News – Page 173

Tropicalized maize haploid inducers for doubled haploid-based breeding

Written by on December 28, 2012. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Tropicalized maize haploid inducers for doubled haploid-based breeding

tropicalized-maize-haploid The doubled haploid (DH) technology enables rapid development of completely homozygous maize lines and offers significant opportunities for fast-track development and release of elite cultivars. Besides simplified logistics and reduced costs, use of DH lines in conjunction with molecular markers significantly improves genetic gains and breeding efficiency. DH lines also are valuable tools in marker-trait association studies, molecular marker-assisted or genomic selection-based breeding, and functional genomics.

Generating DH lines involves four major steps: (1) In vivohaploid induction; (2) haploid seed identification using morphological markers; (3) chromosome doubling of putative haploids; and (4) generating D1 (DH) seed from D0 seedlings. In vivo haploid induction is achieved by crossing a specially developed maize genetic stock called an “inducer” (as male) with a source population (as female) from which homozygous DH lines are developed.

What are tropicalized haploid inducers?
Adoption of DH technology by public maize breeding programs and small- and mediumscale enterprise (SME) seed companies, especially in developing countries, is limited by the lack of inducers adapted to the tropical/subtropical conditions. The CIMMYT Global Maize Program, in collaboration with the Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics of the University of Hohenheim (UHo) now has tropical haploid inducers for sharing with the interested institutions under the terms outlined below.

The tropically adapted inducer lines (TAILs) developed by CIMMYT and UHo showed high haploid induction capacity (~8-10%) and better agronomic performance than temperate inducers, in trials at two CIMMYT experiment stations in Mexico. A haploid inducer hybrid developed using these TAILs revealed heterosis for plant vigor and pollen production under tropical conditions, while maintaining similar haploid induction rates (~8-10%). CIMMYT and UHo decided to share the seed and grant authorization for use of one of the tropicalized haploid inducer lines (one of the parents of a hybrid inducer) and the hybrid inducer to interested applicants, after signing of the relevant material transfer agreement (MTA) and with restrictions to protect the intellectual property rights of both institutions for the inducer lines.

Process of indenting for the tropicalized haploid inducers
Interested applicants should send a letter of intent or an expression of interest in the tropicalized haploid inducers. CIMMYT may seek more information, if required, and will share the relevant MTA template for signing by applicants. The general guidelines to obtain inducers for research use and commercial use are as follows.

For research use by publicly-funded national agricultural research systems
Publicly-funded institutions interested in access to the haploid inducers for specific purposes (e.g., to develop DH lines for breeding programs) may send a letter of intent or expression of interest to CIMMYT. For eligible institutions, the haploid inducers will be provided free-of-charge by CIMMYT and UHo, after signing of a Research Use MTA. Commercial use of the inducers by institutions or others should be in accordance with a separate license agreement for commercial use (as given below).

For commercial use
Applicants may access the inducers for commercial use pursuant to signing of a Material Transfer and License Agreement with CIMMYT and UHo. Applicants shall pay UHo a one-time licence fee of USD 25,000 for provision of seed of two haploid inducers; these include one of the parents of a tropicalized haploid inducer hybrid and the haploid inducer hybrid itself. If applicants wish to access the other parent of the haploid inducer hybrid, an additional one-time licence fee of $10,000 will be payable to UHo.

Acknowledgments
Generous support for joint research on doubled haploids by CIMMYT and the University of Hohenheim has come from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Howard G. Buffett Foundation; SAGARPA, the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food.; USAID (US Agency for International Development); Dr. Dr. h. c. Herrmann Eiselen and the Foundation fiat panis, Ulm, Germany; the Tiberius Services AG, Stuttgart, Germany; Vilmorin Seed Company; DTMA (Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa) project.;MAIZE CGIAR Research Program; and the International Maize Improvement Consortium (IMIC) project under MasAgro (Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture).

For further details, please contact:

Dr. BM Prasanna, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT ( b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org), or
Dr. Vijay Chaikam, DH Specialist, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT ( v.chaikam@cgiar.org)

Maize Doubled Haploid Facility for Africa (3.17 MB)

The doubled haploid (DH) technology enables rapid development of completely homozygous maize lines and offers significant opportunities for fast-track development and release of elite cultivars. Besides simplified logistics and reduced costs, use of DH lines in conjunction with molecular markers significantly improves genetic gains and breeding efficiency. DH lines also are valuable tools in marker-trait association studies, molecular marker-assisted or genomic selection-based breeding, and functional genomics.

For further details, please contact:

Dr. BM Prasanna, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT ( b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org), or
Dr. Vijay Chaikam, DH Specialist, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT ( v.chaikam@cgiar.org)

Mainstreaming gender in maize improvement research

Written by on December 20, 2012. Posted in News.

“Women are a key part of the mainstream in agriculture, yet they face formidable obstacles,” said CIMMYT gender and development specialist Vongai Kandiwa during a recent seminar in Nairobi, Kenya. Vongai was speaking on the importance of having a strategy to put men and women’s concerns and experiences at the centre of research design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This involves looking at the socioeconomic settings of men and women to ensure that they benefit equally – often referred to as “gender mainstreaming.” The seminar was attended by colleagues working on various aspects of maize technology development, production, and dissemination. “By closing the gap in access to technology between men and women, we could increase productivity by 30%,” said Vongai, referring to the State of Food and Agriculture report (2010-2011) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). According to Vongai, this would contribute to child survival and nutrition, as “women are key to household food security.”

Vongai emphasized the importance of considering gender in our work. She explained that gender shapes patterns of power relations, asset and wealth distribution and control, labor allocations, as well as preferences and aspirations within households. Mainstreaming gender is encouraged by most donors, she said, citing an example from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which encourages moving from neutrality to awareness and finally to gender transformative program design and implementation.

Many organizations may be considered gender “aware”— that is, they are able to generate gender disaggregated data on the stakeholders that benefit from their development work — but transformation lies in using that information to improve the products and services delivered, paying specific attention to women’s preferences. “The woman is the custodian of food in most African societies,” said Vongai. As the ultimate consumers of our maize products, women ought to be involved in the research for development activities. “We have to make it convenient for women to attend activities and pay attention to the composition of groups we convene,” said Vongai. “This could be done by working with women’s groups and using female technicians,” she said. By making a deliberate effort to accommodate women’s needs and voices in the selection of maize varieties, we make it possible to meet their needs.

Paying particular attention to research innovations that would reduce the drudgery of farm work for women is also important, highlighted the global maize program director B.M. Prasanna. Prasanna pointed to quality protein maize (QPM) as a product developed with the nutrition needs of end users—and particularly women— in mind. QPM has increased amounts of lysine and tryptophan, important amino acids which improve nutrition. Prasanna also pointed out the promise of pesticide resistant maize that would reduce the burden of weeding for women who often provide most of the farm labor.

“When we take the stance that gender matters, we can start to satisfy the needs of our clients, both male and female,” argued Vongai picturing the scenario when gender considerations will be made in all aspects of our work; breeding, seed systems, impact assessment, and communication.

Congratulations to Germplasm Bank!

Written by on December 19, 2012. Posted in News.

The CIMMYT Maize and Wheat Germplasm Bank achieved ISO9001:2008 certification this week, after nearly two years of data gathering, intensive analysis, and assessment of processes and best practices. The ISO standards relate to quality management systems and are designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders, while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements. The CIMMYT Maize and Wheat Germplasm Bank is the first CGIAR germplasm bank to achieve ISO9001 certification, and is now one of only three genebanks globally to achieve certification (and the first outside of Europe). CIMMYT staff and areas involved in this certification included both the germplasm banks, human resources, purchasing, risk management, security, maintenance, and ICT departments. A special thanks is extended to Bibiana Espinosa and Paulina Gonzalez, both of whom sheparded the lengthy process to this noteworthy conclusion.

Improving wheat seed system and end-use quality in Ethiopia

Written by on December 19, 2012. Posted in News.

“My work in Africa is not finished,” Jeanie Borlaug quoted her father, Dr Norman Borlaug, during her opening statement for wheat seed system field day bringing together farmers, researchers, seed growers, and development enterprises experts to discuss improved seed system and end-use quality issues in Ethiopia. The field day was held at the Kulumsa Research Center (KRC), Ethiopia, on 15 November 2012 and was followed by an end-use quality workshop on 16 November. Both events were organized by KRC and CIMMYT and sponsored by Cornell University’s Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat Project (DRRW).

Calls to adopt SIMLESA approach in project implementation across Tanzania

Written by on December 18, 2012. Posted in News.

“The Ministry, and specifically the Directorate of Research and Development, immensely commends SIMLESA’s participatory approach and would like to recommend it to other research and development partners both at national and international levels. By any means, this approach won’t ignore or omit farmer participation in variety dissemination, as was the case in the past. This participation exactly addresses the value chain approach that has been over emphasized by the Agricultural Sector Development Program that we are implementing in our country,” stated Fidelis Myaka (director of Research and Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Tanzania) in a speech read on his behalf by Ruth B. Madulu, Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)-Mikocheni at the recently concluded Tanzania SIMLESA 2012 Progress Review and 2013 Planning Meeting in Arusha.

Improving postharvest grain storage and loss assessment methods

Written by on December 14, 2012. Posted in News.

In November, twelve researchers and development practitioners implementing phase two of the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP II) travelled from Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, for training on improved postharvest grain storage and loss assessment methods in Nairobi, Kenya.

The course was facilitated by Prof. Rick Hodges, University of Greenwich, UK, and CIMMYT Socioeconomist Hugo De Groote, Policy Economist Jones Govereh, and Project Leader Tadele Tefera. Practical and theory sessions covered topics such as hermetic storage, postharvest technologies, estimating storage losses, assessing ear and grain damage, economic data requirements and collection, and economic analysis of on-station and on-farm storage trials.

Participants were also introduced to the Africa Postharvest Loss Information Service (APHLIS); a system with an innovative framework for analyzing and computing quantitative postharvest losses under different farming and environmental conditions in eastern and southern Africa. It was discussed how using the APHLIS downloadable calculator can support loss reduction projects. According to Hodges, the advantages of this system are that its measure of percentage weight loss of grain is based on an actual reduction in the dry weight of grain; it does not account for changes in quality unless the grain is no longer fit for human consumption; and losses are cumulatively calculated from production and including each step in the postharvest chain.

Despite the importance of economically analyzing crop and storage pest losses, Govereh lamented that such analyses are not well established in the research community. “Economic analysis is rarely available, especially for on-farm losses. In most cases, crop losses are commonly overestimated with benefits often overstated and costs underestimated.”

Govereh outlined the economic analysis of crop and storage pests: estimating the extent of the problem (the area infested); estimating the intensity of the problem (infestation levels, damage, and crop loss); testing efficacy of control methods on-station and on-farm; basic economic analysis of new methods; farmer evaluation of new control methods; modeling and econometric analysis; and impact assessment. According to Hodges, estimating postharvest losses helps in influencing policy makers, improving the efficiency of value chains, and identifying opportunities for increasing food security.

Reiterating the economic benefits of storage, Govereh stated: “Most maize is produced by small-scale farmers in one major season and is meant for home consumption. However, consumption is continuous therefore storage is needed to buffer stocks and protect against price fluctuations.”

Connecting people for sustainable agriculture

Written by on December 13, 2012. Posted in Features.

In Central Mexico, Conservation Agriculture, a more sustainable way of farming, has evolved from being a handful of researchers and a few innovative farmers working off of an idea to a full-fledged network, a system of support and dissemination since its beginnings in 2010. But there are no roots in the historically poor and, at times, politically volatile, Southern States; states that could greatly benefit from a farming system saving labor while ensuring higher productivity. To change this, CIMMYT decided to implement the Conservation Agriculture system in the state of Chiapas with hopes that if things go well, it can act as a gateway to the region.

My first experience with the technology dates back to June 2010, when Bram Govaerts, the head of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture program in Mexico, picked me up outside of a bakery in Mexico City at five in the morning, so we could leave before traffic, some of the worst in the world, became too unruly. We arrived to the first field around seven and were met by a farmer’s eyes underneath a straw hat. At his side was a dog, which did not stray more than a few feet from the farmer, as he explained how rotating his crops had helped cut back on fertilizer use. Thoughtful crop rotation, an important part of Conservation Agriculture, can restore what the previous plant depletes, and thus helps cut down not only on fertilizer use, but also other chemicals, like herbicides, because weeds have more trouble surviving across the change from one crop to another.

Our next visit was to an idyllic field that seemed as if it had been untouched in the last 100 years, except for what looked like raised rows, known in Conservation Agriculture as “beds.” When you till too much, a lot of important nutrients are left loose and exposed to be washed away by rain or picked up by wind. Using special machinery to move the soil less and create these beds helps hold onto what makes soil, well, soil.

Fifty minutes later, we parked next to a crosshatch fence where a farmer waited with his family. A granddaughter held a rabbit that upon introduction hopped out of her hands and onto dried maize stalks, known as residues in Conservation Agriculture, covering the field. Leaving behind residues, which are really just part of what is grown, like stalks and stems, helps hold in moisture and protect old soil before decomposing into new soil. We traveled for thirty minutes more and met another farmer. One more hour and the next. And so on until we, dirt under our fingernails, arrived back in Mexico City just after midnight.

Two years later, what continues to resonate are the conversations with Bram. I see now that as we drove from unpaved road to stretched highway I heard his vision for what the young program would become in Mexico. A vision that today is a reality, spreading from Central Mexico to other Mexican states.

In August, I went to Chiapas to see these efforts. Late Friday night I arrived at the new office, where a storm had knocked out the power. The team and I made plans in the dark as we ate leftover sandwiches from a Conservation Agriculture training course earlier that day. The next morning we spoke with a farmer who adopted the technology after farming traditionally for over three decades, a result of having been inspired by the success of his son. We gave a silo to a farmer interested in a different storage option, and he told us how he had been waiting, how he had always believed in people like us as we explained Conservation Agriculture and MasAgro’s work over a cup of pozol made from maize he had sown.

Talking to the farmers taught me a lot about the importance of continuing to learn when faced with new practices. But what lingers more than the farmers are the people spreading this technology. The methods and benefits of Conservation Agriculture can make no difference without the people connecting to one another to explain them. To convince a farmer to go against tradition, against what most of his neighbors perceive as the right way to farm, and against how his parents grew the same crop. That is the real issue. And the team in Chiapas works to address this issue with a combination of skill and heart that is infectious.

Innovative public-private partnership to scale up conservation agriculture in Bangladesh

Written by on December 13, 2012. Posted in News.

Infroma-photo-BD Developing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to expand conservation agriculture (CA) is one of the main goals of the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD). A key stakeholder in CSISA-BD, CIMMYT has partnered with International Development Enterprises (iDE) to develop business models to support Solar International, a leader in the agricultural machinery sector in Bangladesh. To kick-start the PPP, Solar International recently imported 54 seeder-fertilizer drills that can be attached to the ubiquitous two-wheel hand tractors found in Bangladesh, and used for the CA strip tillage technique. Using such machinery allows for rapid precision planting of wheat, reduces the turn-around time before the rice harvest, and responds to the problem of growing labor scarcity for planting in Bangladesh. The PPP prioritizes farmer and service provider training in better-bet agronomic practices, optimum use of the seeder-fertilizer drills, and the marketing of agricultural services to small and marginal farmers at reasonable prices.

In November 2012, supported by CIMMYT, Solar International and iDE completed in-depth training and certification of 108 leading agricultural service providers and their machine operators, who had purchased the seeder-fertilizer drill. To make this approach scalable and sustainable, Solar International embedded the cost of training in the market price of the equipment; emphasizing program sustainability by securing a training and funding source after CSISA-BD withdraws. In turn, CSISA-BD supplied a 50% cost-rebate to purchasing service providers upon successful completion of the training course. This PPP was brokered by CIMMYT’s Timothy J. Krupnik, Cropping Systems Agronomist in Bangladesh, Rajiv Pradhan (iDE), and Sohel Khan (Solar International). Trainings were facilitated by representatives of Solar International, Farhad Hossain (CIMMYT Agricultural Development Officer), Scott Justice (CIMMYT Machinery Consultant), and Shafiq Islam (CIMMYT-CSISA Training and Outreach Officer).

Latin American maize breeders learn about doubled haploids

Written by on December 12, 2012. Posted in News.

Doble-Haploid2 The use of doubled haploids in maize breeding was first proposed more than half a century ago and dramatically reduces the time required to produce homozygous inbred lines. Though widespread in modern maize breeding programs, the technique is little used by public programs and small- and medium-scale seed companies, especially in developing countries, partly due to its complexity.

To gain greater knowledge and mastery of the theory and actual practice, during 26-30 November 2012, 28 maize breeders from private and public entities of 5 Latin American countries attended a course given in Spanish by CIMMYT maize experts at El Batán. Complementing a similar course given in English last August, the event covered haploid induction, chromosomal doubling, breeding using doubled haploid lines, and how to access CIMMYT’s doubled haploid line production services, including hands-on practice in identifying haploid kernels, the chromosomal doubling treatment, and assessing haploid induction rate.

Doble-Haploid1 “This is a cutting-edge technology,” says Tito Clauré, Maize Program Coordinator at Bolivia’s Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigaciones Agropecuaria (INIAP). “We’re very happy with what we learned about double haploids, but we also attended excellent presentations on statistics, physiology, and database creation.” Clauré mentions that INIAP’s Maize Program is part of the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project, and has received much useful germplasm from CIMMYT.

“The course was a very good experience for me,” says Victor Moran Rosas, a breeder at the seed company Semillas Berentsen in Mexico. “I’d read about (doubled haploids), but was able to practice all the steps.” Participants widely agreed that a great part of the course was being able to connect with other Latin American maize breeders.

HarvestPlus wheat varieties fight zinc and iron deficiency in India

Written by on December 10, 2012. Posted in News.

A series of farmer-scientist interaction meetings to create awareness of HarvestPlus and new biofortified wheat varieties with high zinc and iron content, involve farmers in participatory varietal selection (PVS) of biofortified varieties in the next crop cycle, train farmers on soil sampling for iron and zinc analysis, and discuss seed and wheat production technology, took place in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, in November 2012. The meetings were held in Bhurkura, Mirzapur district, on 4 November, Sota, Chandouli district, on 10 November, and Pidkhir, Mirzapur district, on 18 November, and were attended by 25, 38, and 30 farmers, respectively. They were jointly organized by the Banaras Hindu University, Mahamana Krishak Samiti farmers’ cooperative, Mirzapur district, and CIMMYT, and supported by a private seed company M/s. Shyam Seed.

Balasubramaniam Arun, Ramesh Chand, and Vinod Kumar Mishra, wheat scientists from the Banaras Hindu University, introduced the HarvestPlus project’s objectives and the importance of biofortified wheat varieties. Chandra Prakash Srivastava explained the role of zinc and iron for human health, while soil scientist Satish Kumar Singh focused on their role and importance in crop production, as well as zinc level distribution in different soil types in the ricewheat growing areas of the region. Each meeting included a hands-on training on HarvestPlus trials sowing, during which farmers learned about experimental design with focus on plot area, number of lines, and amount of seed to be sown, and which included soil samples collection demonstrations. This was followed by a discussion on the use of conventional and zero-till drill for experiment planting, and the farmers’ experience with biofortified varieties, seed purity maintenance, and the use of the progeny row method. Balanced use of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sulfur, and boron based on soil analysis was also covered.

CIMMYT wheat breeder Arun Joshi described the steps involved in quality seed production and the importance of seed producers’ organizations for small-scale farmers. He also highlighted advantages of the PVS approach, including the increased adoption rate of new varieties within a shorter period of time. Joshi appreciated the keen interest and active participation of farmers in PVS programs and encouraged them to continue their work and facilitate varietal selection to identify and promote agronomically superior biofortified varieties. The participating farmers showed their interest in HarvestPlus experiments and their continuing support for the wheat biofortification program. They expressed their full satisfaction with the interaction meetings, as these help them to build confidence and enhance their knowledge and capacity for understanding new wheat research processes and results. According to the participants, smallholder farmers have achieved significant gains through the participatory research program, an easier access to new varieties being one of them. Sri Hari Kirtan Singh of M/s. Shyam Seed agreed to multiply all lead varieties seeds identified for high zinc and iron content to allow easy access to an even larger number of farmers.

CIMMYT graduate research fellow wins recognition for protein maize PhD project

Written by on November 30, 2012. Posted in News.

Abdu Rahman Beshir (in the middle) with winners in BSc Hons and MSc categories — Abdu Rahman Beshir (in the middle) with winners in BSc Hons and
MSc categories

Abdu Rahman Beshir, a CIMMYT graduate research fellow from Ethiopia, received an award for the best project in the PhD category at a recent Postgraduate Students’ Symposium on Botany and Plant Biotechnology at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for his paper titled ‘Quality Protein Maize: towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals through better nutrition and stable yields.’ His presentation highlighted the severity of malnutrition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the ways quality protein maize (QPM) seeks to address the issue.

Beshir conducted his field research between July 2009 and December 2011 at CIMMYT Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia in collaboration with national programs and with support from the Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA) Initiative and the Quality Protein Maize Development project. Beshir focuses on the evaluation of yield and secondary traits of early maturing QPM cultivars (both hybrids and open pollinated varieties) under different mega environments of sub-Saharan Africa (his research was featured in Informa 1689). Beshir –is studying at the University of the Free State (UFS) under the supervision of Maryke Labuschagne and Angie Van Biljon (UFS), and Dan Makumbi (CIMMYT) and Peter Setimela (CIMMYT). “I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support from CIMMYT. This award is an indication of the relevance of research conducted at CIMMYT globally,” said Beshir. “There are many people who are looking for such opportunities, who can make a difference and contribute more to science; hence CIMMYT’s efforts are highly commendable,” added Beshir, thanking all who contributed to his studies and career growth.

The UJ symposium is an annual platform for postgraduate students from different universities to present their research findings. These findings are judged by a panel of professors based on the significance of the project, the quality of the content, and delivery.

SIMLESA-Kenya: achievements and future goals

Written by on November 29, 2012. Posted in News.

The Kenya Annual Review and Planning Meeting (ARPM) was held during 5-6 November 2012 at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). The meeting was attended by 33 participants from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), KARI, Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Council (ARC-SA), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Royal Tropical Institute, Resource Projects Kenya (local NGO), and FRESHCO Seeds (local private seed company). Present were also Stephen Njoka (KARI-Embu) and Francis Muyekho (KARI-Kakamega), who chaired some of the sessions.

Joseph Mureithi, KARI deputy director and SIMLESA program steering committee member for Kenya, welcomed all participants and informed them on the adoption of a new value chain innovation platform, bringing major stakeholders on board to address farmers’ constraints and promote commercialization of agriculture. Ephraim Mukisira then officially opened the meeting by summarizing the outcomes of the KARI Biannual Conference. He discussed the current needs of Kenyan farmers and stressed that “there is need to commercialize the farming business in Kenya in order to empower local farmers.” Besides commercialization, more effort needs to be invested in the SIMLESA initiative. Maize, as the foundation staple in the Kenyan diet, should be promoted together with legumes supplying proteins to the farmers’ families. While the population is rapidly increasing, farm sizes are declining; hence there is a pressing need to increase productivity levels while using the same land area. To realize the program’s impact within the current time constraints, the program aims to assist 50,000 farmers in both Eastern and Western Kenya.

Later on, Mekuria Mulugetta, SIMLESA program leader, provided a detailed background of SIMLESA objectives. He emphasized SIMLESA’s focus on building KARI’s organizational capacity, reminded the participants of the recently published baseline survey report for Kenya, and thanked AusAID for their continuing financial support of the SIMLESA-Ethiopia Expansion program for the next two years. As part of the meeting, the participants travelled to Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia to observe field experiments conducted by SIMLESA, ICRISAT, and national partners.

Masa-tortilla industry in Mexico: what needs to be done?

Written by on November 28, 2012. Posted in News.

Ing. Manuel Rubio Portilla (GRUMA), Dr. Juan De Dios Figueroa (Cinvestav), winners of the “Dios Yum Kaak-Ricardo Bressani” 2012 award.

About 350 representatives from the masa-tortilla, nixtamalized flour-industry, seed industry and the academic community gathered in Queretaro, Mexico, for the Fourth International Congress on Nixtamalization. The Congress, organized by the Center of Applied Physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (FATA-UNAM) and MasAgro, took place during 17-20 October 2012 and was preceded by a day of MasAgro courses on basic techniques in grain quality for the tortilla and traditional and alternative methods of nixtamalization.

Attendees came from Mexico, USA, Kenya, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Colombia. The program consisted of lectures on the current state on processes of nixtamalization and the socio-economic aspects (from the seed to the product, nutritional qualities of maize and the tortilla, and innovation and alternative processes in nixtamalization). As part of the bi-annual Congress, Manuel Rubio Portilla from Grupo Maseca (GRUMA) and Juan De Dios Figueroa were awarded the “Dios Yum Kaax-Ricardo Bressani” prize for their dedication to and innovations of nixtamalization. Ricardo Bressani, a Guatemalan scientist and one of the leading figures in nixtamalization research, was also present.

The current state of the masa-tortilla industry was one of the key topics of the Congress. According to Natalia Palacios, CIMMYT nutritional quality of maize specialist, there are many challenges facing the masatortilla industry. “This industry consists of a traditional, family type of business. The knowledge is passed from one generation to another, but the business is now too big which brings many challenges that need to be addressed: grain quality, phytosanitary practices, waste management, and efficient use of water and energy. Some tortilla makers, for example, started to use methods to asses the grain quality used for their process towards standardization of the process and assurance of quality of the final product, but this type of knowledge is shared until now mainly through meetings such as this Congress, otherwise they have very limited contact with the academia,” said Palacios. Many participants, including representatives of the tortilla industry, expressed a strong interest in developing a university curriculum on nixtamalization that would help to address such issues. The curriculum would further focus on safety issues, quality, machine development, business administration etc. The masa-tortilla and nixtamalized industry as well as the academia, especially the Autonomous University of Querétaro, are very open to talks about this plan, said Mario Rodríguez from FATA-UNAM. Furthermore, the masa-tortilla industry representatives expressed their interest to work more closely with the farmers to make the maize chain more efficient.

maizTortilla3 While the Congress was based largely on lectures, it provided a great opportunity for students to learn more about nixtamalization from the practical perspective, and an excellent opportunity for industry representatives to create a basis for future developments in the field. Our thanks go to all the staff involved in the Congress organization.

Global network to increase wheat yield, fight hunger

Written by on November 27, 2012. Posted in News.

To meet the global demand for wheat, wheat yield needs to be increased by 60% by 2050 or 1.6% per year. While scientific evidence suggests that the yield potential could be increased by 50% or more, the research needed is beyond the current capacity of individual institutions or national research programs. Therefore, the establishment of an international Wheat Yield Network (WYN) was proposed on 13 November 2012 during the Wheat Yield Funders’ Conference in Mexico City. The WYN follows on from a major three year effort by the Global Wheat Program and many international partners (who worked together as the Wheat Yield Consortium) with strong support from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) through the MasAgro initiative.

The meeting was officially opened by Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda, SAGARPA Secretary. Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, welcomed all participants on behalf of CIMMYT. Hans Braun, CIMMYT Global Wheat Program director, then provided an overview of the global wheat crisis, stating that increasing wheat yield is currently one of the biggest challenges to food security. However, investments in wheat research are low compared to other major crops, although wheat is currently second to rice as the main calorie source and the most important source of plant protein in human food. To achieve the goals of the proposed WYN – increasing the photosynthetic capacity of wheat, achieving high and stable harvest index and lodging resistance, and establishment of a state-of-the-art breeding platform to deliver new wheat lines from this work to the world – it is necessary not only to connect leading public and private research teams, but also to establish more research platforms in developing countries, such as the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug (CENEB) near Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico.

During his presentation on the origins of the Wheat Yield Consortium, Lumpkin discussed the importance of wheat for achieving food security and raised the question whether wheat will be able to compete with other crops without increased research funding. “We need to supercharge wheat and make it competitive with maize,” he said. Helene Lucas, Wheat Initiative and INRA international coordinator, offered a global perspective on wheat programs and purpose of Wheat Initiative. Steve Visscher (BBSRC deputy chief executive and chief operating officer) and Saharah Moon Chapotin (division chief for agricultural research, USAID) outlined the public sector position, and John Bloomer (JMB Consulting (Pleshey) Ltd. director) summarized the perspective of the private sector.

Prior to the closed session, a discussion was held to cover possible future steps. It was reiterated by participants that the question is not whether a global platform to support wheat research is needed; the question is how to do it. A communiqué with results of the conference is currently being prepared.

More Kenyans to benefit from improved grain storage technologies

Written by on November 26, 2012. Posted in News.

“Maize research in the country has contributed to increased productivity by developing high yielding hybrid varieties that give quick returns to the farmers. However, 30% of post-harvest losses incurred during storage due to insect pests such as the larger grain borer and maize weevil; and lack of effective grain storage facilities negates the achievements,” noted Ephraim Mukisira, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) director, in a speech read on his behalf by Joseph Ochieng, KARI Food Crops assistant director, during the launch of the second phase of the Effective Grain Storage for Better Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP-II) in Nairobi, Kenya, on 2 November 2012. “In monetary terms, this loss translates to over 10 billion Kenya shillings (US$ 120 million). Therefore more effort is required in post-harvest management practices and marketing to fulfil millenium development goals and realize Vision 2030 [Kenya’s Blue Print to Industrialization],” added Mukisira.

EGSP-II (2012-2016) builds on the successes of the previous phase (2008-2011) and aims to improve food security and reduce vulnerability of resourcepoor farmers, particularly women farmers, in eastern and southern Africa through the dissemination of effective grain storage technologies. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and will help smallholder farmers in Kenya acquire more than 4,000 metal silos that have proved effective against the larger grain borer and maize weevils – the most destructive storage pests. In addition, smallholder farmers are set to benefit from 24,000 super grain bags.

Mukisira lauded the efforts by national institutions, CIMMYT, and other stakeholders in promoting use of storage technologies, calling for strengthening these efforts even further to achieve economically acceptable post-harvest losses of less than 5%. According to B.M. Prasanna, CIMMYT Global Maize Program director, heavy post-harvest losses prevent Kenya and other countries in the region from achieving food security.

The project’s three components — research, promotion, and policy advocacy for metal silos and super grain bag technologies— are geared towards successful development of a well-functioning and sustainable input chain to provide small-scale maize producers with effective storage technologies, clarified project coordinator Tadele Tefera. EGSP-II will address policy concerns to upscale metal silo technology and test new small-scale technologies based on hermetically sealed bags. Adoption of metal silos is quite expensive for the resourcepoor farmers, and thus has remained low; the new smallscale technology can provide a solution to this problem, as it is a cheap alternative targeting smallholder farmers.

Jones Govereh, CIMMYT policy economist, added: “As a result of lack of adequate awareness and access to appropriate technologies, farmers end up selling their maize soon after harvest, when prices are at their lowest, partly to curb the losses and partly to meet other financial needs. The same farmers are forced to buy the grains back at more than twice the price later in the season to meet their subsistence needs, resulting in a continual poverty trap.” EGSP-II, a major initiative in sub-Saharan Africa, aims to change the situation.