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Farmers in southern Africa reap benefits of conservation agriculture

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CIMMYT’S Global Conservation Agriculture Program Manager, Irene Christiansen, received a first-hand look at the benefits and challenges of practicing conservation agriculture (CA) in southern Africa during a 9-13 June visit to the region.

Irene Chakoma of ILRI explains how livestock feeding trials have helped demonstrate the value of fodder crops to farmers.

On the first day, she met with scientists in the CIMMYT Southern Africa Regional Office and the country liaison officer, Dr. Mekuria Mulugetta. The scientists gave formal presentations of their key activities and how these are linked to GCAP activities in the region. The remainder of the week was enriched by site visits to project areas and partner meetings.

One of the highlights was a visit to the Integrating Crops and Livestock for Improved Food Security and Livelihoods in Rural Zimbabwe (ZimCLIFS) project, which is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The project is joined by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), CIMMYT, and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

“Our work under conservation agriculture is focused on three aspects – food, feed and soil fertility management,” explained cropping systems agronomist Isaiah Nyagumbo. Christiansen met farmers who are testing different maize-legume systems, including fodder legumes. “The use of velvet beans and lablab as supplementary feed for livestock during the dry season is proving to be very popular among farmers,” said Irene Chakoma of the International Livestock Research Institute.

Photo: Jefias Mataruse

Another group of farmers, who are implementing ZimCLIFS trials in Goromonzi District, said they have benefited from learning new farming techniques such as growing grain and forage legumes for soil fertility improvement, growing crops for fodder and preparing hay bales from forage crops. One challenge they face is keeping maize residue on the fields, a key component of CA. Because of communal grazing, they said, most of the maize residue is eaten by livestock, leaving thatch grass species as the main source of residue for soil cover. “Residue application is the most labordemanding task for us when practicing CA, as it involves fetching grass from our field boundaries and from fields that are farther away,” one said.

To address this challenge, ZimCLIFS is testing the potential of using biomass from unpalatable legumes such as fish bean and common rattlepot. Finding innovative solutions to smallholder farmers’ problems is a key component of the program. “We are also testing the effects of different residue types in CA such as maize residues, grass and leaf litter and their interaction with nitrogen management in trials implemented in the 11 wards across Goromonzi and Murehwa districts,” reported cropping systems agronomist Walter Mupangwa.

Later in the week Christiansen visited a site near Bindura, Mashonaland Central, where farmers have been implementing CA with a CIMMYT team led by cropping systems agronomist Christian Thierfelder for the last 10 years. Farmers in the Pindukai Valley explained that they stopped using plows in all their operations after realizing the benefits of minimum soil disturbance. Using a direct seeder or ripper allows them to plant their fields in one-quarter of the time it would take to plow the heavy soils.

Farmers also use herbicides for weed control, which makes CA very attractive to them. “We arrived in 1987 at this farm with 16 families and have now grown to 56 families. None of us is currently using a plow except for some tobacco growers,” said farmer Hendrixius Zvamarima during discussions.

Another farmer said the long-term intervention “changed our way of agriculture completely.” Christiansen then enjoyed lunch with farmers in the field, testing local chicken with sadza (maize porridge) and muriwo (rape leaves). Wrap-up discussions with the GCAP team focused on developing new strategies to bridge funding gaps when projects end to ensure continuity with stakeholders. Christiansen added examples from her own experience in Tanzania and stressed the need to involve the private sector in GCAP activities.

The visit was a great success for everybody involved, as Christiansen saw first-hand the work of GCAP scientists in the region, while the scientists used the opportunity to highlight challenges with current funding and support needed in future work.

Hidden factors contribute to food insecurity in female-headed households

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By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

Results of a survey conducted by the Adoption Pathways (AP) project indicate that even when male-headed and female-headed households have the same resources, the latter are still less food-secure. This difference could be attributed to unreported social exclusion, discrimination and access to credit facilities which the researchers will explore further through group discussions and using repeated observations (panel data) with the farmers.

ACIAR donor representatives at Egerton University.

“Equal access to inputs, human capital, resources and institutional services may not close the gender food security gap,” said Menale Kassie, CIMMYT socioeconomist and the AP project leader. “The quality of information extension workers are providing to female farmers could be different.” Kassie presented research results of a survey conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania to donor representatives from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) led by Nick Austin, the chief executive officer, and Mellissa Wood, director of the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) at Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya.

Farmers who adopt a suite of conservation agriculture (CA) technologies get the best returns. “If farmers combine technologies, the income they generate is much higher,” Kassie said. “Farmers who adopted a combination of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) such as crop rotation, minimum tillage and improved maize seed had the highest returns.” Survey results from Tanzania also show that adoption of improved varieties improves the food security status of food-insecure households.

The results also shed light on the spill-over effects of SIP adoption, risk of crop failure and the cost of risk reduction. The AP project is compiling detailed gender-disaggregated data to study causes of food insecurity and technology gaps. “This data set is cross-cutting and will be used by stakeholders beyond the project partners,” Kassie said. “We are bringing students on board to increase research productivity.”

From right: Donor representatives ACIAR CEO Nick Austin, AIFSRC director Mellissa Wood and Australian High Commission’s Paul Greener listen to Egerton University

Wilcyster Nyateko, a master’s student at Egerton University using AP data and working under the supervision of Professor Gideon Obare, presented her research proposal “Determinants of diffusion of agro-innovation amongst smallholder farmers in Eastern and Western Kenya” to the donor delegation. “The AP data helped to widen my perspectives,” said Nyateko, who is going to include variables such as plot characteristics, tenure and distance of the plot from the household and market in her analysis based on the feedback she received. Other stakeholders who will have access to the panel data include Egerton University’s policy thinktank, Tegemeo Institute. “This is a fascinating data set,” Austin said after the presentation.

The project has contributed to capacity building of partners and young economists who have participated in data collection. “The project also provided employment opportunities to the enumerators,” Kassie said. The project has produced 15 publications and seven policy briefs and presented research results in various international forums. “Some of the challenges encountered include attrition problems such as spouses working in distant places and who are not able to participate in the survey or families included in the original sample who had migrated to other villages.”

AP plans to produce more empirical outputs using the panel data, build the capacity of partners and share the research outputs with key stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, development partners, researchers and farmers). “The key challenge is taking research products to these stakeholders; doing so requires more resources and time, beyond the project period,” Kassie said. The donors also paid a courtesy call to the Egerton University leadership where they were hosted by Professor Rose Mwonya, the deputy vice chancellor of academic affairs, and Professor John Mwangi, who gave them an overview of the university and its involvement in the AP project.

CIMMYT to conduct exchange program with Chinese Agricultural University

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By Karen Willenbrecht/CIMMYT

Chinese scientists will have more opportunities to learn from and apply CIMMYT’s research thanks to an agreement signed 16 June between CIMMYT and Yunnan Agricultural University.

High-level representatives from the university visited CIMMYT headquarters in Mexico as the first step in establishing a cooperative relationship that will benefit agricultural technology development in China’s Yunnan Province a major agricultural area in the far southwest of the country.

Photos: Xochiquetzal Fonseca
Photos: Xochiquetzal Fonseca

The province spans approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 square miles) and has a population of more than 46 million. Zhang Haixiang, chairman of Yunnan Agricultural University, expressed eagerness to collaborate with CIMMYT in several areas, including an exchange program for young scientists and professors.

He noted that the climate in Yunnan Province is similar to El Batán’s and hoped CIMMYT researchers could share their experience of breeding maize and wheat in that environment. He also invited CIMMYT leadership to visit the university, offering a personal tour of its cereal research programs, particularly as they relate to rice, maize and wheat. Marianne Bänziger, deputy director general for research and partnerships, told the delegates CIMMYT staff are interested in strengthening collaboration with China.

“There are more opportunities than currently taken for Chinese students or visiting scientists to gain experiences and contribute to CIMMYT research programs,” she said. “We need champions with CIMMYT and Chinese institutions such as the Yunnan Agricultural University to create those opportunities where our interests align.” A memorandum of understanding was signed by Bänziger and Wen Jun, the university’s deputy chairman of academic affairs, that outlined the collaboration agreement.

During their visit, the delegates met with Dr. Xuecai Zhang, a CIMMYT maize genomic selection breeder; Dr. Lan Caixia and Dr. Yuanfeng Hao of the Global Wheat Program; and Dr. Jiafa Chen of the Seeds of Discovery program. They also visited the Genetic Resources Center, the bioscience complex and the maize and wheat quality labs.

Yunnan Agricultural University is the only agricultural higher education and research organization in Yunnan. The university is home to a key national laboratory for rice biodiversity, a research institute for highland crop development and a rural development institute. CIMMYT has one staff member, Dan Jeffers from the Global Maize Program, based in Yunnan Province and has strong partnerships with the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Predominance of informal seed systems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan: a wake-up call for improvement

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By Krishna Dev Joshi, Muhammad Imtiaz and Akhlaq Hussain/CIMMYT

Improving and sustaining wheat productivity gains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP) and other parts of Pakistan is vital to addressing national food security, as wheat is a major staple in the country.

Photos: Asad Khan

Regular deployment of new, high-yielding and rust-resistant wheat varieties is essential to ensure ongoing improvement in wheat yields. This can only be achieved once a sustainable and profitable wheat seed system is in place. A workshop held on 4 June at the Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI), Nowshera, KP, brought together 49 participants representing major actors in the wheat value chain.

Participants included researchers from institutes in KP as well as from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), farmers, extension personnel, private seed companies, seed regulatory bodies and CIMMYT scientists. Participants analyzed gaps and opportunities in the current seed system. CIMMYT organized the event under the Agriculture Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan with CCRI, KP, Nowshera and PARC. The AIP is funded by the USAID Feed The Future Initiative.

Workshop participants stressed using innovative approaches for research, extension, seed production and marketing. According to the KP Department of Agriculture Extension, wheat productivity in the province is nearly 1.6 tons per hectare (t/ha) while the national average yield in Pakistan is around 2.7 t/ha. Wheat is grown on about 730,000 hectares in KP. Considering a 30 percent seed replacement rate, about 30,000 tons of wheat seeds is needed annually in the province. According to the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD) only around 7 percent of certified seeds are replaced every year (3.8 percent by public sector and 2.9 percent by private seed companies).

The remaining 93 percent of seed comes from informal sources. The lack of business perspective among almost all the major value chain actors coupled with weak coordination and linkage between them were identified by workshop participants as the main reasons for the predominance of informal seed systems in the province. The prevalence is a concern for wheat growth and sustainability. Farmer Abdul Malik from Swabi stressed that “seed is very important to maximize yield, and unavailability of quality seeds is the main cause of low productivity.”

He asked for better wheat seed of the right varieties that is available locally, adapted to specific conditions and affordable. Another farmer asked for focus on wheat varieties suitable for rain-fed conditions, as more than 60 percent of the wheat grown in KP is rain-fed. The workshop identified the long adoption lag phase as another major issue in releasing new varieties and making certified seed available. Workshop participants stressed that seeds coming to villages should include information about new varieties and associated technologies. Seed packets should contain information about new varieties and their specific adaptation to irrigated or Barani (rainfed) lands and other relevant traits. Demonstration plots and other adaptive research are important to popularize new varieties as well as for educating farmers about new seed varieties.

A total of 23 private seed companies are registered in KP, the majority of which are in urban areas, and few of these are functional. The majority of functional seed companies do not have wheat seed in their business portfolio or only have a small quantity of wheat seed because demand is low and this business is unprofitable. The high cost of seed production (small holdings and majority of nonirrigated areas, low productivity, etc.) adds to this complexity. complexity. The net returns from the sale of wheat seeds by the public sector Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) project were only around 7 percent (disregarding staff salary, overheads, seed storage costs).

The wheat seed business is unlikely to become a business of choice for private sector companies in this province. Wheat seed from Punjab does have a market in KP because of lower seed procurement prices. ADF, within the Department of Agriculture Extension, encourages local private seed companies to minimize dependency on Punjab, though the implementation is complicated without changing wheat grain pricing policy regime in the province, a major factor responsible for making this industry highly uncompetitive.

Workshop participants highlighted the role of seed and agricultural input dealers that sell wheat seed in the province. These dealers are vital actors in areas with underdeveloped seed markets, such as KP. Ensuring access to correct and appropriate information about the seeds they sell is vital. Participants, for example, raised concerns that some seed dealers sold seeds of a rust- susceptible wheat variety last year in Swabi, resulting in big losses for farmers. This was linked with a lapse in the implementation of Seed Act provisions, which is meant to protect farmers.

New technologies help Indian farmers improve nutrient management

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By ML Jat, RS Dadarwal, Tripti Agarwal and Love Kumar Singh/CIMMYT

In the intensively cropped region of northwest India, farmers generally use imbalanced and inappropriate nutrient doses, which leads to low yields, high production costs and low nutrient efficiency. The resulting loss of applied nutrients, particularly nitrogen, creates a large environmental footprint.

Photo: Vikas Choudhary

An interactive workshop was held 5-6 June in Haryana State to promote the use of precision nutrient management tools in smallholder production systems. The 175 participants received hands-on training in Nutrient ExpertTM, a software tool that helps determine fertilizer requirements in cereals, and GreenSeekerTM, an optical sensor that measures the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, an indicator of crop development and health.

To encourage widespread adoption of both technologies, the agriculture departments in the participating districts received them for free. Meanwhile, Haryana’s Department of Agriculture has planned more than 1,000 demonstrations of the tools in maize and rice fields during this year’s rainy season.

The training was jointly organized by the International Plant Nutrition Institute-South Asia Program, CIMMYT and the Haryana Department of Agriculture, under the umbrella of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Many of the participants were agriculture development officers or extension experts who will use the tools to devise climate-smart management strategies for sustainable development.

Former CIMMYT Global Wheat Program Director wins 2014 World Food Prize

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CIMMYT is delighted that the World Food Prize 2014 has been awarded to distinguished wheat breeder Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram for his achievements in plant research and food production.

Continuing the legacy: Rajaram donates $20,000 to the Global Wheat Program to support training for the next generation of wheat breeders.

According to Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, “Rajaram is the most successful wheat breeder alive.” Rajaram cultivated a generation of wheat scientists and taught them about wheat improvement and key CIMMYT methods. Rajaram studied genetics and plant breeding under Prof. M.S. Swaminathan at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi in 1964 before joining Dr. Borlaug in Mexico in 1969.

At CIMMYT, Borlaug became a mentor to Rajaram and they worked side by side in the fields of El Batán, Toluca and Ciudad Obregón. Rajaram – known affectionately as “Raj” — led bread wheat breeding research at CIMMYT for more than three decades. His leadership and commitment to wheat improvement resulted in the release of more than 480 varieties of bread wheat with increased yield potential and stability, along with wide adaptation and resistance to important diseases and stresses.

Rajaram with his mentor Dr. Norman Borlaug in the wheat fields of Obregón. Photos: CIMMYT files

These varieties include the spring and winter wheat cross Veery, which was released in 36 countries; new approaches to disease resistance, for instance ‘slow-rusting’ wheatvarieties; and largely reduced foliar blight susceptibility in semi-dwarf wheat. Rajaram’s wheats are grown on some 58 million hectares worldwide and approximately 30 million hectares in South Asia. One of his wheats, PBW 343, is India’s most popular wheat variety. His varieties have increased the yield potential of wheat by 20 to 25 percent.

He also led efforts at CIMMYT to apply the concept of durable resistance to rusts — the most damaging wheat disease across the world. His accomplishments include training or mentoring more than 700 scientists from dozens of developing countries. The World Food Prize was established by Norman Borlaug in 1986 to honor the achievements of individuals who have “advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.”

The first recipient of the World Food Prize was M.S. Swaminathan, the man who brought Borlaug’s semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties to India – thus earning him the title “Father of the Indian Green Revolution.” Rajaram was nominated for the World Food Prize by Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Director General and Dr. Hans Braun, Director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT, with support from national agricultural research institutes around the world.

Congratulations Raj, from the entire CIMMYT staff! We continue to be inspired by your work, which has benefited millions of farmers and consumers all over the world.

Biography: 

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was born on a small farm in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1943. Unlike most children in his socioeconomic position, he was encouraged to pursue an education by his parents, and graduated from secondary school as the top-ranked student in the entire Varanasi District. Rajaram went on to earn a B.Sc. in agriculture from the University of Gorakhpur, a M.Sc. in genetics and plant breeding from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi and a Ph.D. in plant breeding from the University of Sydney. Rajaram’s outstanding career at CIMMYT began in 1969 working as a wheat breeder alongside Dr. Norman Borlaug. In 1972, at the age of 29, Borlaug appointed him as head of CIMMYT’s Wheat Breeding Program. After 33 years at CIMMYT, including seven as Director of the Global Wheat Program, Rajaram joined the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) as Director of Integrated Gene Management before formally retiring in 2008. During his distinguished career, Rajaram’s work resulted in the release of more than 480 varieties of bread wheat in 51 countries, which are grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide. Rajaram is a Mexican citizen and resides in Mexico.

First SRFSI strategic planning meeting

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By Mahesh Gathala and Pat Wall/CIMMYT

A new project designed to improve farming systems in Bangladesh, India and Nepal kicked off work with a strategic planning meeting 19-21 May in New Delhi.

The Sustainable and Resilient Farming System Intensification (SRFSI) project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), is scheduled to run for 50 months and will focus on the heavily populated Eastern Gangetic Plains, home to some 300 million people and the world’s highest concentration of rural poverty. Together with farmers – especially women farmers – project staff will develop more intensive, sustainable and resilient farming systems by incorporating conservation agriculture (CA) and strategic supplementary irrigation into the current farming systems. The changes allowed by these two practices will permit more timely planting of the main cereal crops – rice, maize and wheat – increasing yield and allowing for a third crop to be sown between the main winter crop and summer rice. Supplementary irrigation will help ensure timely planting and act as a buffer against mid-season droughts, predicted to become more frequent with the advance of climate variability.

The project also calls for crop and system modeling to aid the development of farmer decision support tools, frequent farmer discussions and consultations, support and training of local service providers and agricultural dealers and farmer-to-farmer information exchange.

The strategic planning meeting set the stage for summer field work in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Photo: Mahesh K Gathala

The meeting opened with an introduction to the program and background information from Dr. John Dixon, the ACIAR principal advisor responsible for SRFSI and a former director of CIMMYT’S Impact and Assessment (Socio-economics) Program, and Dr. Mahesh Gathala, a CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist and leader of the SRFSI project. Partners from the region then presented results from pre-project activities, including reports of field research in Bangladesh and West Bengal, and studies on the hydrology of the communities where the project will be based. Dr. Rasheed Sulaiman discussed a survey of potential partners for the innovation systems developed in the project.

With this background, workshop attendees began to focus on planning the field work for the coming summer season. Gathala and Andy McDonald presented a view of the researchable issues common to the project areas, followed by presentations from longtime CIMMYT partners in the region on opportunities for change. Based on these presentations, Gathala and Pat Wall, former director of CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program who has been involved in the development of the SRFSI project, developed and proposed a core research program for the coming season based on direct seeding and/or direct transplanting of rice (a key strategy to reach CA systems), strategic supplementary irrigation of the rice crop and short-season rice varieties, all of which will enable timely harvest of the rice crop and allow for seeding of the winter crops at the optimum time. This plan will be discussed and refined with partners in separate country planning workshops.

Initially the SRFSI was to include a large component of technology out-scaling (commonly called extension), but ACIAR decided to make out-scaling the focus of a separate but associated project. Dixon discussed current thinking on the phases of technology generation, out-scaling, adoption and impact, followed by interesting and enlightening presentations on successful projects linking agribusiness and small farmers to achieve technology adoption from Sanjeev Asthana and N. Sai Krishna of the National Skills Foundation of India, Srivalli Krishnan of USAID and Madan Pariyar of the SRFSI partner organization, iDE. A framework for the project will now be developed and this will be the focus of discussion at the next planning workshop set for 6-7 July in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Wheat Field Day in Georgia

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By Alexei Morgounov/CIMMYT

Georgia has high soil fertility and good agro-environmental conditions for growing wheat, yet the country imports most of the grain it needs. To help make Georgia’s agriculture sector more self-sufficient, a small workshop and Wheat Field Day were held 7 June at Lomtagora Farm in Marneuli County.

The farm is a focal point in Georgia for the testing and adoption of winter wheat germplasm supplied by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program, a joint project of the government of Turkey, CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Several high-yielding varieties have been identified, multiplied and delivered to the farming communities in the country. During the field day, participants saw more than 70 varieties and breeding lines demonstrated on big plots and submitted seed requests for the ones they liked. Traditional Georgian bread was baked from different genotypes including the landraces, and samples were offered to the visitors.

Drs. Kakha Lashki and Alexei Morgounov discuss the performance of the new wheat lines. Photo: Alexei Morgounov

Dr. Kakha Lashki, head of the farm, emphasized the need for technological innovations and varieties to improve farms and increase wheat production. Dr. Alexei

Morgounov of CIMMYT-Turkey presented some of those technological solutions. He also addressed the challenges facing wheat farmers globally. Dr. Ram Sharma of ICARDA-Tashkent spoke about the outcomes of regional cooperation with ICARDA and how they can be applied in Georgia.

This was the fifth year for the Wheat Field Day, and it attracted around 100 participants from across the country.

Course gives managers better understanding of seed business

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By Diriba Hika/CIMMYT

A training session on seed business management gave Ethiopian agriculture managers a deeper knowledge that they said would enable them to help fill the gap in the supply of quality protein maize to the nation’s farmers.

The training was organized by CIMMYT’s Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and conducted by CIMMYT senior scientists working in Africa as well as experts from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Integrated Seed System Development-Ethiopia and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa-Ethiopia. The trainees were managers drawn from national agricultural research systems, the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers’ cooperative unions and private and public seed companies. Of the 16 trainees, three were women.

Photos: Diriba Hika

Dr. Asnake Fikre, crop research director of the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture, told participants that “regardless of the significant public sector investments made to provide farmers with better seeds, the national seed system could not do what was expected of it.” He encouraged the seed company mangers to apply the training to improve efficiency in their businesses.

Asnake discussed the government’s recent efforts to address issues relating to seed quality, efficiency, diversification and sustainability, including a revised seed law that recognizes the importance of a pluralistic seed sector and encourages cooperation with the global seed industry. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture approved direct marketing of maize hybrid seed in the country this year.

As part of the training, the managers were given two helpful reference materials: a manual prepared by CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the book Seed Business Management in Africa, written by John MacRobert, a former CIMMYT seed systems specialist. “The training is of international standard,” one participant said. “It helped us to see where we are, what we lack and what we can do better in the future. As a manager, I found the training very helpful in decision-making in the business.”

Sixteen Ethiopian agriculture managers attended the training course on seed business management, Photo: Diriba Hika

The NuME project is working to provide quality protein maize seed to the rural poor who rely on maize as their staple food by building the capacity of seed companies and regulatory bodies. This training is a part of the human capacity development targeted by the project to successfully build the seed value chain by producing and marketing high-quality seed to maize growers.

Seed Business Management Syllabus

Topics covered at the training included:

  • The seed business cycle and value chain
  • Identifying and choosing the right maize varieties
  • Basics of maize breeding, variety testing and product release
  • Hybrid seed production characteristics
  • Distinguishing characteristics of inbred lines, hybrids and open pollinated varieties (OPVs)
  • Managing growers and contracts
  • Maintenance of inbred line parents and OPVs
  • Certification standards and inspection procedures
  • Seed physiology, storage and quality
  • Warehouse management
  • Developing marketing, sales and promotion strategies
  • Product distribution and presentation, merchandising
  • Dealing with customers
  • Overview of seed policy in Africa…

Workshop gives agronomists tips on writing for scientific journals

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By Isaiah Nyagumbo/CIMMYT

Agronomy scientists got practical, hands-on advice on translating their research data into credible scientific publications during a five-day workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The 13 scientists have been conducting research for the past four years addressing sustainable intensification in Africa using conservation agriculture and improved maize and legume varieties as part of the SIMLESA program, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The goal of the workshop was to help them accelerate production of publications based on their research.

Participants met with biometricians one-on-one to discuss the data and experiments they wanted to analyze, and the outputs of the statistical analyses for each data set were shared in feedback sessions. Feyissa Mekonnen, data manager for CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program and Socioeconomics Program, assisted with the analysis of the data, which was collected under objective 2 during phase 1 of SIMLESA. In the final session, participants received some hints on how to present statistical results in scientific publications.

Dr. Mulugetta Mekuria, the SIMLESA program coordinator, emphasized the need to transform research data into scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals for the benefit of the scientific and development communities. All the participants confirmed to Dr. Mekuria that they would complete draft papers by the end of July.

Agronomy scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawai, Mozambique and Zimbabwe trained with biometricians and data analysts. Photo: CIMMYT

The workshop, held 26-31 May, was attended by scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, organized by regional CIMMYT scientists Dr. Fred Kanampiu and Dr. Isaiah Nyagumbo and facilitated by five biometricians from the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa led by Yolisa Pakela-Jezille. It ended with a social event for participants and CIMMYT staff where Dr. Mekuria bid farewell to Dr. Kanampiu, who will be leaving CIMMYT at the end of July after 17 years.

Improving women farmer’s access to agricultural information and training in India

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By Anuradha Dhar/CIMMYT

On a hot summer day in the Muzaffarpur District of Bihar State, India, 345 women farmers gathered to talk about the challenges they face in agriculture with a visiting team from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During the event, which was organized by the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), one woman said, “Brothers, if you are farmers, so are we.” The group responded with loud claps and whistles. The women then discussed their day-to-day issues and shared their enthusiasm to learn about new agricultural technologies and management practices.

It is relatively uncommon to see women in rural India – where gender discrimination runs deep and women often are not empowered to speak or make decisions – talk openly and passionately about their lives. The farmers who attended the CSISA meeting are members of the new initiative Kisan Sakhi, meaning “a woman farmer friend,” jointly started by CSISA and the Bihar Mahila Samakya, an Indian government program on women’s equality.

Women farmers discussing their training needs with the CSISA team. Photo: Madhulika Singh

Women work extensively on farms across India – participating in sowing, weeding and harvesting – and are responsible for managing farm work and household chores. However, their contribution in agriculture remains largely unseen and unacknowledged. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, women account for 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries and produce 60 percent of the food, yet compared with men farmers most women don’t have land rights or equal access to education or training.

Kisan Sakhi aims to empower women farmers in Bihar by disseminating new climate-resilient and sustainable farming technologies and practices that will reduce women’s drudgery and bridge the gender gap in agriculture. FAO estimates that the productivity gains from ensuring equal access to fertilizer, technology and tools could raise the total agricultural output in developing countries and reduce the number of hungry people.

“In spite of doing all kinds of work in the field, I never got the respect as a farmer that men farmers would get,” said Sumintra Devi, who is now a member of Kisan Sakhi. She is being introduced to new technologies and management practices such as improved weed management, maize intercropping, intensification of cropping systems with summer green gram, machine transplanting of rice under non-puddled conditions and nursery management. “We have discussions with the group members during which they identify the training needs and practices they would like to adopt,” said CSISA gender specialist Sugandha Munshi. In one such discussion, the women mentioned the painful and tedious process of shelling maize by hand. CSISA organized training that demonstrated post-harvest technologies such as a hand-powered maize sheller and “super bags” for effective grain storage (see photos on page 8). Six geographical areas – Aurai, Bandra, Bochaha, Gai Ghat, Kudhni and Musahri – in Muzaffarpur District have been identified for the pilot work. “Women farmers recognize that receiving information and skill is more important than short-term monetary support from a project,” said R.K. Malik, the leader of CSISA’s Objective 1 and the Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh hub manager.

CSISA has also started helping women farmers to become entrepreneurs. As part of Kisan Sakhi, four women self-help groups in the Bandra area are pooling resources to buy a rice-transplanting machine, which will help them to earn income by offering custom-hire services. “It is part of a major shift in perception of participating women groups. CSISA and its partnership with the government of Bihar now see an opportunity to involve women for adoption of new technologies and facilitate them to become service providers,” said Malik.

CIMMYT and the Canadian wheat alliance join forces to fight durum wheat diseases

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By Mike Listman/CIMMYT

CIMMYT and the Canadian Wheat Alliance (CWA) launched a collaboration on 9 June to apply genomics-assisted breeding to develop new durum wheat varieties that are more resistant to wheat rust, Fusarium head blight and other diseases. The work will benefit Canadian farmers and durum wheat producers in developing countries.

CIMMYT wheat breeder Karim Ammar

“The world uses more than 25 million tons of durum wheat each year, either for pasta or as a key food staple and source of livelihoods in North Africa and the Middle East. This collaboration will help to assure sufficient durum wheat production and quality to meet rising global demand,” said Hans Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

The CWA is a project of the government of Saskatchewan, the National Research Council Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. It is focused on accelerating variety development, sustainable yields with variable climates, increased productivity and sustainable profitability.

“Our collaboration with CIMMYT, one of the world’s most reputable organizations in the field of wheat improvement, will allow Canadian wheat farmers to benefit from the Center’s world-class and extensive research,” said Roman Szumski, chair of the CWA Steering Committee.

New agreement with Mexican government will allow MasAgro to continue its groundbreaking work

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Photo: Conservation Agriculture Program staff

Dr. Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT Director General Mexico is seen by many as one of the strongest emerging economies, with a high GDP and strong purchasing power parity. Yet a commonly overlooked fact is that nearly 23 percent of Mexicans, some 27.4 million citizens, still suffer from food shortages and insecurity1. In late 2010, CIMMYT and the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) launched the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture project (MasAgro) to raise farm community living standards and foster sustainable food security through research, development, training and the transfer of technology —ultimately to make a difference to the lives of these millions.

From an initial budget of US$ 3 million to a budget of nearly US$ 20 million in 2014, MasAgro has been seen as a success and was described by the G20 Mexico Agriculture Group as “an experience that could serve as a model for coordinating research and development, innovation, transfer of technology, as well as public-private links in the agri-food sector.” Nonetheless, since the 2012 elections and change of government, as is typical, there has been a shift in priorities within SAGARPA with an increased focus on impact and downstream research. These changes also resulted in a changing vision for MasAgro, including new administrative rules. As a result, after months of extended negotiations, the technical annex between CIMMYT and the new SAGARPA administration was agreed upon by both parties, and signed last week.

For many across CIMMYT, the past few months have been a period of uncertainty, and I am grateful to all our staff for their patience during this difficult process. We are now entering a new phase of MasAgro with a broader vision and broader host of donors. MasAgro’s work, scientific research and innovation are integrated into CIMMYT’s strategy. MasAgro is an instrument to achieve a goal — to raise maize and wheat production in a sustainable manner in Mexico and perhaps other countries within Latin America — and this goal will remain beyond the parameters of a project’s lifespan.

CIMMYT’s mission — to increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems for global food security and reduce poverty — means that we must develop capacities across the entire value chain. Our challenge remains to accelerate the delivery of results but also to convince taxpayers, development agencies and policymakers that it is essential to invest in research. New crop varieties, good agronomic technologies and efficient value chains are the key drivers of growth in agricultural productivity.

Looking beyond the CIMMYT-SAGARPA relationship, CIMMYT is expanding MasAgro’s innovation and partnership model directly to Mexican state governments and to other Latin American countries.

For example, the Mexican state of Guanajuato has committed MX 10 million pesos (US$ 760,000) for 2014 to the Take It to the Farmer initiative, and there have been requests from the governments of Guatemala and Bolivia to replicate parts of the MasAgro model. Key innovations — ICT in agriculture, precision agriculture, post-harvest management, maize landrace improvement and conservation agriculture — are readily available for transfer to other countries. MasAgro and its many partners have achieved impressive results in just three short years (see box on page 2). Knowledge and insight gained from this pioneering project are serving as a blueprint for other CIMMYT projects and indeed other countries.

MasAgro’s Achievements and Impacts:

• 200,000 farmers are linked to MasAgro activities.

• 166 communities are engaged as part of the National Crusade Against Hunger.

• GreenSeekerTM technology has generated farmer savings in fertilizer application of US$ 1.7 million.

• 13 prototypes of agricultural machinery have been developed.

• 181 technicians have been certified in training on conservation agriculture.

• A network of more than 2,000 technicians is providing technical assistance to more than 60,000 farmers.

• Maize farmers applying MasAgro technologies have achieved an average yield increase of 25.4 percent. • More than 3,700 farmers are receiving agronomic and climate information via the MasAgro Móvil phone service.

• 40,000 ultra-high-density genetic profiles of wheat varieties and 20,000 of maize landraces have been generated.

• The largest search for heat and drought tolerance undertaken in any crop has been initiated, evaluating more than 70,000 wheat varieties for these traits.

• 4,000 landraces are being used to establish the relationship between genome-based information and traits such as drought tolerance and disease resistance. This is the most complete genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the history of maize research.

New Leadership for MasAgro

Dr. Bram Govaerts, Associate Director for the Global Conservation Agriculture Program, will assume the leadership of MasAgro, with responsibility for coordinating the evolution of related projects in Latin America. Bram joined CIMMYT in 2007 and since 2010 has been the leader for the MasAgro Take It to the Farmer initiative. Bram received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium in bioscience engineering and agricultural production systems.

CIMMYT maize projects creating synergies for enhanced impacts in South Asia

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By AbduRahman Beshir and P.H. Zaidi/CIMMYT

South Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate fluctuations, and extreme weather conditions can cause abiotic stress in rain-fed crops such as maize. Recognizing these challenges to crop production, CIMMYT has partnered with national programs in South Asia to develop and deploy climate-smart agricultural technologies through two projects supported by USAID’s Feed the Future initiative – Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan and Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA).

HTMA is an alliance between private and public research and development institutes in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan whose goal is to develop new generations of maize hybrids that can withstand heat stress. AIP for Pakistan is a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary project partly focused on deploying the most promising technologies, including stress-resilient maize cultivars, suitable for the country’s environment. Recognizing an opportunity for the two initiatives to collaborate, the Maize and Millets Research Institute (MMRI) and CIMMYT organized a workshop for 35 AIP and HTMA project partners 29-31 May at Sahiwal, Pakistan.

Dr. P.H. Zaidi explaining about phenotypic traits. Photos: AbduRahman Beshir

Dr. Abid Mehmood, director general of agricultural research of Punjab Province, Pakistan, told the Pakistani maize scientists that “maize is one of the important crops for the food security of Pakistan” and said the workshop was “an excellent platform to learn and work together and share knowledge among scientists.” Mian Muhammad Shafique, director of MMRI, gave an overview on maize research and development at MMRI and its importance for Pakistan, and for Punjab in particular.Drs. P.H. Zaidi, B.S. Vivek and Raman Babu from CIMMYT-India and AbduRahman Beshir from CIMMYT-Pakistan shared current developments associated with conventional and molecular breeding for abiotic stress tolerance to help the scientists understand various principles, tools and techniques involved in developing climate-smart maize hybrids, with enhanced tolerance to major stresses such as drought and heat. The training also addressed the basic principles of quality maize seed production.

The workshop was followed by a field visit at the MMRI experimental farm, where participants got practical experience in identifying important phenotypic traits for climate-resilient maize and evaluated the performance of AIP, HTMA and MMRI maize trials at the institute. Zaidi commended the MMRI team for the way it managed the field trials, saying, “The longtime research work from MMRI and other centers is a primary reference for people working on developing heat stress-tolerant maize, and this effort has to continue at an accelerated pace.”

Participants of the international refresher course on Statistical and Genomic Analysis. Photo: CIMMYT

The participants also appreciated the performance of some of the germplasms in Sahiwal, where the maximum temperature often exceeds 45oC during May and June. Dr. Beshir explained how the scientists can access CIMMYT’s germplasm and encouraged public and private institutions to further engage in the development and deployment of CIMMYT maize materials.

In the closing session, Dr. Sartaj Khan, national coordinator for cereal systems at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), thanked CIMMYT for organizing the course and urged participants to use the knowledge gained in their day-to-day activities. He also requested more training sessions with participants from diverse disciplines.

CIMMYT promotes the role of women in agriculture at Pakistan maize conference

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By AbduRahman Beshir and Imtiaz Muhammad/CIMMYT

Dr. Imtiaz Muhammad, CIMMYT country representative for Pakistan, urged academics to encourage women to pursue agricultural careers during his keynote speech at a maize conference 3 May at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad-Pakistan.

Dr. AbduRahman Beshir, right, accepting an honor shield on behalf of CIMMYT staff.

“Why are women not competing for jobs in the field of agriculture, despite the relatively good numbers of women in the university?” he asked. He mentioned a recent example from the CIMMYT-Pakistan office, which advertised local vacancies for maize, wheat and agronomy positions but was unable to find qualified women candidates with relevant experience. He emphasized the role of women in Pakistan’s agricultural sector and said failing them is tantamount to failing half the country’s population.

The conference, organized by the university’s Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, drew 150 participants from public and private maize research and development institutions, including multinational companies and academia, for an update on recent trends in maize production.

Dr. AbduRahman Beshir, a maize improvement and seed systems specialist at CIMMYT-Pakistan, spoke about CIMMYT’s activities to enhance productivity and promote maize excellence in Pakistan. He encouraged public and private institutions to test and use CIMMYT maize germplasm in order to fast-track the deployment of improved maize varieties.

Participants expressed appreciation for CIMMYT’s recent efforts to bring maize excellence back to Pakistan and enthusiasm for partnering with the organization. CIMMYT staff received an honor shield during the closing ceremony.