Drought is one of the biggest challenges that rain-dependent farmers in Africa face. As a result, millions of smallholders and their families become increasingly vulnerable to crop failure that leads to hunger and deeper poverty. What options do smallholders have in the face of drought?

For Mrs. Sarah Nyamai, a farmer from Kalimoni Village in Machakos County, Kenya, maize farming was not a priority until three years ago. She did not take maize farming very seriously – despite the fact that maize has been a staple food in her home for a long time – largely because of very poor yields often blamed on the unforgiving climate that characterizes eastern Kenya.

However, harsh climate is not the only problem that Sarah and hundreds of other farmers in her locality are grappling with. Poor-quality seed makes a bad situation much worse. This means that the likelihood of harvesting enough for the family table is very low. And this, despite the considerable time and resources farmers invest in working the land.

The pain when there is no gain… and the “insurance” DT maize offers in bad years

“There is nothing as bad as buying food when you can grow it in your farm. Money needs to be used to buy other necessities but not food. Not when you can grow and harvest to feed your family,” Sarah observes.

The planting season in Kalimoni Village falls during the March–May long rains. This year, the rainfall was not only very low but also poorly distributed, spelling doom for any good harvest.

Despite this bleak outlook, there is hope for farmers who took preventive measures. Sarah’s face lights up as she harvests a healthy maize cob on her one-and-a-quarter-acre farm. She planted – for the first time – a drought-tolerant (DT) maize variety called KDV4. Her ‘drought insurance’ venture paid off, and she has much to smile about. “I got over three bags of 50 kilograms each this season from my one-and-quarter-acre farm. This is amazing! I have never harvested anything beyond one-and-a-half bags in the past. This is very good seed! And it tastes better too!” Sarah enthuses.

KDV4 is one of the DT varieties sold in Kenya’s eastern drylands alongside other improved varieties, developed by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project in close partnership with public and private partners including local seed companies in Kenya.

Sarah purchased a three-kilogram packet of the KDV4 variety from Dryland Seeds Limited (DSL), the main supplier of DT maize seed in the eastern region. Besides KDV4 maize – an open pollinated variety – DSL also stocks a number of hybrid varieties tailored especially for this region. One such hybrid is DSLH103, locally known as Sawa, a Kiswahili name that loosely translates into ‘the good one’.

Mr. Joseph Mulei is one of the farmers who has planted Sawa. “Sawa has very good yield. I like it particularly because it matures early. If we get good rains in the first two weeks, I am assured of very good harvest from Sawa,” explains Mulei.

Sawa statistics, the story is spreading, but much more remains to be done

Statistics too stand by and reaffirm the Sawa label. On average, hybrids like Sawa give farmers up to 49 percent more grain than open pollinated varieties, and 15 percent more than hybrids currently on the market.

Both Joseph and Sarah have taken the initiative to educate their fellow farmers on the benefits of certified DT seed. Mulei has been particularly influential in his capacity as a leader of 25 farmers in the area. They both concur that it is important for more farmers to plant the improved varieties since they are a guarantee to improving food security.

Yet despite this assurance, improved varieties in the eastern region are still not widespread according to Mr. Ngila Kimotho, the Managing Director of DSL. “More collaborative effort is needed to create awareness on the improved DT varieties, and more importantly, to ensure that the seeds are available for the farmers,” adds Ngila. The company has conducted several awareness campaigns including field demonstrations and radio programs in a bid to reach as many farmers as possible.

What is CIMMYT doing to spread DT maize?

Through its new project Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS), CIMMYT is working with seed companies like DSL to meet the current demand and improve access to good-quality DT maize. DTMASS plans to produce close to 12,000 metric tonnes of certified seed for approximately 400,000 households – or 2.5 million people – in seven countries in eastern and southern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia).

DTMASS will make determined efforts to reach as many farmers as possible as an integral part of project goals. Consequently, many more farmers will enjoy the benefits of good yields even in the moderate droughts so common in most of Africa’s maize belt.

Two words – accelerated breeding – are synonymous to doubled-haploid (DH) based maize breeding. This was the core message shared with 56 maize breeders from 10 African countries who recently participated in a two-day training workshop organized by CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program (GMP) in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 23–24, 2015. The breeders benefited from the knowledge and experience of resource persons from public and private institutions in France, Germany and USA who have dedicated years of research on the DH technology that is changing the pace of maize breeding.

The resource persons for the training workshop included Tim Cupka (AgReliant Genetics, USA), Thomas Lubberstedt (Iowa State University, USA), Wolfgang Schipprack (University of Hohenheim, Germany), Dominic Marc and Regis Brassart (Limagrain, France), and CIMMYT’s B.M. Prasanna, Vijay Chaikam, Yoseph Beyene and Sotero Bumagat.

The DH technology shortens the breeding cycle significantly by developing 100 percent homozygous lines within 2–3 seasons compared to conventional breeding that takes at least 7–8 seasons to develop inbred lines with 98–99 percent homozygosity. While tracing the evolution of DH technology in maize, B.M Prasanna, Director of both GMP and the CGIAR Research Program MAIZE remarked, “This is a significant reduction of time, labor and important resources. There is a great opportunity for maize breeders in Africa to modernize the breeding programs using DH technology, coupled with molecular markers. It is particularly important to enhance genetic gains while effectively dealing with an array of stresses crippling maize production in sub-Saharan Africa.”

While commercial seed industries across the world have benefited significantly from this technology, the uptake among the institutions of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) and the small- and medium-scale enterprise (SME) seed companies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is significantly low. This is due to various reasons, particularly lack of awareness about the power of DH technology.

To address this challenge, CIMMYT in partnership with Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) established the maize DH facility – the first of its kind in SSA – at the Kiboko Maize Research Station in Kenya in September 2013. The facility offers DH development service to NARS and SME seed companies – with financial support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Establishing and operating such a facility requires significant technical know-how and is not an easy task,” said Prasanna. “It is more practical for our NARS and SME seed company partners to utilize the facility at Kiboko to develop DH lines with diverse genetic backgrounds through the DH development service offered by CIMMYT, make effective selections, and use well-selected DH lines in hybrid breeding programs. The purpose of the training workshop is to make breeders aware of the tremendous opportunities to integrate DH lines in maize breeding programs”.

Sure-footed progress – Africa’s maize breeding on the right path

It is estimated that about 70 to 80 percent of new maize hybrids being produced currently by major seed companies in the world, especially in North America and Europe, contain one or more doubled-haploid lines, with DH-based maize hybrids covering about 40 to 50 million hectares worldwide.

Tim Cupka, a highly experienced maize breeder at AgReliant Genetics, USA, emphasized that DH technology has changed the face of maize breeding in his organization. “The developed world is intensively practicing DH-based maize breeding. There is so much value that can be created through this technology not just for public and private maize breeding programs and seed companies in Africa, but ultimately for the farmers,” noted Tim.

For farmers and breeders, the greatest value is that DH technology reduces the amount of time (by one-third) it takes to create new commercial hybrids. “Instead of taking 12 years to develop a superior hybrid, we are now developing new hybrids within 6 to 7 years, which means we can get superior genetics to the farmers much faster than ever before! This is key to strengthening the livelihood of millions of farmers across the world. That is our success as breeders,” Tim concluded.

GMP in Africa has effectively integrated DH and molecular marker technologies in its product development pipeline. More than 92,000 DH lines have been developed so far from CIMMYT bi-parental populations at the DH facilities at Kiboko and Agua Fria, Mexico. In addition, significant contributions have been made over the last few years by Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer in developing DH lines in CIMMYT’s Africa-adapted maize genetic backgrounds through the Water Efficient Maize for Africa and Improved Maize for African Soils projects. “CIMMYT has so far released 32 DH-based maize hybrids in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa between 2012 and 2015.These hybrids showed excellent performance under optimum, drought and low-nitrogen stress conditions,” reported Yoseph Beyene, a CIMMYT Maize Breeder based at Nairobi, Kenya. He also added that the five DH lines have been recently identified for release as CIMMYT maize lines.

In addition, more than 5,000 DH lines have been screened by CIMMYT for maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease under artificial inoculation at the MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha, Kenya; promising lines have been identified offering tolerance to the disease. Therefore, DH technology can be a powerful tool to accelerate development of MLN-tolerant maize hybrids for sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants at the workshop got an opportunity to visit the DH facility at Kiboko in Makueni County, Kenya, where they saw the DH breeding process. The tour was facilitated by Sotero Bumagat, Maize DH Facility Manager, CIMMYT–Kenya. “This is a new experience and a very enriching one,” remarked Lwanga Kasozi from the Agricultural Research Institute in Tanzania. “I have seen and understood DH-based breeding both in theory as well as practice. It is my desire to see our organization in Tanzania embrace this technology. I will play my part to share this experience and knowledge.”.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), also nominated its scientists to participate in the training workshop. In addition, AGRA sponsored the participation of nine maize breeders from different NARS institutions in SSA to participate in the workshop.

Jennifer Johnson

 

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Rural women play a critical role in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

Women provide innumerable benefits to agricultural systems around the world at all levels of the value chain, but their contributions often go unrecognized. This year, for the U.N. International Day of Rural Women (IDRW) on October 15, the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) would like to honor the significant contributions that women make to agriculture around the world by sharing photos and stories via our social media channels from our new book: “Portraits of Women Working with Maize in Mexico.”

The book seeks to shine light on the often unseen contributions that rural women make to their families, communities, countries and the world through agriculture.

“As part of its emphasis on contributing to gender equality and equity in agricultural research for development, MAIZE has increased investments to expand the evidence base on how gender norms and relations intertwine with agricultural practices and innovation and the implications of this for agricultural research and development,” said Lone Badstue, CIMMYT strategic leader for gender research, who also works on the MAIZE CRP, which is administered by the CGIAR consortium of agricultural research.

“This documentary initiative expands these efforts, portraying an often overlooked side of maize-based livelihoods in Mexico, through images and testimonies of different women, who describe in their own words, their lives as farmers, food makers, artisans and vendors.”

The goal of assuring the food security and livelihoods of rural women is at the heart of many of MAIZE’s projects and activities.

The cross-CRP gender study “GENNOVATE” launchedin 2014 promises to integrate gender-sensitive approaches across MAIZE work in order to better serve rural women as theyadopt agricultural technology.

In 2014, MAIZE also implemented the “Gender Matters in Farm Power” project, led by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), which is investigating opportunities to empower men and women through scale-appropriate mechanization. Other activities included efforts to integrate gender into participatory varietal section, the creation of a gender strategy for maize seed system development and initiatives to integrate gender into advisory services and small-scale entrepreneurship.

The participation of rural women is crucial to the success of the MAIZE CRP.

Their faith in using our new varieties and implementing the agricultural practices recommended by MAIZE makes them beacons in their communities, operating as “secret scientists.” They complete hands-on, on-the-ground research for MAIZE, experimenting to determine the viability of products and practices to their neighbors and paving the way for smallholder farmers worldwide to successfully use and benefit from them.

Their feedback is essential, as we cannot achieve our goal of sustainably increasing production for the 900 million poor consumers for whom maize is a staple food without first closing the gender gap in agriculture.

According to the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization, if women in agriculture were afforded the same rights and opportunities as men, they could increase their farm yields by an estimated 20 to 30 percent and feed up to 150 million more people worldwide. This makes rural women some of our greatest partners in the fight to eradicate hunger and poverty.

We invite you to share your own photos and stories of rural women with us this week using the hashtag #IDRW, to contribute to a global conversation on the world’s “secret scientists”—recognizing our “behind the scenes” partners who are so crucial to the success of our research and projects and work every day to protect and promote global food security—rural women.

BOOK: Portraits of Women Working with Maize in Mexico

http://repository.cimmyt.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10883/4478/57042.pdf?sequence=1

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc0opvkPoh4

Photos courtesy of Anu Raswant

From 28 September to 2 October, CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff visited different research sites in several states of India. The following reports detail his visit.

CIMMYT Emeritus Director General Dr. Tom Lumpkin receives prestigious 8^th MS Swaminathan Award

Dr. Tom Lumpkin receiving the M.S. Swaminathan Award from Dr. M.S. Swaminathan and Dr. Raj Paroda, Chair, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences. Dr. Martin Kropff, CIMMYT DG, attended the award ceremony.

Dr. Tom Lumpkin, former CIMMYT Director General, received 8^th MS Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture in a glittering ceremony organized by the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, on September 28. This year’s award was a special occasion as the award was presented by Dr. Swaminathan himself. The Award is conferred on individuals “who have done outstanding research work in the field of agriculture, animal sciences, and fisheries.” The first award was given in 2005 by the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, Nobel laureate who led the development and spread of high-yielding wheat varieties in the developing countries during 1960s and 70s, which culminated in Green Revolution that saved billions of people from starvation.

On this occasion, Dr. Lumpkin said, “I’m humbled and greatly honored by this award. Swaminathan and Borlaug were visionaries who worked together and made their case courageously to the political leaders to get appropriate technologies into farmers’ hands. We must do the same, if South Asia is to provide nutritious food for more than 1 billion people who will live here in 2050, without further degrading land or depleting groundwater.”

While addressing the gathering, Dr. Swaminathan praised the work of Dr. Lumpkin in strengthening wheat and maize research in India and lauded his efforts in establishing the Borlaug Institute for South Asia.

CIMMYT-India Office Inaugurated by Dr. Martin Kropff, CIMMYT Director General, and CIMMYT Senior Management

CIMMYT DG inaugurating the renovated regional office of CIMMYT in India.

Dr. Martin Kropff, along with Drs. John Snape, Tom Lumpkin, Marianne Banziger, H.S. Gupta, Etienne Duvellier and B.S. Sidhu inaugurated the renovated CIMMYT-India office on September 30, 2015 by cutting a ribbon and unveiling a commemorative plaque. A large gathering of the staff from CG centers and ICAR along with Dr. S. Ayyappan, ICAR Director General, were present. Strategically located in the National Agricultural Science Center (NASC) complex, the renovated office can now accommodate 25 staff and has improved facilities. At the gathering, Kropff reiterated the importance of working as ‘One CIMMYT’ and ‘One CG’ to achieve food security in South Asia.

Visit to BISA Research Center at Ladhowal, Punjab

CIMMYT DG inaugurating the solar-powered micro-irrigation system at Ladhowal center of BISA.

CIMMYT DG Dr. Martin Kropf, accompanied by Drs. John Snape, Board Chair CIMMYT; Thomas A. Lumpkin, Ex-DG, CIMMYT; Marianne Banziger, DDG, CIMMYT, Etienne Duveiller, Director Research, CIMMYT-South Asia, and Dr. B.S. Sidhu, Commissioner, Agriculture, Punjab Government, visited BISA’s research center at Ladhowal on October 01, 2015. They were received by Dr. H.S. Gupta, BISA DG, and BISA staff members at the farm. They were taken around to see the research activities. The visiting team was impressed with the state-of-the-art facilities at the farm and the research work being conducted. Dr. Kropff and visiting dignitaries inaugurated a solar-powered micro-irrigation system installed with financial support from the Government of Punjab.

The visiting team evinced keen interest in the experiments on subsurface irrigation in the water-smart block where farmers can save 50-60% water without yield penalty. Kropff was pleased to learn that the latest technology in phenotyping in collaboration with Kansas State University is being used at BISA

DG CIMMYT with staff members of BISA at Ladhowal farm in Ludhiana

and that wheat lines with a 15-17% yield advantage have been selected and passed on to national partners under GWP. This will help increase the overall productivity of wheat in India in general and Punjab state in particular.

Dr. H.S. Sidhu, Senior agricultural engineer, showed various agricultural implements that have been developed at BISA center and have contributed to the adoption of conservation agriculture. Some of them are in great demand not only in India but in neighboring countries like Pakistan and many countries of Africa. At the end of the visit, a presentation summarized the development of Ladhowal farm since it was handed over to BISA. Dr. Kropff commented, “I am impressed with the facilities and high quality of research being conducted at BISA.”

Visit to Farmers’ Fields near BISA’s Ladhowal Center

CIMMYT DG Dr. Martin Kropff and Commissioner, Agriculture, Govt. of Punjab, Dr. B.S. Sidhu interacting with farmers in a climate-smart village near Ladhowal.

During visit to BISA Research Center at Ladhowal, Dr. Martin Kropff, along with CIMMYT’s senior management team, visited farmers’ fields near Ladhowal village and talked with farmers about climate-smart agricultural practices. The farmers showed use of the Green Seeker in rice crop and briefed the team on the conservation agriculture practices adopted by them. Dr. B.S. Sidhu, Commissioner, agriculture, Govt. of Punjab, shared that Punjab Govt. subsidizes the purchase of the Green Seeker so that farmers are encouraged to buy this instrument and save nitrogen.

DG Martin Kropff and Senior Management Visit Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab

CIMMYT DG visiting rice fields with Dr. B.S. Dhillon, Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Dr. Martin Kropff, along with Drs. John Snape, Tom Lumpkin, Marianne Banziger, H.S. Gupta, Etienne Duvellier, and B.S. Sidhu, visited Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, on October 1, 2015. He was received by the Vice Chancellor, Dr. B.S. Dhillon, who took the delegation around the farm and showed the research being conducted at this premiere university of India that was one of the major players in ushering the Green Revolution in India.

Directors of research and extension briefed the team on research on cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and horticultural crops. Dr. Kropff and members of the team showed keen interest in the quality research being pursued at the University.

Visit to Climate-Smart Villages in Haryana, India

CIMMYT DG visiting climate-smart villages in Karnal, Haryana, India.

Dr. Martin Kropff, CIMMYT DG, visited the CIMMYT-CCAFS participatory strategic research and learning platform in Taraori, Haryana, along with Drs. John Snape, Board Chair CIMMYT, Dr. Thomas A. Lumpkin, former CIMMYT DG, Marianne Banziger, DDG, CIMMYT, H.S. Gupta, BISA DG, and Etienne Duveiller, Director of Research, CIMMYT-South Asia, on October 02, 2015. Dr. M.L. Jat, Senior Cropping System Agronomist and Coordinator of CCAFS South Asia, explained the research portfolio of CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program in northwest India. He explained how layering of resource-efficient technologies can help in adaptation to frequent climate and biological changes under a particular set of agroecological conditions. During the visit to the climate-smart villages, the overall approach of developing, adapting, and scaling CSA through innovation and learning platforms in a participatory mode involving youth and women was highlighted. The portfolios of CSA interventions (water, energy, carbon, nutrient, weather and knowledge based) are chosen to suit local agroclimatic conditions and are being implemented through innovative partnerships with farmers and farmer cooperatives, to build resilience to climate change, and increase productivity and income. Dr. Martin Kropff sent a message to Dr. Bruce Campbell, CCAFS Director, saying:

“Dear Bruce, I just visited the climate-smart village project of M.L. Jat of CIMMYT in Haryana. Very impressive and a great enthusiasm with the farmers. Really exceptional work. I hope we can keep up the good work in the new phase of CCAFS.” In his immediate response, Bruce said, “Hi, Martin, I agree. It is great work.”

CIMMYT DG Martin Kropff and CIMMYT Senior Management Meet the Honorable Chief Minister, Government of Punjab

CIMMYT DG apprising the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Govt. of Punjab, about the research activities undertaken at BISA Center in Ladhowal.

Dr. Martin Kropff, CIMMYT DG, accompanied by Drs. John Snape, Board Chair; Thomas A. Lumpkin, former CIMMYT DG; Marianne Banziger, CIMMYT DDG, and H.S. Gupta, BISA DG, paid a courtesy visit on the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Punjab Shri Parkash Singh Badal on October 02, 2015. Dr. Kropff apprised the Hon’ble Chief Minister about the infrastructure development and research activities going on at the Ladhowal center of BISA. The Chief Minister expressed keen interest in the activities of BISA and urged CIMMYT management to take the technology developed at BISA farm to farmers’ fields.

While thanking the team for sparing time to visit him, the Chief Minister promised full support to BISA and hoped that BISA will prove to be a milestone in heralding a second Green Revolution in India.

Visit to the Research Platform at CSSRI, Karnal, Haryana, India

CIMMYT DG visiting the research platform at ICAR’s Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.

The team, comprised of Drs. Martin Kropff, DG, CIMMYT, John Snape, Board Chair CIMMYT, Thomas A. Lumpkin, former CIMMYT DG, Marianne Banziger, CIMMYT DDG, H.S. Gupta, BISA DG,  and Etienne Duveiller, Director of Research, CIMMYT-South Asia, visited the CSSRI-CSISA Research Platform at Karnal, Haryana, on Oct. 2, 2015. Dr. D.K. Sharma, Director, ICAR-CSSRI, welcomed CIMMYT’s new DG and senior management and highlighted the CIMMYT/CSSRI partnership and how important it is in relation to salinity and food security under the emerging climate change scenario. He stressed sustainable intensification and climate-smart agriculture for efficient resource management to address issues such as soil quality, labor shortages, water, and energy in the current changing climate in Indian IGP. He suggested to Dr. Kropff that the research platform on sustainable intensification initiated under CSISA at CSSRI should be continued for the next few years through support from CIMMYT because this platform acts as a production observatory to monitor the long-term changes and helps to give future research direction. Dr. H.S. Jat, CIMMYT senior scientist and platform coordinator, explained the outputs of CIMMYT’s on-going research activities being carried out in collaboration with CSSRI, Karnal.