings
Born on a small farm in District Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1943, Rajaram studied genetics and plant breeding at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, he joined CIMMYT in 1969, working as a wheat breeder alongside Nobel Prize Laureate and CIMMYT scientist Norman Borlaug in Mexico. Recognizing his talent and initiative, Borlaug appointed Rajaram as head of CIMMYTâs wheat breeding program at just 29 years of age.
The Padma Bhushan Award was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind of India on the countryâs Republic Day, January 26. In 2015, Rajaram received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award, the highest honor conferred on Indians overseas. In 2001 he accepted the Padma Shri award from the government of India and, in 1998, the Friendship Award from the government of China.
Sanjaya Rajaram (Photo: Xochil Fonseca/CIMMYT)
Though a plant breeder and scientist by profession, Rajaram used the platform of his 2014 World Food Prize to promote an expansive, integrated vision for agricultural development. âIf we want to make a change, research wonât do it alone; we need to work directly with farmers and to train young agronomists, ensuring they have a broad vision to address the problems in farmersâ fields,â Rajaram said at a news conference in Mexico City in 2014.
Rajaram also served as Director of the Integrated Gene Management Program at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) before formally retiring in 2008. In his retirement, he continued as a special scientific advisor to CIMMYT and ICARDA.
Longstanding partners pushing forward for farmers
“Indiaâs agricultural research community is proud of the distinguished achievements of Dr. Rajaram,” said Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), of India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. “ICAR greatly appreciates its valuable collaborations with CIMMYT to help farmers grow better crops and conserve resources under increasingly challenging conditions.”
The partnership of India with CIMMYT harks back to the 1960s-70s, when Indian farmers tripled national wheat yields in a few years by growing Borlaugâs high-yield wheat varieties and adopting improved farming practices.
In 2011, India and CIMMYT jointly launched the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) to improve cropping systems and food security, helping farmers to confront climate change and natural resource scarcities, among other challenges.
S. Ayyappan, former ICAR Director General who signed the joint declaration of intent for BISAâs establishment in India, has been honored with the 2022 Padma Shri Award.
CIMMYT is a non-profit international agricultural research and training organization focusing on two of the worldâs most important cereal grains, maize and wheat, and related cropping systems and livelihoods. Wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT and ICARDA research cover more than 100 million hectares â nearly two-thirds of the area sown to improved wheat worldwide â and bring benefits in added grain worth as much as $3.8 billion each year.
In nature, plants are simultaneously exposed to a complex system of biotic and abiotic stresses that limit crop yield. The cereal cyst nematode Heterodera filipjevi and dryland crown rot, caused by Fusarium, are important diseases facing cereal production around the world that cause significant yield loss. Yield loss accelerates when those diseases coexist with other abiotic stresses, such as drought.
Hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an essential staple food for a large part of the worldâs population, covering around 20% of daily caloric intake in the human diet, with global production at about 670.8 million tons per year, produced over 215.4 million hectares of land worldwide. Therefore, the program studying soil-borne pathogens at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)âs Turkey office initiated a study to investigate the effect of soil borne diseases (H. filipjevi and Fusarium culmorum) individually and in combination with drought on some morphological and physiological traits in wheat germplasm with different genetic tolerances to the three studied factors.
In this study, yield components included thousand kernel weight, spike weight, seed per spike and total grain yield. Morphological parameters, including plant height, final plant number (seedling emergence), relative water content, leaf chlorophyll content, H. filipjevi cyst number and presence of crown rot, were studied under greenhouse conditions in Turkey.
The main findings of the study showed that the interaction among water stress, F. culmorum and H. filipjevi increased the damage on the wheat parameters studied when compared with each stress applied alone. One of the most significant damages was seen in high seedling mortality under the three combined stresses (56% seedling death rate), which indicates the damage on wheat yield might occur at the seedling stage rather than later stages. This reduces plant density per area, which was ultimately responsible for low grain yield produced. The known dryland disease, crown rot, caused by F. culmorum, was significantly pronounced under water-stressed conditions.
In all studied parameters, the lowest damage was found among the resistant cultivars to biotic or abiotic stresses. This underscores the importance of wheat breeding programs to develop resistant germplasm, and reminds farmers to replace their old, susceptible varieties with new, resistant ones.
Based on our intensive experience in the CWANA region, most wheat growers basically do not recognize soil borne pathogens as a problem. In fact, most of them do not know that what nematode or soil fungal species are in their fields affecting yield. The term âhidden enemyâ perfectly applies to the problems in the region and beyond. Integrated pest management (IPM) is, however, not practiced in the entire region and soil borne pathogen-induced yield losses are simply accepted.
We can conclude from this study that yield reduction in wheat due to soil borne pathogens could be lessened by improving and understanding the concept of IPM in the region where the practice of winter mono-culturing of wheat is the norm. Management of cereal soil-borne pathogens, especially cereal cyst nematode and crown rot, could involve an integrated approach that includes crop rotation, genetic resistance, crop nutrition and appropriate water supply.
Cover photo: Four different test crops show different stresses: T1V8 = Drought, T2V8 = Drought and Nematodes, T3V8 = Drought and fungus, T4V8 = Drought and nematode and fungus together. (Credit: CIMMYT)
At the same time, climate change has likely slowed breeding progress for high-yielding, broadly adapted wheat, according to the new study, published recently in Nature Plants.
âBreeders are usually optimistic, overlooking many climate change factors when selecting,â said Matthew Reynolds, wheat physiologist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author of the publication. âOur findings undermine this optimism and show that the amplified interaction of wheat lines with the environment due to climate change has made it harder for breeders to identify outstanding, broadly adapted lines.â
What do 10 million data points tell scientists?
Each year for nearly half a century, wheat breeders taking part in the CIMMYT-led International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN) have tested approximately 1,000 new, experimental wheat lines and varieties at some 700 field sites in over 90 countries.
Promising lines are taken up by wheat breeding programs worldwide, while data from the trials is used to guide global breeding and other critical wheat research, explained Wei Xiong, CIMMYT crop modeler/physiologist based in China and lead author of the new paper.
âTo date, this global testing network has collected over 10 million data points, while delivering wheat germplasm estimated to be worth several billion dollars annually in extra productivity to hundreds of millions of farmers in less developed countries,â Xiong said.
Xiong and his colleagues analyzed âcrossover interactionsâ â changes in the relative rankings of pairs of wheat lines â in 38 years of data from four kinds of wheat breeding trials, looking for the extent to which climate change or breeding progress have flipped those rankings. Two of the trials whose data they examined focused on yield in bread wheat and durum wheat, while the other two assessed wheat linesâ performance under high temperatures and in semi-arid environments, respectively.
In addition to raising yields, wheat breeders are endowing the crop with added resilience for rising temperatures.
âWe found that warmer and more erratic climates since the 1980s have increased ranking changes in global wheat breeding by as much as 15 percent,â Xiong said. âThis has made it harder for breeders to identify superior, broadly adapted lines and even led to scientists discarding potentially useful lines.â
Conversely, wheat cultivars emerging from breeding for tolerance to environmental stresses, particularly heat, are showing substantially more stable yields across a range of environments and fostering wheatâs adaptation to current, warmer climates, while opening opportunities for larger and faster genetic gains in the future, according to the study.
âAmong other things, our findings argue for more targeted wheat breeding and testing to address rapidly shifting and unpredictable farming conditions,â Reynolds added.
Several recent studies document the long-term health and economic benefits from the âGreen Revolutionâ â the widespread adoption of high-yielding staple crop varieties during the last half of the 20th century â and argue for continued investment in the development and use of such varieties.
âOur estimates provide compelling evidence that the health benefits of broad-based increases in agricultural productivity should not be overlooked,â the authors state. âFrom a policy perspective, government subsidies for inputs leading to a green revolution as well as investments in extension and R&D programs seem to be important.â
Norman Borlaug (fourth from right) shows a plot of Sonora-64 wheat â one of the semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant varieties that was key to the Green Revolution â to a group of young international trainees at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora state, Mexico. (Photo: CIMMYT)
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the global food system and the need to transform it, increasing its environmental and economic resilience to withstand future threats, and underpinning healthier diets. The studies suggest that improved versions of cereal crops such as rice, wheat, and maize can play a key role.
âOur work speaks to the importance of supporting innovation and technology adoption in agriculture as a means of fostering economic development, improved health, and poverty reduction, said author Jan von der Goltz. âIt also suggests that it is reasonable to view with some alarm the steady decline in funding for cereal crop improvement over the last few decades in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent with least diffusion of modern varieties.â
Likewise, a study co-authored by Prashant Bharadwaj of the University of California, San Diego, concluded that farmer adoption of high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs) in India reduced infant mortality dramatically across the country. Between 1960 and 2000, infant deaths dropped from 163.8 to 66.6 per 1,000 live births, and this occurred during the decades of Indiaâs wheat productivity leap from 0.86 to 2.79 tons per hectare, as a result of HYV adoption and improved farming practices.
âWhat both of these papers do is to carefully establish a causal estimate of how HYVs affect infant mortality, by only comparing children born in the same location at different points in time, when HYV use was different, and by checking that mortality before arrival of HYVs was trending similarly in places that would receive different amount of HYVs,â Bharadwaj said.
âIn the absence of a randomized control trial, these econometric techniques produce the best causal estimate of a phenomenon as important as the spread of HYVs during and after the Green Revolution,â he added. These thoughts were echoed by University of California San Diego professor Gordon McCord, a co-author of the global study.
Recent studies indicate that the Green Revolution also had long-term economic impacts, which also affected health outcomes.
In a 2021 update to the 2018 paper âTwo Blades of Grass: The Impact of the Green Revolution,â Douglas Gollin, Professor of Development Economics at Oxford University and co-authors found that, in 90 countries where high-yielding varieties were adopted between 1965 and 2010, food crop yields increased by 44% and that, had this adoption not occurred, GDP per capita in the developing world could be half of what it is today.
Even a 10-year delay of the Green Revolution would, in 2010, have cost 17% of GDP per capita in the developing world, with a cumulative GDP loss of $83 trillion, equivalent to one year of current global GDP.
These GDP and health impacts were boosted by a related reduction in population growth. By observing causal inference at country, regional and developing world levels, and using a novel long-term impact assessment method, the study authors detected a trend: as living standards improved for rural families, they generally wanted to invest more in their children and have fewer.
âOur estimates suggest that the world would have contained more than 200 million additional people in 2010, if the onset of the Green Revolution had been delayed for ten years,â Gollin and his co-authors stated. This lower population growth seems to have increased the relative size of the working age population, which furthered GDP growth.
Ethiopian farmers give feedback to CGIAR researchers about durum wheat varieties. (Photo: C.Fadda/Bioversity International) (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
A long-term investment in system transformation
It takes time from the point of an intervention to when broad health impacts can be observed in the population, the authors note. For example, although the development of modern high-yielding varieties began in the 1950s and 60s, the rate of adoption did not speed up until the 1980s, 1990s, and even into the 2000s, with evidence from sub-Saharan Africa showing that variety adoption has increased by as much in the 2000s as in the four preceding decades.
In addition, any nutrition and food security strategy which aims to reach the second Sustainable Development Goal of feeding 9 billion by 2050 must incorporate wider system transformation solutions, such as zero-emissions agriculture, affordable, diverse diets and increased land conservation.
As Gollin explained, âThe Green Revolution taught us that we need to approach productivity increases, especially in staple crop yields, differently. The challenge now is more complex: we need to get the same productivity increases, with fewer inputs and resources, more environmental awareness, and in larger quantities for more people.â
In part, this means increasing productivity on existing agricultural land with positive environmental and social impacts, according to Bram Govaerts, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
âBreeding and sharing more productive, hardy crop varieties is as important as ever,â Govaerts said, âbut also engaging farmers â in our case, smallholders â in shared research and innovation efforts to bridge yield gaps, build climate-resilient farming systems, and open access to better nutrition and market opportunities.â
Cover photo: Children eat lunch at a mobile crĂšche outside Delhi, India. (Photo: Atul Loke/ODI) (CC BY-NC 2.0)
For over a decade, the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize (MAIZE) and Wheat (WHEAT) have been at the forefront of research-for-development benefiting maize and wheat farmers in the Global South, especially those most vulnerable to the shocks of a changing climate.
From 2012 to 2021, MAIZE has focused on doubling maize productivity and increasing incomes and livelihood opportunities from sustainable maize-based farming systems. Through MAIZE, scientists released over 650 elite, high-yielding maize varieties stacked with climate adaptive, nutrition enhancing, and pest and disease resistant traits.
The WHEAT program has worked to improve sustainable production and incomes for wheat farmers, especially smallholders, through collaboration, cutting-edge science and field-level research. Jointly with partners, WHEAT scientists released 880 high-yielding, disease- and pest-resistant, climate-resilient and nutritious varieties in 59 countries over the life of the program.
To document and share this legacy, the MAIZE and WHEAT websites have been redesigned to highlight the accomplishments of the programs and to capture their impact across the five main CGIAR Impact Areas: nutrition, poverty, gender, climate and the environment.
We invite you to visit these visually rich, sites to view the global impact of MAIZE and WHEAT, and how this essential work will continue in the future.
CIMMYTâs relationship with Mexico is one of a kind: in addition to being the birthplace of the wheat innovations that led to the Green Revolution and the founding of CGIAR, Mexico is also where maize originated thousands of years ago, becoming an emblem of the countryâs economy and identity.
Honoring this longstanding connection and celebrating Mexicoâs key contribution to global wheat and maize production, Mexico City will host a photo exhibition from December 1, 2021, to January 15, 2022, in the Open Galleries Lateral, located on Paseo de la Reforma, one of cityâs most iconic promenades.
Titled âMaize and Wheat Research in Focus: Celebrating a Decade of Research for Sustainable Agricultural Development Under the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat,â the exhibition illustrates the impact of MAIZE and WHEAT over the last ten years. The selection of photographs documents the challenges faced by maize and wheat smallholders in different regions, and showcases innovative interventions made by national and regional stakeholders worldwide.
From pathbreaking breeding research on climate-smart varieties to helping farming families raise their incomes, the photos â taken by CGIAR photographers before the COVID-19 pandemic â capture both the breadth of the challenges facing our global agri-food systems and the spirit of innovation and cooperation to meet them head on.
Donât miss the chance to visit the exhibition if you are in Mexico City!
From October 31 to November 12, all eyes and cameras turned to Glasgow, where the 26th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention against Climate Change (COP26) took place in a hybrid format. With temperatures rising around the world and extreme weather events becoming increasingly frequent, country leaders and climate experts came together in Scotland to discuss the next steps in the fight against climate change.
Together with other CGIAR Centers, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) took part in this crucial conversation, drawing attention to the impact of climate change on smallholder agriculture and echoing CGIARâs call for increased funding for agricultural research and innovation.
Hereâs a summary of the events in which CIMMYT researchers and scientists participated.
âBecause farmers feed us all: using climate for a resilient food systemâ
November 6, 2021
Sponsored by the UK Met Office, this event focused on the effects of climate change on the resilience of food systems and how this impact is factored into decision-making. Speakers discussed the real-life application of climate risk information, highlighting the importance of global collaboration and multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing context-specific climate services.
Focusing on CIMMYTâs work in Ethiopia, research associate Yoseph Alemayehu and senior scientist Dave Hodson provided some insights on the wheat rust early warning system. This revolutionary mechanism developed by CIMMYT and partners helps farmers in developing countries predict this disease up to a week in advance.
âCOP26 highlighted the vulnerability of different agriculture sectors to climate change, including increased threats from pests and pathogens. From the work in Ethiopia on wheat rust early warning systems, strong partnerships and the application of advanced climate science can play an important role in mitigating some of the effects.â – Dave Hodson
âDeveloping Climate Resilient Food Systems Pathways: Approaches From Sub-Saharan Africaâ
November 8, 2021
Putting an emphasis on participatory governance and community-centered technologies, this event showcased innovative approaches to strengthen the resilience of African food systems, calling for increased investment in the scale-up of climate-smart agriculture practices to meet growing demand.
Joining from Zimbabwe, Christian Thierfelder, Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist gave an overview of CIMMYTâs work in southern Africa, explaining how the introduction of conservation agriculture back in 2004 helped farmers overcome low crop yields and boost their incomes.
âIf one thing was made clear at COP26, it is the urgent need for a change in the way we do agriculture. The status quo is not an option and we, as CIMMYT and part of the One CGIAR, will continue to generate the scientific evidence and climate-smart solutions to accelerate this change and address the climate challenges ahead of us, with farmers at the core of our work.â – Christian Thierfelder
â4 per 1000â Initiative Day
November 10, 2021
The “4 per 1000” Initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership of more than 650 members on food security and climate change, held a day-long hybrid event to explore how healthy soils can help agriculture and forestry adapt to and mitigate climate change.
At the Partner Forum, Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, stressed the urgent need to fund soil science to achieve its carbon sequestration potential, reiterating CIMMYTâs commitment to supporting this science with results-oriented actions that scale out sustainable practices and technologies.
âFor me, the main take-away of the summit is the growing consensus and understanding that we need to transform agriculture and food systems to achieve global emissions targets on time.â – Bram Govaerts
Cover photo: The action zone and the globe at the Hydro, one of the venues in Glasgow where COP26 took place. (Photo: Karwai Tang/UK Government)
The findings, published in Nature Food, extend many potential benefits to national breeding programs, including improved wheat varieties better equipped to thrive in changing environmental conditions. This research was led by Sukhwinder Singh of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) as part of the Seeds of Discovery project.
Since the advent of modern crop improvement practices, there has been a bottleneck of genetic diversity, because many national wheat breeding programs use the same varieties in their crossing program as their âeliteâ source. This practice decreases genetic diversity, putting more areas of wheat at risk to pathogens and environmental stressors, now being exacerbated by a changing climate. As the global population grows, shocks to the worldâs wheat supply result in more widespread dire consequences.
The research team hypothesized that many wheat accessions in genebanks â groups of related plant material from a single species collected at one time from a specific location â feature useful traits for national breeding programs to employ in their efforts to diversify their breeding programs.
âGenebanks hold many diverse accessions of wheat landraces and wild species with beneficial traits, but until recently the entire scope of diversity has never been explored and thousands of accessions have been sitting on the shelves. Our research targets beneficial traits in these varieties through genome mapping and then we can deliver them to breeding programs around the world,â Singh said.
Currently adopted approaches to introduce external beneficial genes into breeding programsâ elite cultivars take a substantial amount of time and money. âBreeding wheat from a national perspective is a race against pathogens and other abiotic threats,â said Deepmala Sehgal, co-author and wheat geneticist in the Global Wheat program at CIMMYT. âAny decrease in the time to test and release a variety has a huge positive impact on breeding programs.â
Deepmala Sehgal shows LTP lines currently being used in CIMMYT trait pipelines at the experimental station in Toluca, Mexico, for introgression of novel exotic-specific alleles into newly developed lines. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Taking into genetic biodiversity
The findings build from research undertaken through the Seeds of Discovery project, which genetically characterized nearly 80,000 samples of wheat from the seed banks of CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
First, the team undertook a large meta-survey of genetic resources from wild wheat varieties held in genebanks to create a catalog of improved traits.
âOur genetic mapping,â Singh said, âidentifies beneficial traits so breeding programs donât have to go looking through the proverbial needle in the haystack. Because of the collaborative effort of the research team, we could examine a far greater number of genomes than a single breeding program could.â
Next, the team developed a strategic three-way crossing method among 366 genebank accessions and the best historical elite varieties to reduce the time between the original introduction and deployment of an improved variety.
Sukhwinder Singh (second from left) selects best performing pre-breeding lines in India. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Worldwide impact
National breeding programs can use the diverse array of germplasm for making new crosses or can evaluate the germplasm in yield trials in their own environments.
The diverse new germplasm is being tested in major wheat producing areas, including India, Kenya, Mexico and Pakistan. In Mexico, many of the lines showed increased resistance to abiotic stresses; many lines tested in Pakistan exhibited increased disease resistance; and in India, many tested lines are now part of the national cultivar release system. Overall, national breeding programs have adopted 95 lines for their targeted breeding programs and seven lines are currently undergoing varietal trials.
âThis is the first effort of its kind where large-scale pre-breeding efforts have not only enhanced the understanding of exotic genome footprints in bread wheat but also provided practical solutions to breeders,â Sehgal said. âThis work has also delivered pre-breeding lines to trait pipelines within national breeding programs.â
Currently, many of these lines are being used in trait pipelines at CIMMYT to introduce these novel genomic regions into advanced elite lines. Researchers are collaborating with physiologists in CIMMYTâs global wheat program to dissect any underlying physiological mechanisms associated with the research teamâs findings.
âOur investigation is a major leap forward in bringing genebank variation to the national breeding programs,â Singh explained. âMost significantly, this study sheds light on the importance of international collaborations to bring out successful products and new methods and knowledge to identify useful contributions of exotic in elite lines.â
Cover photo: A researcher holds a plant of Aegilops neglecta, a wild wheat relative. Approximately every 20 years, CIMMYT regenerates wheat wild relatives in greenhouses, to have enough healthy and viable seed for distribution when necessary. (Photo: RocĂo Quiroz/CIMMYT)
In India, nearly one-sixth of groundwater reserves has been overexploited and almost one-fifth of them is either in critical or semi-critical condition. For a country that relies heavily on groundwater for drinking and irrigation, these statistics are close to a death sentence.
Indiaâs water crisis, however, is not unique in the region. Population growth, coupled with increasing urbanization and industrialization, has made South Asia, one of the most heavily irrigated areas on earth, highly vulnerable to water stress. Moreover, as the effects of climate change are increasingly felt in those countries, agricultural production, even at the current level, may not be sustainable.
Against this background, ensuring that water resources are used efficiently and sustainably is key to meet the worldâs growing demand. Over the last decades, traditional systems of irrigation have given way to more efficient drip irrigation systems that deliver the right amount of water and nutrients to the plantâs root zone. But as farm labor shortages become more severe, investing in automated irrigation systems â which promise increased production rates and product quality â will be the only way to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems worldwide.
A new article co-authored by a team of researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology synthesizes the available information related to the automation of drip irrigation systems and explores recent advances in the science of wireless sensor networks (WSN), the internet of things (IoT) and other communication technologies that increase production capacity while reducing costs.
âBundling both elements â drip irrigation and automation â in water application can lead to large savings in irrigation and boost water efficiency, especially in high water-consuming, cereal-based systems like the Indo-Gangetic Plains,â explained M.L. Jat, a principal scientist at CIMMYT and one of the authors of the review.
Investing in data and youth
Smart irrigation technologies, including sensors and the IoT, allow farmers to take informed decisions to improve the quality and quantity of their crops, providing them with site-specific data on factors like soil moisture, nutrient status, weed pressure or soil acidity.
However, this information is still limited to certain soil types and crops. âTo upgrade drip irrigation systems elsewhere, especially in âwater-stressedâ regions, we need additional agricultural background data in those areas,â Jat pointed out. âThatâs the only way we can effectively customize innovations to each scenario, as one size does not fit all.â
Making this data available to and readable by farmers is also essential. Here, young people can become very good allies, as they tend to be more technologically savvy and used to working with large volumes of information. âNot only are they more skilled to integrate agricultural data into decision-making, but they can also help older farmers adopt and trust intelligent irrigation systems,â Jat concluded.
Long-term research platform in Karnal, India, by H.S. Jat, Principal Scientist at ICAR-CSSRI. (Photo: ICAR-CSSRI and CIMMYT)
Incentives against subsidies
With increasing water shortages worldwide, making the most out of every drop becomes an urgent priority. But in countries where irrigation systems are highly subsidized, farmers may struggle to see this urgency. India, for instance, subsidizes the cost of energy to pump water for farming, thus encouraging smallholders to extract more than they need.
How do we incentivize farmers in these countries to embrace water-efficient technologies?
According to Jat, using the âscientific cardâ can work with smallholders who, after having farmed for decades, may not change their minds automatically. âThese people may be reluctant to accept incentives for water-efficient mechanisms at first, but they will surely be interested in more scientific approaches,â Jat explained, stressing that âthe emphasis must be on the science, not on the technology.â
Designing profitable business models can also incentivize producers to embrace more efficient mechanisms. Farmers who have enjoyed irrigation subsidies for decades may not see any profit in trying out new technologies â but what if they are given the chance to become champions or ambassadors of these agricultural innovations? âThat brings in a whole new perspective,â Jat said.
Apart from incentivizing farmers, good business models can also draw the attention of large companies, which would bring investment to boost research and innovation in drip irrigation. âMore and more businesses are getting interested in smart agriculture and low emission farming, and their inputs can help conceptualize the future of this field,â he observed.
Introducing mechanization services in any smallholder farming community has proven to yield multiple benefits largely aimed at increasing farming efficiency but importantly creating a solid economic base to boost farmer incomes. Anchored on the two-wheel tractor along with implements for land preparation, planting, harvesting, shelling, transporting, appropriate-scale mechanization has in the last seven years gained currency across African farming households.
Interventions such as the mechanization pilot implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) provide a channel through which smallholder farmers with access to some financial resources can invest to become a viable enterprise. Â The aim of this intervention is not to make every farmer own its own machinery, which would be costly and inefficient, but to train farmers to become service providers to other community members. This model has been effectively tried before in other places under the Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project.
A recent visit to two service providers in southern Zimbabwe, demonstrates the high returns on investment achieved through enrolling in mechanization service provision.
Two service providers, one vision: Profit
Julius Shava (53) and Prince Chimema (22), shared their experience in offering diverse transporting and land preparation services using the two-wheel tractor, trailer, direct seeder, and sheller procured through the initiative. Â Narrating how he learnt about the mechanization pilot and his subsequent enrolment, Shava explains how potential service providers had to make a financial commitment to the business before accessing the equipment.
âThrough this mechanization business model, we would receive a two-wheel tractor, trailer, sheller, and seeder worth USD5,000, at a subsidized price of $USD2,500. The main condition for accessing this package was to pay a commitment fee of USD500 – there was no way I could let that opportunity slip away,â explains Shava.
âMy wife and I decided to sell two cows to raise the funds and made the payment. Some community members were initially skeptical of the approach when it seemed that the consignment was delayed yet when the two-wheel tractor arrived, they were among the first to inquire about the services I was offering,â Shava adds.
âI made sure they all understood what I could provide for them using the 2WT and trailer such as land preparation and transportation – of manure, gravel stones and pit sand among other things.â
The multipurpose trailer with a loading capacity of up to one and a half tonnes can be attached to the two-wheel tractor for the provision of transport services. (S.Chikulo/CIMMYT)
Shava and Chimema are among fifteen service providers leading in the mechanization pilot initiative launched in July 2020 in Masvingo district. The initiative is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and managed by the World Food Program (WFP). The private sector machinery company Kurima Machinery facilitates provision of the two-wheel tractor, planter, trailer and sheller while the Zimbabwe Agriculture Trust (ZADT) manages the lease-to-own business model anchoring the mechanization pilot to the financial sector.
Counting the cost and returns
âHow much turnover does a service provider realise on average?â is a question frequently asked by other farmers keen to take up the enterprise.
Shava explains the factors he considers, âWhen someone is hiring my services, I charge according to the distance and load to be transported.â For example, for a 200m delivery radius, I can charge USD5. However, for land preparation and ploughing, I charge USD100 per hectare.â He quickly adds that he also factors in his labor, fuel requirements and time into the final price of his service â a principle he learnt during a specialized technical and business training provided by Gwebi College of Agriculture for the mechanization pilot.
In addition, using the two-wheel tractor is efficient as a hectare is completed in about one hour where an animal drawn plough takes up to six hours or more, depending on the soil type. The reduced drudgery allows farmers to rest their livestock and adopt more efficient and sustainable land preparation technologies. Shava notes that these advantages are immediately apparent to farmers who seek the service.
Customers often pay in cash which is convenient for him as he saves the money or uses some of it to meet expenses related to the service provision. âSo far I have reached up to 7 customers after two months from the Nemamwa area in Ward 12 of Masvingo and they were seeking different services. âFor land preparation they were paying USD100 per hectare. In Ward 8, I managed to get about three customers.
âWhen it comes to pricing, I leave room for negotiation because it is inevitable that customers will always ask for a discount, but I ensure that I do not incur losses.â Since venturing into mechanization service provision, Shava has realized a gross income of USD$600 before deducting expenses such as fuel and regular maintenance. However, the two-wheel tractor is fuel efficient – utilizing at least seven liters of diesel per hectare. Diesel fuel is purchased in Masvingo town or from informal markets at the business center at a cost of USD1 per liter.
Young service providers making their mark
Service providers such as Prince Chimema, who are young, energetic and business minded are also among those quickly realizing the high returns on the small mechanization investment. Coming from a family of seven, Chimema – recently married and with a two-year old child – has found a secure income stream in service provision of different mechanization services.
âI am grateful for the financial support from my parents that enabled me to enroll into the mechanization pilot program,â says Chimeme. Like Shava, Chimemaâs parents sold two cows to raise the USD500 commitment fee. Soon, Chimema was approaching his relatives and neighbors in the community demonstrating the transporting, planting and land preparation services that he could provide. âSome of my customers would have seen me delivering manure or quarry stones to another household before requesting for my services; that is how my customer base has increased steadily.â
When pricing, Chimema considers the distance, fuel and time it will take to deliver the load. âIn this area, requests are for transporting manure, quarry stones, pit sand and river sand. The price ranges from USD4 â USD8 per load. While most villagers pay in cash, a few may request to pay in kind using chickens,â
Chimemaâs marketing strategy has been to push volumes by advertising his transporting services to other farmers outside of Ward 18. To date, he has focused on clients requiring transportation services. In Wards 18 and 19, Chimema has served a total of 60 customers, generating USD400 within the first two months of commencing the business.
Challenges and early lessons
Venturing into small mechanized service provision has not been without its challenges as attested by Chimema and Shava, âA lesson I learnt from the onset is never to overload the trailer beyond the recommended capacity,â explains Chimema. âDuring the mechanization training, we were advised that the trailerâs maximum carrying capacity is between 750-1000kg but at times I could overlook this leading to faults developing on my tractor,â says Prince.
Fuel access also presents challenges at times. âWe have to get fuel from Masvingo because the quality of fuel here in the ward may be compromised while the price is slightly inflated because of the middlemen selling the fuel.
The delay in delivery of tractor-drawn direct seeders reduced the potential number of customers for both Chimema and Shava for planting services, as most farmers had proceeded to plant given the early onset of the rainy season. However, both service providers are hopeful that in the next season, with all the equipment in place, they can provide the full range of services to fellow smallholders.
Continuous improvement of the technology by including a toolbar is currently underway, which eases the level of effort required to operate the two-wheel tractor, making it more flexible for the service providers.
Twenty-two-year-old Prince Chimema of Ward 18 Masvingo district demonstrating the two-row direct seeder attached to the two-wheel tractor. (S.Chikulo/CIMMYT)
A vision for expansion and rural transformation
Chimema and Shava are optimistic about the future growth and performance of their business. Both aspire to expand their service provision over the coming five years by purchasing a second two-wheel tractor and creating employment for other villagers. âThe income for the second two-wheel tractor should be generated from the current businessâ explains Shava.
In addition to the land preparation and transporting services, the maize sheller is set to increase their income. With a shelling capacity of 3-4 tons per day, the maize sheller significantly reduces the amount of time and effort required to shell a ton of maize manually (12.5 days).
âThe priority now is to make sure that the loan repayment happens smoothly because I am generating enough income to pay back up for my package,â explains Shava. Once the payment is done, Shava would like to set up a borehole and drip irrigation system for their family plot and complete construction of his house in Masvingo town.
Chimema, on the other hand, is keen to start a poultry project. He is currently assisting his parents to pay school fees for his younger sibling but believes the poultry project will increase his income stream. âAs I broadcast and market my services by word of mouth and through mobile platform messages; there is room for me to expand beyond Ward 18 and 19,â says Chimema. âI hope to employ at least two more people in the coming two or three years, to help me deliver the services to other farmers,â he adds.
âWith the business experience gained from the current season, small mechanization service providers such as Chimema and Shava can increase the portfolio of services to customersâ, says Christian Thierfelder, Principal Scientist at CIMMYT, leading the effort. âFor example, at planting stage, service providers could provide a complete package for farmers including seed and fertilizer as well as a supply of appropriate herbicides for weed control as part of the land preparation and direct seeding service. Such an offering increases the value of the service and affords farmers the opportunity to witness the full benefits of small mechanized agricultureâ, Thierfelder says.
âWe have to provide farmers with options to abandon the hoe. The drudgery of farming has made this profession so unattractive that a rural exodus is looming. Providing business, employment and entrepreneurship will bring back hope and will lead to a true rural and agriculture transformation in Zimbabwe.â The high return on investment of the mechanized package makes it a viable year-round business option for farmers and entrepreneurs in rural Masvingo. The pilot is providing a proof of concept that this model works, even under low-potential environments.
Cover photo: Julius Shava and his wife standing at their lease-to-own two-wheel tractor which is part of the starter package for small-mechanization service providers in Masvingo District. (S.Chikulo/CIMMYT)
The ever-changing environmental conditions and the urgency to improve food production and productivity for growing populations have ushered in the necessity for smallholder farmers to have widespread access to improved seed in the last mile. However, adequate access to the preferred, good-quality seeds that are climate-resilient and nutrition-dense is essential to farmersâ food and livelihood security. While seed security is an important first step to improved food production in developing countries and well examined in disaster situations, it remains understudied concerning long-term seed sector development, says a new study.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes seed security as âready access by rural households, particularly farmers and farming communities, to adequate quantities of quality seeds adapted to their agro-ecological conditions and socioeconomic needs, at planting time, under normal and abnormal weather conditions.â In 2016, FAO specified two elements: varietal suitability (traits that respond to farmersâ preferences) and resilience (stability of seed system in the context of shocks) in addition to seed quantity, quality, and access identified in the earlier conceptualization of seed security.
Widespread seed insecurity
The study analyzed farmersâ seed use and preferences (demand-side) and the role of actors and institutions (supply-side) to understand farmersâ seed security. The latter was examined within the context of the recently adopted Pluralistic Seed System Development Strategy (PSSDS) of Ethiopia to understand how they affect the availability, quantity, quality, accessibility, and suitability of seeds from different sources. They focused on seed systems in two districts in Central Ethiopia â subsistence teff-growing and commercial wheat-growing districts. Since it started its operation in Ethiopia, CGIARâs International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been one of the major actors in the commercial wheat district covered in this study. CIMMYT has contributed to the capacity building of Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center, a center of excellence for wheat research and development in East Africa that has released over 70 improved bread wheat and durum wheat varieties.
Despite great strides made in improving the seed sector in Ethiopia, the study found that the farmers in the two districts predominantly rely on the informal seed systems, concluding widespread seed insecurity in both regions. The study reported discrepancies between seeds farmers say they prefer and those they actually use. This discrepancy is due to the limited availability of improved varieties and specially certified seeds of these varieties, challenges with seed quality from some sources, and inequitable access to preferred seed and information according to sex, age, and wealth.
Explaining the finding concerning the widespread seed insecurity observed in the study districts, Teshome Hunduma, the lead author of the study, noted: âWe were able to reveal some of the social, political, and institutional constraints and opportunities that underlie chronic seed insecurity among smallholder farmers in the two districts in Ethiopia. The country has a good seed sector development policy, for instance, the PSSDS, but these constraints limited its implementation.â
Women empowerment and access to certified seeds
In the study districts where CIMMYT operates, wealthy farmers aligned with the Ethiopian government received a privileged position as model farmers enjoyed increased seed access. Likewise, female-headed households targeted by the extension services had improved access to certified seeds. The presence of development actors, including CIMMYT alongside its partners such as Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center, actively contributed to the âunusual empowerment of women in the predominantly wheat-growing districts,â according to Hunduma. Hunduma referred to the following excerpt from the study to confirm his upbeat impression during his field research.
The study reports: âthe women focus group participants highlighted unexpectedly positive empowerment of female heads of household and their related access to improved agricultural technologies [improved wheat]:
Unfortunately, all of us are on our own, i.e., we are widows and divorcees. ( . . . ) We do everything that most men do in farming. In the past, women, including widows and divorcees, were not considered equal to men. Now, we have more freedom and voice. We equally participate in meetings, trainings, and access inputs as men. We express our ideas in public gatherings⊠We learnt new techniques and gained skills in agriculture. We have better savings; some of us have saved between 70,000 to 100,000 ETB. We have full control over our incomes and resources. We hire labor and rent land to expand our production.
According to Hunduma, âdevelopment actors, including CGIAR and its partners, targeted female heads of households for varietal adaptation trial, seed multiplication, extension and credit services, which led to a significant push for a gender-sensitive approach to agricultural development.â
Over the past two decades, Ethiopia has also achieved high wheat production levels and productivity due to the germplasm that CGIAR introduced in the country in collaboration with its partners. This strategy has firmly put the country on the right path towards wheat self-sufficiency.
As national seed policies and programs in developing countries have primarily focused on the formal seed supply system, farmersâ use of seeds from the formal seed system remains limited. The pluralistic seed system approach could appear to provide a path to seed security in developing countries. Nevertheless, political, organizational, and economic interests within key institutions represent significant obstacles, which need to be addressed. The study concludes that efforts to support farmersâ access to seeds should recognize the complementarity of formal and informal seed systems. Thus the study advocates a pluralistic approach to seed sector development by promoting complementarity of activities between value-chain components of each seed system.Â
Cover photo: Part of Ethiopiaâs Southeastern wheat belt in the Heexosa district, where the pioneering Green Revolution project started in Ethiopia. (Credit: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder production is characterized by low agricultural productivity which is often cited as a major factor of  food insecurity in the region. Recent research from multiple countries in the region suggests that average maize yields of around 1.7 t/ha in 2010 must increase to 6.8 t/ha to meet estimated demand in 2050. To achieve this, per-hectare maize output must grow by about 3.5% per year. Although addressing this challenge seems daunting, estimates suggest that such high yields are technically feasible. However, a shared understanding of the investments and policies required remain elusive.
Under the Taking Maize Agronomy to Scale in Africa (TAMASA) project, scientists from Wageningen University and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) conducted research on this question, using uniquely detailed farm surveys which provide integrated information about smallholdersâ agronomic practices and farm management, soil health and other biophysical characteristics, as well as socioeconomic and other characteristics of farm households.
Decomposing yield gaps
Yield gaps for rainfed crops are defined as the difference between the water-limited yield potential and the actual yield observed in farmersâ fields. One framework to explain yield gaps decomposes the yield gap into efficiency, resource and technology components (Figure 1).
The study disaggregated maize yield gaps in Ethiopia based on field level and farming systems information (Figure 2), which helps to consider the variation in biophysical and socio-economic conditions observed in the country.
Major drivers of yield (and yield gap) outcomes in Ethiopia
The study showed that income from non-farm sources, value of productive assets, education and shorter plot distance from home reduced the efficiency yield gap. The resource yield gap was attributed to sub-optimal input use, specifically of pesticide and nitrogen. The technology yield gap comprised the largest share of the total yield gap, mostly due to limited use of fertilizer and improved varieties and not using the right type and placement of fertilizers and of improved seeds
The investigation further showed that crop residue and weeding frequency affected maize yield only when nitrogen was applied. In a related study, the authors also showed that maize yield reponse to fertilizer application was dependent on other inputs, specifically type of maize variety, manure application and high rainfall implying the need to integrate agricultural technologies in order to improve and sustain the maize productivity. The authors conclude that targeted but integrated policy design and implementation is required to narrow the overall maize yield gap and improve food security.
“Disaggregating and explaining maize yield gaps is essential to identify potential pathways that can narrow the yield gaps,” said Banchayehu Assefa from CIMMYT. “This can help guide policy and investments to be more effective at raising smallholder productivity.”
How to improve fertilizer profitability
Modern maize varieties and mineral fertilizers use have been increasing over time and are believed to be among the factors behind the maize yield improvements observed in Ethiopia. However, maize yield response to fertilizer depends on other inputs and management factors and higher fertilizer application rates may not always lead to higher profitability. Using the details of management decisions and biophysical and marketing context, the authors estimated a maize yield response function and evaluated fertilizer yield responses and economic profitability of fertilizer investments by smallholder maize producers. They found that maize yield response to fertilizer was variable with an average value of 7.3 kg maize/ kg N, and it varied from -9 to 18 kg maize /kg. The degree of response was positively affected by phosphorus input and type of maize variety, and negatively by manure input and high rainfall. The key pathways identified to increase the profitability of nitrogen fertilizer use by smallholder maize producers are: improving yield responses with better management (e.g. use of improved maize varieties, complementary use of phosphorus where appropriate); addressing risk aversion (e.g. via crop insurance) in order to strengthen economic incentives for fertilizer investments; enabling the delay of crop sales to take advantage of higher output prices (possibly through expanded access to storage facilities and/or post-harvest loans to alleviate liquidity needs); and improving farm gate price ratios through improved access to markets.
Implications and further research
Even though maize yields have improved recently, under existing management practices smallholdersâ maize yield still falls far below the water-limited potential yield. This urges revising the maize sector in terms of input provision, extension services and output markets. Fertilizer use was highly variable and maize response to fertilizer use depended on other management choices. The study suggests that integrated management practices that work for specific conditions need to be identified, instead of sticking to blanket policy and management recommendations.
This work further points at the importance of additional detailed empirical research on the role of agronomic management practices, to decrease yield gaps. Studying the constraining factors that hinder timely input provision to the farmers might also help to improve input use and hence productivity. In addition, maize prices are too low to advance maize commercialization. Investigating potentials and constraints along the maize value chain might help to improve market participation.
Cover photo: Harvesting maize in East Shoa, Oromia, Ethiopia. (Photo: Banchayehu Assefa/CIMMYT)
As the calendar turns to October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates World Food Day. This yearâs theme is âOur actions are our future.â
They cover the journey of food (for example, cereals, vegetables, fish, fruits and livestock) from farm to table â including when it is grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of. It also encompasses non-food products (for example forestry, animal rearing, use of feedstock, biomass to produce biofuels, and fibers) that constitute livelihoods, and all the people, as well as the activities, investments and choices that play a part in getting us these food and agricultural products.
The food we choose and the way we produce, prepare, cook and store it make us an integral and active part of the way in which an agri-food system works.
A sustainable agri-food system is one in which a variety of sufficient, nutritious and safe foods is available at an affordable price to everyone, and nobody is hungry or suffers from any form of malnutrition. The shelves are stocked at the local market or food store, but less food is wasted and the food supply chain is more resilient to shocks such as extreme weather, price spikes or pandemics, all while limiting, rather than worsening, environmental degradation or climate change. In fact, sustainable agri-food systems deliver food security and nutrition for all, without compromising the economic, social and environmental bases, for generations to come. They lead to better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.
Letâs fix the system
The contradictions could not be starker â millions of people are hungry or undernourished, while large numbers are chronically overweight due to a poor diet. Smallholder farmers produce more than one-third of the worldâs food, yet are some of the worst affected by poverty, as agriculture continues to be an unpredictable sector. Agri-food systems are major contributors to climate change, which in turn threatens food production in some of the worldâs poorest areas. Rampant food loss and waste, side by side with people relying on food banks or emergency food aid.
The evidence is there for all to see â there has never been a more urgent need to transform the way the world produces and consumes food.
This year, for World Food Day, we bring you four stories about CIMMYTâs work to support sustainable agri-food systems.
Better production
CGIAR centers present methodology for transforming resource-constrained, polluting and vulnerable farming into inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems that deliver healthy and affordable diets for all within planetary boundaries.
CIMMYT scientists expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets. Newly-developed high-zinc wheat is expected to make up at least 80% of varieties distributed worldwide over the next ten years, up from about 9% currently.
A woman makes roti, an unleavened flatbread made with wheat flour and eaten as a staple food, at her home in the Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. (Photo: S. Mojumder/Drik/CIMMYT)
Better environment
Understanding the relationship between climate change and plant health is key to conserving biodiversity and boosting food production today and for future generations.
Assessing value chain developmentâs potential and limitations for strengthening the livelihoods of the rural poor, a new book draws conclusions applicable across the development field.
A researcher from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) demonstrates the use of a farming app in the field. (Photo: C. De Bode/CGIAR)
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