Monday, 14 May 2012. Posted in Features

CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 10, October 2008

A team in Mauritius working on the wheat-growing project As the price of wheat goes up, countries such as the Republic of Mauritius are feeling the pinch. A former British colony off the coast of Madagascar, it imports most of its wheat from France and Australia. But with help from CIMMYT, the island has started trials to grow its own wheat—and results to date look promising.

The CIMMYT germplasm bank freely distributes maize and wheat seed to hundreds of partners worldwide each year. In January 2008, Tom Payne, Head of CIMMYT’s wheat germplasm bank (seed bank), received a request for wheat seed from Mala Gungadurdoss, Head of the Mauritanian Agronomy Department at the Ministry of Agro-industry. “The rising price of imported wheat coupled with a scarcity on the international market (made us) revisit our food and agricultural policy,” explains Gungadurdoss, who is also Principle Research Scientist of the Agricultural Research and Extension Unit. “Our food security is at stake, since Mauritius imports most of its staples.”

Payne sent a “yield trial” of 49 elite spring wheat lines that he thought might flourish in the climactic conditions and disease spectrum of the island. “In a way, it’s kind of an exploratory experiment,” he says. “I don’t really know their environment and they don’t really know wheat, so I sent them something to see if it fit their conditions.”

Payne’s selection was apparently successful. “I am really satisfied with the yields of above 5 tons per hectare for 13 of the lines,” says Gungadurdoss. “I consider these yields to be very good when I compare them to yields of 1.5-3 tons per hectare obtained in the trials of 1985-1993,” referring to the last period during which the country grew wheat trials. Gungadurdoss admits that recent conditions were conducive to achieving good yields; but the highest yields for this year’s trial ranging from 5.8 to 6.4 tons per hectare are not only vastly superior to the results of previous trials; they are more than twice wheat’s global average of 2.5 tons per hectare.

Wheat’s roots in Mauritius
The Dutch introduced wheat to Mauritius in 1598 and it was grown on a commercial scale in the 1820s. But only about 1,700 hectares were under cultivation by the end of the 1930s, when the island began focusing on growing the more profitable sugarcane and importing wheat, which was far less expensive to buy, according to Gungadurdoss. “Up until three years ago, wheat was very cheap,” says Payne. “It was overproduced in Europe, North America, and Australia. This is one of the reasons the price of wheat and other grains stayed low for long time.”

Most people who live on Mauritius are of Indian origin and eat food staples such as chappatis, pharatas, puris, and bread made from wheat and wheat flour, says Gungadurdoss. In 2007 the island imported around 140,000 tons of unmilled wheat and 9,000 tons of flour. Over the last 5 years the country imported an average of 137,000 tons of unmilled wheat and 9,500 tons of wheat flour costing USD 28 million. The per capita consumption of wheat flour averaged 74 kilograms per year, and this is expected to increase in the future, according to Gungadurdoss.

Some of the early yields have been over 5 tons per hectare, which is more than twice wheat’s global average of 2.5 tons per hectare.Thanks to the wheat breeding lines sent by CIMMYT, agronomists on Mauritius can screen promising wheat lines for high grain yield, early maturity, resistance to major pests and diseases, and good baking characteristics; assess wheat’s economic feasibility under local conditions; identify the main constraints to production and devise corrective measures; and conserve their own elite germplasm (seeds and genetic material).

“Based on whatever results the agronomists from Mauritius send us, we can send them more lines from CIMMYT’s wheat germplasm bank and international nurseries,” says Payne. “These lines will have much broader genetic variation and will be even better suited for the island.”

Homegrown wheat could be within reach
For now, growing wheat in Mauritius is still in the early stages; sowing, weeding, harvesting, threshing and winnowing were done manually at Réduit Crop Research Station. One of the next steps will be to research the economic viability of growing and processing wheat using mechanization which will be tested on a much larger scale, possibly with interested farmers in 2009, according to Gungadurdoss.

“Once the economic feasibility is determined, we can decide on our future move: maybe large-scale production in line with cross border initiatives with Madagascar or Mozambique to substitute part of our imports can be considered.”

“I think Mauritius gets enough rainfall for wheat, and it’s on roughly the same latitude as countries or regions that get good yields, such as Uruguay, Zimbabwe, and northern Mexico, so high wheat yields should definitely be possible,” says Hans-Joachim Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

For more information: Tom Payne, Head, Wheat Germplasm Bank (t.payne@cgiar.org)

More stories on agriculture in Mauritius (both in French)

Mala Gungadurdoss (Areu) : «Du riz et du blé Made in Mauritius, c’est possible»

Le blé made in Mauritius bientôt à portée de bouche

“Storage technologies provided by the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project offer effective grain protection against pest and moisture,” said Honorable Jermoth Ulemu Chilapondwa, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Malawi, during the launch of the project on 26 September 2012 in Lilongwe, Malawi. “It will go a long way in complimenting the government’s efforts in fighting post-harvest grain losses,” he added.

As a major crop in Malawi, maize provides food and income to over 300 million resource-poor smallholder farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. However, safe grain storage has presented a big challenge to the farmers. High post-harvest losses (up to 30 %) have made food security difficult to achieve at the household level despite increased production following government initiatives such as the Farm Input Subsidy Program. Jones Govereh, CIMMYT policy economist, noted that the traditional granaries have failed to protect farmers’ maize harvests against the two most destructive post-harvest insect pests in the region, maize weevils and larger grain borers. The Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP-II), building on the successes of the previous phase (2008-2012), aims to change the situation. The objective of EGSP-II (2012-2016) is to improve food security and reduce vulnerability through the fabrication, dissemination, and distribution of 4,000 metal silos and 24,000 super grain bags among smallholder farmers in Malawi.

The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and has three components: research, promotion, and policy advocacy for metal silos and super grain bag technologies. They are geared towards successful development of a well-functioning and sustainable input chain to provide small-scale maize producers with effective storage technologies in areas affected by high post-harvest losses. The project is fully supported by the government of Malawi. According to Honorable Chilapondwa, “The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will endeavor to continuously assess the metal silos through the Department of Agricultural Research Services which has been tasked to do the research component, while the Department of Crop Development will be disseminating and promoting the technologies. I realize that policy consideration is key in successful implementation of the project. Bunda College has been mandated to address the issues and therefore take a leading role.”

The meeting allowed CIMMYT scientists, partners, and collaborators in Malawi to exchange ideas, information, and research outputs; raise awareness on promotion and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies; and consult stakeholders on policy environment and market issues for effective implementation of EGSP-II.

The National Agricultural Innovation Institute, through the Vista Florida Experiment Station in Chiclayo, Peru, in collaboration with CIMMYT, organized the workshop “Phenotyping in plant breeding and precision agriculture” during 27-29 August 2012. The objective was to demonstrate and discuss innovative agricultural technologies and platforms that can contribute to making agriculture more modern and profitable.

Attending the workshop were 76 representatives from national institutions such as INIA, Peru’s agrarian universities, seed companies and agribusinesses, regional organizations, the International Potato Center (CIP) and FAO. The workshop consisted of lectures and field practices on the use of tools such as GPS, SPAD, and GreenSeeker. One of its strengths was the high level of interaction between instructors and participants, and the feedback given by farmers and seed company staff.

Course instructors were José Luis Araus of the Plant Biology Department of the University of Barcelona, Spain; Llorenc Cabrera-Bosquet of the Plant Ecophysiology Laboratory for Environmental Stress, Montpellier, France; Argemiro Moreno Berrocal of the Plant Breeding Department, National Coffee Research Center, Colombia, and Luis Narro from CIMMYT’s regional office in Colombia.

During the workshop, instructors stressed the importance of technologies and tools that support precision agriculture, such as remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). They also emphasized land-based and hand-held sensors such as SPAD-502 and GreenSeekerTM, which, among other things, can be used to improve nitrogen use efficiency in maize.

Course instructors indicated the usefulness of GIS not only for storing, organizing, and analyzing spatial data, but also for relating and geo-referencing information from different sources in support of decision making. They also showed that GPS can be used to layout plots, determine distances, and estimate plot area.

Also highlighted was the need to develop new phenotyping methodologies to improve maize tolerance to drought and other biotic stresses. A topic of discussion was the use of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes to evaluate yield potential and drought tolerance. As for phenotyping under controlled conditions, phenotyping platforms were described, particularly the PhenoArch platform located at INRA, Montpellier, France.

INIA Agricultural Research Director Enrique La Hoz and Miguel Monsalve Aita, Director of the Vista Florida Experiment Station, indicated the importance of this type of event for updating both researchers and farmers on new tools that can help make agriculture more modern and profitable. Carlos Zañartu Otoya, President of the Lambayeque Seed Producers’ Association, mentioned the Association’s intention to promote the information provided during the event and offered to help organize future workshops.

While cereal production in India has increased significantly since the mid-1960s as a result of the Green Revolution, securing the gains achieved is becoming more difficult in the context of soaring food and fuel prices, volatile markets, depleting water resources, soil degradation, and the effects of global climate change. To discuss strategies for improving efficiency and resilience of farming systems as a way to ensure sustainable food security, over 400 participants gathered for an in-field stakeholder meeting on ‘Empowering Farmers for Climate Smart Agricultural Practices in Haryana’ in Taraori, Karnal, India, on 28 September 2012. The event was organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Haryana Farmers’ Commission (Government of Haryana), Haryana Department of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), CCS Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), CIMMYT, Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), and Farmers Cooperative. Among the participants were Indian farmers, 50 officials from governmental and private sector organizations, and 25 scientists from national and international institutions. RS Paroda, Chairman of Haryana Farmers Commission, urged farmers to stay connected with scientists, extension agents, and government officials while modifying agricultural practices for adaptation and mitigation of climate change. He suggested that diversification from conventional rice-wheat rotation to new technologies, such as direct seeded rice, zero tillage, residue management, and raised bed planting, and alternative crops to rice is necessary for sustainable agriculture. By quoting Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, late Prime Minister of India, who said “In order to awaken the people, it is the women who have to be awakened. Once she is on move, the family moves, the village moves, and the nation moves,” he stressed the importance of empowering female farmers. Paroda further highlighted the importance of regional and global networks and partnerships for knowledge sharing and enhanced capacity development.

CIMMYT senior agronomist ML Jat emphasized the importance of the principles of conservation agriculture, as they could considerably contribute to arresting the natural resource degradation and to increased farm profitability. PK Aggarwal, CCAFS South Asia coordinator, discussed how current farming practices are partially responsible for climate change and what needs to be done. For example, conventional puddled rice cultivation utilizes standing water which is a major source of methane gas emissions. Therefore, new rice production technologies are necessary. Other participants, including Indu Sharma (Director, DWR Karnal), DK Sharma (Director, CSSRIKarnal ), BS Duggal (Additional Director Agriculture, Government of Haryana), and Sain Dass (President, Indian Maize Development Association) discussed the use of groundwater recharge, gypsum, salt tolerant varieties, the provision of subsidized and/ or free seeds by the Government of Haryana to promote diversification in intensive systems, introduction of maize to replace rice in certain areas, and conservation agriculture practices. Kaushik Majumdar (Director, International Plant Nutrition Institute – South Asia) also mentioned that Nutrient Expert, an excellent tool for site-specific nutrient management for crop yield optimizations and environmental footprint reduction, has been developed and validated in Haryana in collaboration with CIMMYT.

“We have arrived at the tipping point and are not taking Africa’s Green Revolution to scale,” said Kofi Annan during the opening session of the 2012 African Green Revolution Forum which took place in Arusha, Tanzania, from 26-28 September. The forum gathered 1,000 participants from ministries of agriculture, industry, and the international donor community. CIMMYT was represented by Wilfred Mwangi. Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Kanayo Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, also attended the event.

During the forum, Annan called on governments to invest more in agricultural development, as did Gates who urged for a much more ambitious investment in agricultural research and development for the next 10 years. “This was a great event for networking especially with key partners and policymakers in countries where CIMMYT works in Africa,” said Mwangi, who participated in a number of plenary sessions and side events including one on ‘Embarking on a Journey to Enable Private Sector Investment’. Among the panelists of the session were the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives of Tanzania and Isaka Mashauri, managing director and chief executive officer of TANSEED International Ltd. Mashauri attended an intensive maize breeding and variety release course organized by CIMMYT in 2005 and during the event he praised CIMMYT for helping him to build his seed company by providing maize germplasm and technical backstopping. The drought tolerant maize germplasm provided by CIMMYT allowed him to release four drought tolerant maize varieties to local farmers in Tanzania, the first to be released by a local seed company. According to Mashauri, his partnership with CIMMYT is a very good model for helping to build the local private sector that should be emulated by others (for more information on CIMMYT’s work with TANSEED International Ltd, visit the BMGF website and the CIMMYT website).

Mexico and CIMMYT were recognized by G20 agricultural development experts for presenting the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative at the Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) held on 26 September in Guadalajara, Jalisco, in the framework of the activities organized by the Mexican presidency of G20, which includes the largest economies in the world.

During the meeting “Strengthening international cooperation through agricultural research and development,” Karen García, Chief Executive of MasAgro at CIMMYT, expressed her gratitude for the distinction granted to MasAgro, which was included in a report delivered to the G20 Agricultural Vice- Ministers and described as a model of research and capacity building that promotes public-private partnerships in the food and farming sector.

Bram Govaerts, Associate Director of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program and leader of the MasAgro component “Take It to the Farmer”, called upon the international community to commit to promoting collaborative research strategies that strengthen global food security. As an example, Govaerts cited the Global Programs WHEAT and MAIZE that CGIAR centers are collaboratively implementing to increase the productivity of small-scale farmers in different regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Marty Jones, representative of the Global Forum of Agricultural Research (GFAR), urged the participants to establish a mechanism to facilitate setting agricultural research and development priorities and create sustainable production systems with the capacity to bring about a 60 % increase in global food and agricultural productivity by 2050.

The participants also expressed their support of researchers who are developing the Germplasm Resource Information Network (GRIN–GLOBAL) and working to make genetic resources more accessible to the international scientific community. Simon Liu, representative of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), invited experts to cooperate in establishing policies giving open source access to genetic and genomic data obtained with public sector program support to benefit mainly farmers in developing countries.

One of the major factors contributing to low national average maize yield in Rwanda is small-scale farmers’ limited access to improved maize seed, as was stated by Claver Ngaboyisonga (Crop Research and Extension at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) director), Nyiringabo Ignace (Win Win Agri-tech Ltd director), and Ngoga Claudien (Agriculture Promotion – Sarura Seed Company director) during a Seed Business Management training organized by Win Win Agritech Ltd and CIMMYT from 4 to 6 September 2012 at the Pastoral Centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The training aimed to increase awareness on quality seed production and marketing, and to improve the skills and knowledge among new small seed companies, as quality seed production and marketing are challenges the sector is yet to overcome.

Maize cultivation in Rwanda is rapidly expanding due to changes in cropping systems, agricultural policies, and use of inputs such as fertilizer and new maize varieties adapted to different agro-ecologies. However, the national average yield remains low at 2.4 t/ha, despite the increase in area under maize cultivation from 109,400 ha in 2005 to 223,414 ha in 2011 and in production from 97,251 t in 2005 to 525,679 t in 2011. According to Ngaboyisonga, public-private partnership and involvement of private seed companies in seed production and marketing of quality improved seed is crucial for increasing the national average yield.

To achieve this goal, 28 participants from Win Win Agri-tech Ltd, Agriculture Promotion Company Ltd- Sarura, and RAB participated in the training program covering all aspects of the seed business, spanning from variety identification to marketing. The sessions were coordinated by CIMMYT seed systems specialists Mosisa Worku Regasa and James Gethi. Maereka Enock Kuziwa, a course participant, expressed satisfaction with the way the program was organized and conducted. “Seed business is a relatively new field in the Rwandan market and continuing support from CIMMYT to the seed business industry in Rwanda would be very useful,” added Ignace. This training will go a long way in promoting the use of improved maize varieties, especially those developed by CIMMYT in collaboration with RAB.

Doubled haploid (DH) technology is increasingly utilized in maize breeding for achieving rapid genetic gains and speeding up product development. Several maize breeding programs within public institutions and small and medium private enterprises, especially in tropical maize growing countries, lag behind in using this technology. By disseminating newly developed tropical inducer lines, offering technical know-how to breeding programs, and conducting training courses, CIMMYT has been working to close this gap. CIMMYT also produced an elaborate training manual on DH technology (available for download at CIMMYT library repository).

The National Maize Research Institute (NMRI), Hanoi, Vietnam, is currently expanding its technical capacity to adapt the DH technology to its institutional needs. To assist NMRI in achieving this goal, CIMMYT has been offering training to its scientists. Three NMRI scientists were trained at CIMMYT-Mexico from January to May 2012. NMRI then organized a four-day training course during 10–12 September 2012, which was led by CIMMYT scientists Vijay Chaikam and Dan Jeffers and attended by 60 NMRI breeders/scientists. Mai Xuan Trieu (NMRI director general), Luong Van Vang (Maize Development Project director), Kha Le Quy (Maize Breeding Department head), and Dang Ngoc Ha (International Cooperation Department head) inaugurated the course with discussions about the challenges for maize production in Vietnam. Jeffers presented on future challenges for maize in Asia, CIMMYT’s vision for addressing these problems, and identification and management of prominent maize diseases in Southeast Asia. Chaikam’s presentations covered all the technical details of DH technology and the components required for establishing a successful DH breeding program. Jeffers and Chaikam also visited Song Boi experimental station in Hoa Binh province to assess its suitability for DH operations.

During the closing ceremony, Mai Xuan Trieu and Luong Van Vang expressed their gratitude to Thomas Lumpkin (CIMMYT director general), Marianne Bänziger (CIMMYT deputy director general), and B.M. Prasanna (Global Maize Program director) for their efforts in forging collaboration with NMRI and the support provided to adapt DH technology in maize breeding programs.

Longer periods of drought and erratic and below-average rainfall in western Kenya have been making farming increasingly difficult over the years. In combination with declining soil fertility and deep-rooted practices of low-farm input application, agricultural productivity in the region has been on steep decline, leaving many farmers desperately staring at famine. However, with introduction of conservation agriculture (CA) via the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative in 2010, Kenyan farmers regained hope.

SIMLESA activities are implemented in western and eastern regions by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) with technical support from CIMMYT and financial assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Over the last two years, SIMLESA has been conducting on-farm trials using CA techniques: minimum tillage, crop residue management, intercropping/crop rotation (with maize and beans or desmodium), and participatory variety selection trials. Members of Tumaini Farmers Field School, Bungoma County, western Kenya, have been using these techniques. “We were in a desperate situation. Maize for us is not only our staple crop; it is also a major cash crop. But yields have been dwindling to levels where they could not sustain our food requirements,” stated Geoffrey Wanjala, the group chairman. “However, conservation agriculture has brought fortunes. With soils regaining fertility and farmers adopting good agricultural practices, yields have started increasing.

Conservation agriculture has also come with low farming costs, as we do not have to invest in time consuming, labor intensive, and costly ploughing and weeding activities. We have decided to adopt the conservation agriculture because of these benefits.”

The success of the trials encouraged KARI and CIMMYT to organize a farmers’ field day to demonstrate the performance of CA technologies. The field day was held in Kanduyi Division, Bungoma South District, Bungoma County, on 17 August 2012, and attracted farmers from other SIMLESA districts in eastern Kenya and over 20 exhibitors, including Kyeni Innovation Learning Platform (ILePs), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Livestock Development, seed and fertilizer companies, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), agro-dealers, and community-based organizations in agriculture, energy, and health.

John Achieng, KARI-agronomist, reiterated KARI’s and CIMMYT’s commitment to developing resilient farming systems that can guarantee good yields even when faced with vagaries of climate change and degraded soils. “KARI will continue to develop new and improved technologies for enhanced agricultural productivity and improved livelihoods,” said Achieng.

George Ayaga, deputy center director of KARI-Kakamega and SIMLESA western Kenya coordinator, lauded the partnerships in implementing SIMLESA, particularly ILePs, noting that they managed to reduce competition among stakeholders, thus enhancing collaboration and reducing implementation costs for partner organizations. “Together you can approach farmers with holistic packages to agricultural production and ensure competitiveness of the agricultural products,” he added. Ayaga also noted that field days were critical in showcasing the best technologies, taking the technologies from the station to farmers’ fields, and involving farmers in the research process through their feedback. Alponkina Nyagah, Kyeni ILePs chairlady, stated that SIMLESA’s work on CA will be crucial for hunger reduction in Kenya.