News – Page 145

Scale-appropriate mechanization: the intercontinental connection

Written by on October 26, 2014. Posted in Features.

CIMMYT aims to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world by providing practical solutions for more efficient and sustainable farming. Among the options to improve efficiency, scale-appropriate and precise planting machinery is a crucial yet rarely satisfied need.

Mechanization efforts are ongoing across CIMMYT’s projects, with a strong focus on capacity building of functional small- and medium-scale engineering and manufacturing enterprises. Projects involved include ‘Farm Power and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification’ in eastern and southern Africa, funded by the Australian Center for International AgriculturalResearch (ACIAR) and the Cereal Systems Initiative in South Asia (CSISA), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID. CSISA collaborates closely with the machinery research and development work done on the farms of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia in India, CIMMYT conservation agriculture (CA) projects funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the Agri-Machinery Program based in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China, and the MasAgro Take It to the Farmer machinery and intelligent mechanization unit based in Mexico.

Applied research scientists and technicians assisting these projects work specifically to tackle problems in diverse farming conditions and for varying production systems. Despite their geographically diverse target areas, this team strives to reach a common focal point from which they can learn and compare technical advancements. These advancements are achieved through mutual machine technology testing programs, exchanging machines and expertise and evaluations of best solutions for scale-appropriate mechanization to boost sustainable intensification for resource poor farmers.

Recently, this collaboration model led to the export of several units of a toolbar-based, two-wheel tractor implement for bed shaping, direct seeding of different crops and precise fertilizer application. They will be tested by CIMMYT projects in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Nepal. This multi-purpose, multi-crop equipment was developed to be CA-compatible and has been fine-tuned in Mexico, with design priorities that kept in mind the implement’s usefulness for smallholder farmers in other parts of the world. The machinery will be tested next in Zimbabwe and possibly India and Pakistan.

The team’s goal is to help developing countries and viable business models of local enterprises in specific regions to have access to good quality implements and tools at reasonable prices. This open-source prototyping strategy is based on the free sharing of technical designs and machinery construction plans. The strategy combines patent-free, lowcost replication blueprints of promising technologies with strong agronomical testing as the ultimate ‘make or break’ criterion. This crucial interaction sets CIMMYT’s engineering platforms apart from commercial options that determine research and development priorities based mainly on sales projections and marketing objectives.

The mechanization team strongly believes in the power of cross regional collaboration – a multidisciplinary work environment, connected intercontinentally with social stewardship and the potential to bring transformative changes to farmers’ fields across the developing world.

CIMMYT Ethiopia expands its agronomy work in wheat-based systems

Written by on October 25, 2014. Posted in News.

CIMMYT Ethiopia joined the Ethiopian Highlands project of Africa RISING ‘Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation’ in June. Using a strong participatory research methodology, researchers and farmers co- identify technologies and management practices for the sustainable intensification of the crop livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands.

Wheat and barley are the dominant cereals in these farming systems. CIMMYT brings its expertise to the project in four research areas: soil and water conservation (CA and raised bed systems); small-scale mechanization (seeding, threshing and water pumping using two-wheel tractors); participatory variety selection of wheat; and community seed multiplication.

CIMMYT young agricultural scientist receives 2014 Borlaug Field Award

Written by on October 22, 2014. Posted in News.

BGovaerts_bio On 15 October, Dr. Bram Govaerts, Associate Director of the Global Conservation Agriculture Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), received the 2014 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation during the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2014 Borlaug Field Award, as the prize is known, acknowledges “researchers under 40 who emulate the scientific innovation and dedication to food security demonstrated by the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug.” Bram was recognized for his leadership in developing sustainable intensification strategies in Mexico where he leads the MasAgro project and its “Take it to the Farmer” component, an innovative research and capacity building extension model that borrows its name from the late Nobel Laureate’s inspiring words.

To further celebrate this achievement, CIMMYT is making available a selection of Bram’s peer-reviewed articles. Consult the articles here.

The 2014 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, former director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, who received the “Nobel Prize of Agriculture” on 16 October, described Bram as “one of the new generation of hunger fighters who brings innovation, passion and an incredible dedication to the field.”

CIMMYT celebrates Bram’s achievement and is proud to make the most important findings of his research available to the agriculture and development community.

CIMMYT observes the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Written by on October 16, 2014. Posted in Features.

According to the Millennium Development Goals Report of 2013, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty (less than US $1.25 a day) has been halved at the global level, yet 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty. In 1992, the United Nations (UN) established the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), which will be observed internationally for the 22nd time on October 17, 2014, to “promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.”

The theme for IDEP 2014 is “leave no one behind: think, decide and act together against extreme poverty,” which “recognizes and underscores the demanding challenge of identifying and securing the participation of those experiencing extreme poverty and social exclusion in the Post-2015 Development Agenda that will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”2 The eradication of poverty was one of the chief MDGs, and remains at the forefront of the development of the post-2015 development agenda.

Agricultural development is critical in the fight to eradicate poverty, and CIMMYT has developed and designed its programs and projects to contribute to this effort. The work done at CIMMYT to improve the yields of maize and wheat, increase their tolerance to climate change, fight pests and diseases and add higher nutritional value to crops has helped to eradicate poverty by improving the livelihoods of farmers and their families as well as their nutrition and health.

The UN highlights that 17 October also serves as an important reminder to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty as well as promoting opportunities for them to make their concerns heard. “Poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. Participation of the poor themselves has been at the center of the Day’s celebration since its very beginning,” CIMMYT works with its donors and partners to assist smallholder farmers in developing countries, generating solutions to the issues they face with their active input and participation. The mission of CIMMYT, to “sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to ensure global food security and reduce poverty,” cannot be realized without the efforts and cooperation of farmers, scientists, researchers and staff working together across the developing world to improve agriculture and eradicate poverty.

Celebrate World Food Day with CIMMYT on 16 October

Written by on October 15, 2014. Posted in News.

Join CIMMYT in celebrating World Food Day on 16 October!

Since 1979, World Food Day has served as a call for people around the world to come together to reduce hunger. This year the theme for World Food Day is “Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth,” as FAO celebrates 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF). Family farmers play a significant role in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources and achieving sustainable development especially in rural areas.

World Food Day is especially important to CIMMYT’s mission to “sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to ensure global food security and reduce poverty.”

According to the CIMMYT 2013 annual report, maize and wheat account for about 40 percent of the world’s food and 25 percent of the calories consumed in developing countries. Billions of people in developing countries receive more than half of their daily calories from maize- and wheat-based foods. These countries need about 700 million tons of maize and wheat to meet their food needs. Because of population increases by 2020, these countries will need an additional 368 million tons of maize and wheat to sustain their communities. By improving varieties of maize and wheat and supplying these varieties to the world, CIMMYT is fighting for and working toward the World Food Day mission daily through various programs and projects.

As one example, innovative wheat varieties from CIMMYT and its research partners have helped Ethiopia more than double its wheat production in a decade, increasing from 1.60 million tons to more than 3.92 million tons from 2003/04 to 2013/14. A 2014 nationwide study published in Food Policy involving more than 2,000 farm households in Ethiopia’s major wheat-producing areas revealed that those who adopt improved wheat varieties are able to spend more on food, are more likely to be food secure and are less likely to suffer chronic or transitory food shortages.

In addition, CIMMYT’s Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) has been working with national research and extension partners, non-governmental organizations, private seed companies and farmers to develop, test and disseminate high-yielding maize varieties, support seed production and marketing, and test and promote resource-conserving farming practices in the mid-hills of Nepal. Maize is a vital crop in this region especially for poorer families and accounts for nearly 20 percent of all caloric intake. In Nepal, maize is typically grown on family farms; harsh climates, poor infrastructure and market access and worsening shortages of labor are just some of the challenges these families face. The HMRP is helping to address these constraints for a positive impact on farm productivity. Join CIMMYT and FAO on World Food Day by generating awareness of the 805 million people who are suffering from chronic hunger worldwide. How? Follow the conversation online on Facebook and Twitter, by using the hashtag #WFD2014, or visit the World Food Day website to discover how to take action by virtually “toasting” a farmer or even joining/hosting an event in your community.

For more information on World Food Day visit http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/.

CIMMYT’s 2013 Annual Report now available online

Written by on October 3, 2014. Posted in News.

The 136-page report covers the significant progress that CIMMYT, its programs and partner organizations made during 2013, as well as key events and projects.

Click to view

The 136-page report covers the significant progress that CIMMYT, its programs and partner organizations made during 2013, as well as key events and projects.

Click to view

Partnering with seed companies to disseminate fertilizer-friendly maize seed in East Africa

Written by on September 29, 2014. Posted in Features.

Watanga Chacha, CEO Meru Agro displays a bag of HB513, a fertilizer-friendly maize hybrid. Picture: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT — Watanga Chacha, CEO Meru Agro displays a bag of HB513, a fertilizer-friendly maize hybrid.
Picture: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT

Seed companies are key partners in delivering improved seed to smallholder farmers in Africa, the key beneficiaries of agricultural research. Meru Agro in Tanzania is one such partner, producing ‘fertilizer-friendly’ maize varieties with support from the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project. “We call the varieties ‘fertilizer-friendly’ because they use the small amounts of fertilizer that smallholder farmers in Africa apply more efficiently,” said Dr. Biswanath Das, CIMMYT maize breeder. Since 2013, Meru Agro has been multiplying HB513, a fertilizer-friendly and drought-tolerant hybrid. The company has produced over 1,200 metric tons of HB513 seed, which can potentially reach 50,000 smallholder farmers in the mid-elevation regions of Tanzania in the upcoming cropping season.

Promotion

The small-to-medium enterprise uses innovative methods to promote its maize varieties. The company runs extensive demonstration plots at key locations and gives away ‘promo packs’ to farmers during field days. “These are 100 gram packs that we give away through the agrodealers. The packs allow farmers to test the varieties for themselves and compare them with what they are growing,” said Watanga Chacha, the company’s chief executive officer. The company also participates in the annual NaneNane agricultural shows held in Arusha, Mbeya and Mwanza in August where they showcase their varieties. “When they plant for NaneNane, they do it at intervals to ensure that farmers can see how the hybrid performs at different growth stages,” said Dr. Mosisa Worku Regasa, CIMMYT seed systems specialist.

Meru Agro has embraced radio as a marketing tool. “We use radio advertisements to reach farmers in our target areas,” said Chacha. “We have the advertisements recorded in the local accents which help the audience identify with them.” The company also invests in extension, training farmers in good agricultural practices augmented with training for agro-dealers. “This has contributed to the expansion of our distribution network as farmers get to know the merits of the maize varieties we are selling,” adds Chacha. “The training gives farmers confidence that they are buying a good variety by knowing the merits of the varieties in advance.”

Rapid Growth

Meru Agro has grown from an agro-dealer that began operations in October 2006 and evolved into a seed and farm input supplier in 2009. “We started with three employees, we now have 34 people, eight graduates, five diploma holders and one master’s degree holder,” says the entrepreneur. “A good strategy does not automatically translate to good performance. The team you have makes the difference – their technical skills and capacity to execute the strategy makes the difference,” said Chacha, crediting his staff for contributing to the company’s success.

Seed production and breeding research done by organizations such as CIMMYT and the national agriculture institutes benefit small seed companies like Meru Agro. “We have released four maize hybrid varieties in collaboration with CIMMYT and we are producing some open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) that have been released by the national program in Tanzania,” said Chacha. The company’s product portfolio leans towards hybrid seeds; this is informed by the market response. “Most farmers in Tanzania are now shifting from OPVs to hybrids.” The company is planning to establish a breeding unit in the near future. In the meantime, it relies on public goods derived from breeding research produced by CIMMYT and the national agriculture institute.

The company is partnering with other agencies involved in seed distribution in Tanzanian including the Tanzania Agricultural Partnerships (TAP), Farm Input Promotional Services (FIPS) and the Government Farm Input Subsidy Program to distribute 400,000 two-kilogram packs of maize seed to smallholder farmers. “We are targeting smallholder farmers, some of whom have very little land, between one-quarter of an acre to three acres,” said Chacha. “In Tanzania, farmers prefer small packs of certified seed. There is a huge untapped market in Tanzania as maize is the staple crop,” said Chacha explaining the rationale behind their expansion plans.
“The IMAS program provided technical backstopping and financial support to Meru Agro for seed production of MERU HB 513 which is drought-tolerant, in addition to being nitrogen use efficient,” said Das. Meru Agro staff have participated in seed business management courses facilitated by CIMMYT, contributing to capacity building within the company. “The company has produced large volumes of certified seed,” said Regasa.

Challenges

“The seed business is challenging,” said Chacha. The CEO cites the high investment costs in machinery for seed cleaning, grading and packaging. Chacha says drought is one of the challenges that hamper their seed production as not all of it is done under irrigation. “It takes time to convince farmers,” added Chacha, citing promotion as another challenge.

Go back to IMAS Project Updates

Mexican university students attend eighth annual CIMMYT open house

Written by on September 26, 2014. Posted in News.

On 19 September CIMMYT-El Batán held the eighth annual Open House for 300 Mexican students from the states of Puebla, Querétaro, Michoacán, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, State of Mexico and Distrito Federal. Students visited CIMMYT field demonstration plots of Maize, Wheat and Conservation Agriculture, and visited the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center and the biosciences complex (biotechnology, maize and wheat nutrition and quality labs).

Participating universities include:

Universidad de Guadalajara
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Universidad de Querétaro
Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo
Universidad Tecnológica de San Miguel de Allende
Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico (CBT)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma
Colegio de Postgraduados
Universidad Tecnológica de Tehuacán
Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores Monterrey, Campus Morelia

NuME organizes financial management workshop for partners

Written by on September 25, 2014. Posted in News.

CIMMYT’s Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently organized a half-day workshop to refresh the knowledge of financial officers from partner institutions on various accounting and reporting procedures, with specific reference to financial procedures that apply to projects funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Dr. Adefris Teklewold, NuME project leader, provided a detailed explanation of NuME objectives and its implementation to date.

Participants listen attentively during a session of the financial management workshop.

The workshop was facilitated by Ato Antenane Abeiy, NuME project manager, and hosted some 20 finance and accounting professionals drawn from both governmental and non-governmental organizations directly involved in the implementation of the project. Participants included representatives of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Sasakawa Global 2000 and Farm Radio International.

Abeiy said that the workshop was organized to familiarize the participants with overall project financial management processes, as well as the requirements and procedures that apply both to CIMMYT and DFATD. The workshop clearly identified the challenges observed to date in NuME project fund administration processes and discussed possible solutions that will ease and speed up financial operations and systems for the remainder of the project.

Accordingly, discussions were held on topics including CIMMYT and donor requirements, NuME budget categories and budget lines, NuME cash transfer modalities, fund request and release procedures, implementation start-up, financial management and documentation, financial accountability, auditing and quality assurance and a summary checklist of required information and flow of activities developed to receive, disburse and report project-related funds.

Challenges and ‘common mistakes’ in financial management and reporting observed to date were discussed. These include: delays in signing sub-grant agreements; delays in fund release; underutilization of funds; under-reporting of expenditures; delays in reporting and reporting without following formal channels; filing reports without official approval; and reporting in lump sums with no detailed expenditure and description of expenditures attached.

Participants noted during the discussions that they will use the skills gained from the workshop to properly expedite and administer project funds and ease matters for their institutions and staff to properly implement the various activities planned for the effective implementation of the NuME project.

NuME is implemented by CIMMYT in Ethiopia and funded by DFATD. It is designed to help improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopia’s rural population – especially women and children – through the adoption of quality protein maize varieties and crop management practices that increase farm productivity.

CCAFS climate smart village program progress makes news in India

Written by on September 25, 2014. Posted in Features.

The CCAFS Climate Smart Village (CSV) program recently earned significant media attention for its successes in the Indian states of Bihar, Haryana and Punjab where the program is being implemented. The CSVs were featured in BBC News as well as several newspapers in the region. The CSV program is helping farmers in developing countries adapt their agricultural practices to secure dependable food supplies and livelihoods, while also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration, thereby decreasing future climate change. The project began in 2011 and works with villages in East and West Africa and South Asia. “The Climate Smart Villages program is a community-based approach to sustainable agricultural development,” said M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist and South Asia coordinator of the CCAFS- CIMMYT project.

Australian wheat breeders’ relationship with Mexico spans more than 40 years

Written by on September 24, 2014. Posted in News.

In Australia, over 90 percent of local wheat varieties can be traced back to CIMMYT varieties, reports Kim Honan in a 17 September article on ABC’s Rural website.

For 40 years, Australian wheat breeders, as a part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)-funded CIMMYT/Australia/ICARDA Germplasm Evaluation (CAIGE) project, have traveled to Mexico annually to visit CIMMYT wheat fields.

“CIMMYT is a global program, it’s breeding for the world, so the nurseries they put together to distribute globally don’t necessarily have the traits that we’re looking for in Australia,” said Richard Trethowan, professor of Plant Breeding at the University of Sydney and former CIMMYT wheat breeder.

The trip allows the team to review materials and hand-select breeds with traits that might not have otherwise been available to Australian breeders. Each year, the scientists look for traits that show signs of potential yield increases, drought tolerance and heat tolerance. In particular, the breeders look for more diversity in each of those characteristics. During this trip, the team chose a set of about 350 varieties.

“This is a smorgasbord of diversity and here we can find that new resistance and bring that back to

Australia,” said Trethowan. “The breeder needs to take all this diversity for yield, resistance and adaptation to drought and heat, and improve that for grain quality to meet the Australian markets.”

Read Honan’s full report detailing the breeders’ trip to Mexico here.

Annual planning meeting for Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program supported by USDA

Written by on September 23, 2014. Posted in News.

The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and CIMMYT organized a two-day annual wheat planning meeting at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Islamabad. The meeting was in support of the Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The objectives of WPEP are to improve wheat though rust surveillance, breeding, pre-breeding, seed production, agronomy and coordination and capacity building. Meeting participants focused on a review of the progress made in 2013-14, identifying emerging opportunities and developing work plans for the coming year.

Dr. Shahid Masood, PARC chief science officer and senior director; Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, PARC chairman; David Williams, agricultural counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan; Dr. Imtiaz Muhammad, country representative for CIMMYT in Pakistan.

“The United States has a long history of collaboration with Pakistan in the agriculture sector; WPEP has made exceptional progress in the country to develop Ug99-resistant wheat varieties which will ensure food security,” said David Williams, agricultural counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. He also commended the integrated research efforts of national and international partners for the enhancement of the nation’s wheat yields.

David Williams, agricultural counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan, addresses the audience.

Imtiaz Muhammad, CIMMYT’s country representative in Pakistan, shared the impacts of WPEP on national and international wheat research systems. He added that CIMMYT’s efforts in the seed component of WPEP are substantial. WPEP has made significant progress; the release of Ug99-resistant wheat varieties (such as NARC-2011, PAK-13 and the upcoming Borlaug-14) will improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Pakistan.

WPEP has played a vital role in developing a wheat rust surveillance system, upgrading infrastructure and improving the research capacity in Pakistan. Collaborative and coordinated efforts through PARC and CIMMYT have enabled the country to develop a rust culture bank. It has built the capacity of provincial wheat breeding programs to secure wheat production against the potential threat of Ug99 races.

During the technical session, partners from across Pakistan agreed that developing Ug99-resistant wheat varieties to replace traditional varieties and making them available to farmers is a critical step in maintaining high yields in Pakistan. Participants acknowledged the support of the USDA, CIMMYT and PARC in wheat research.

The role of crop diversity in climate adaptation

Written by on September 22, 2014. Posted in News.

The impending threat of global climate change makes the storage and maintenance of crop diversity, held in the form of seeds in gene banks around the world, more important than ever before. “Crop diversity is agriculture’s greatest resource for adaptation, the foundation for future efforts to feed the world,” argues Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, in an article she recently wrote for Scientific American. “The key to facing issues of climate changes, pests and diseases is maintaining this diversity.”