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Conservation agriculture key to better income, environment protection: Study

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Resorting to conservation agriculture would not only increase crop yield, income and reduce the use of natural resources, but would also confer climate change benefits, according to a study by Indian agricultural scientists and others published in an international journal on Thursday.

The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, also showed that conservation agriculture was key to meeting many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, climate action and clean water. Conservation agriculture can offer positive contributions to several SDGs, said M. L. Jat, a Principal Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and first author of the study.

Read more here: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/conservation-agriculture-key-to-better-income-environment-protection-study/article31364196.ece#

Why Conserving Biodiversity Is Crucial to Prevent Future Pandemics

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

“Today, 7.8 billion humans exploit almost each and every ecosystem of the planet. Livestock have followed humans in most of these ecosystems and are now far more numerous than wild vertebrates,” Frederic Baudron, a systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, said in an interview. For example, there are 4.7 billion cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and 23.7 billion chickens on Earth. “We live on an increasingly ‘cultivated planet’, with new species assemblages and new opportunities for pathogens to move from one species to another.”

However, the biodiversity crisis is seldom considered a global issue and often not a pressing one, and conservationists say it isn’t written about as often as it should be. “Media coverage for the biodiversity crisis is eight-times lower than for the climate crisis”, according to Baudron. “We need to reduce the frequency of pandemics like COVID-19 by conserving and restoring biodiversity globally, most crucially in disease hotspots.”

Read more here: https://science.thewire.in/environment/why-conserving-biodiversity-is-crucial-to-prevent-future-pandemics/

In new hostile climate, drought-tolerant crops, systems needed on unprecedented scale

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Last year, droughts devastated staple food crops across the developing world, cutting production by about half in some countries. A stream of reports from Central America, Eastern and Southern Africa as well as the Asia-Pacific region painted a grim picture of suffering and upheaval.

Extreme weather, with its appalling consequences, demands an extraordinary response. Redoubled efforts must focus on building resilience into the developing worldÂŽs major food systems.

Read more here: https://www.scidev.net/global/agriculture/opinion/in-new-hostile-climate-drought-tolerant-crops-systems-needed-on-unprecedented-scale.html

Why heirloom tortillas are an endangered species

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Corn is one of the most widely produced crops in the world, and Mexico is home to at least 60 recorded unique landraces, the traditional, locally adapted strains. Preserving these ancient varieties is key for future sustainability, explains geneticist Martha Willcox, who works with the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to conserve the genes of dwindling crops. But left in the hands of aging campesinos, ancestral maize is at risk of becoming extinct. And the consequent loss of biodiversity, the FAO warned in its 2010 report, will have a major impact on the ability of humankind—which will number nine billion by 2050—to combat food insecurity in the face of climate change.

Read more here: https://www.macleans.ca/society/why-heirloom-tortillas-are-an-endangered-species/

With 30,000 surveys, researchers build the go-to dataset for smallholder farms

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Incompatibility of surveys did not allow big-picture analysis, so a team of CGIAR researchers began tackling the household survey interoperability problem in 2015. They invited the global research-for-development community to contribute to the open-access dataset, which today includes more than 30,000 interviews conducted in 33 countries.

Broad adoption of the standardized  may help guide international efforts to address smallholder challenges related to , food security, nutrition, , and social inclusion.

Read more here: https://phys.org/news/2020-03-surveys-go-to-dataset-smallholder-farms.html

What will be the new face of European agriculture in the coming years?

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Providing climate data that is useful for farmers is crucial for adapting Europe’s agriculture to weather and climate extremes. Several programmes within the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) are tailoring their climate data and models to help agriculture respond better to climate change.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is using C3S data to improve crops; by looking at how the plants perform in various weather conditions, researchers focus on selecting cereal varieties resilient to drought and heat.

Read more here: https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/02/what-will-be-the-new-face-of-european-agriculture-in-the-coming-years

Biofortified Crop Project Reaches Refugees in Zambia

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

The Mutwales farm a small plot of land in the camp, growing primarily cassava and maize for food. They are also one of the 105 refugee farming families participating in an initiative during the 2019/2020 growing season to help them cultivate nutritious, vitamin A-biofortified orange maize, which was developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in partnership with HarvestPlus.

Read more here: https://www.ipsnews.net/2020/02/biofortified-crop-project-reaches-refugees-zambia/

Advancing Nutritious Food Crops: The Role of the Public Sector

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

The public sector plays a vital catalytic role, through enabling policies and programs, in ensuring that biofortified crops like iron pearl millet, zinc wheat, and zinc rice reach the most vulnerable populations to address the problem of ‘hidden hunger’.

Read more here: https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/poshan-news-advancing-nutritious-food-crops-the-role-of-the-public-sector/347822

New mobile app helping Latin American farmers increase crop yields by 12%

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Rezatec, a leading provider of geospatial data analytics, has launched a free smartphone app which acts as a portal for farmers to record their agricultural activities and provides recommendations for optimal sowing and irrigation scheduling. Based on preliminary results from the experimental stations, the app has demonstrated the potential to increase wheat yields by up to 12%.

“Yaqui Valley farmers are very experienced farmers; however, they can also benefit by using an app that is designed locally to inform and record their decisions,” explains Francelino Rodrigues, Precision Agriculture Scientist at CIMMYT. “Sowing and irrigation timing are well known drivers of yield potential in that region – these are two features of the app we’re about to validate during this next season.”

Read more here: https://www.realwire.com/releases/New-mobile-app-helping-Latin-American-farmers-increase-crop-yields-by-12