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MasAgro: facing the future, reaffirming farmer focus

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One key reason why small-scale maize farmers—particularly those in Mexico—hold on to their native varieties is their strong fear of failed crops in difficult years, according to Bram Govaerts, head of the MasAgro component “Take it to the farmer.” “Agriculture is a system of risk, so we need to do whatever we can to help farmers reduce this risk and get stable yields,” Govaerts said.

This and farmers’ attachment to varieties with preferred taste and grain qualities were discussed during a 13 September 2011 presentation for CIMMYT staff at El Batán on the “Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture” (MasAgro) project. Launched in April 2011, funded by the Mexican government, and based on an initiative of Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) together with CIMMYT, the project supports Mexican farmers working in partnership with several organizations to increase maize and wheat productivity, obtain higher returns on harvests, and ensure the preceding does not contribute to climate change. Over its 10-year lifespan, MasAgro aims to raise annual maize production by 5-9 million tons in rainfed areas and increase wheat harvests by 350,000 tons each year.

Opening the meeting, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin stressed the significance of MasAgro both for CIMMYT and Mexico, praised the excellent support from the Mexican government and SAGARPA, and referred to a recent statement by Mexican President Felipe Calderón that called MasAgro the most important public policy for agriculture of the current administration. Karen García, Executive Director of MasAgro, believes the project poses a unique challenge to CIMMYT and reflects the Center’s adaptability. “This is a large initiative that directly responds to key policy directions of the government of Mexico, CIMMYT’s host country,” she said.

Speakers at the event included Marianne BĂ€nziger (Deputy Director General for Research and Partnerships), Scott Ferguson (Deputy Director General, Support Services), and Marc Rojas (leader of the MasAgro component International Maize Improvement Consortium). “MasAgro is the biggest project CIMMYT has ever had, but we also have other projects,” said BĂ€nziger, “we are one family and we work together.” Govaerts said the integration of the project with other Mexican initiatives was strong and getting stronger.

The name “Take it to the Farmer” comes from Dr. Norman Borlaug’s suggestion regarding a new technology he was shown the day before he died. Work under this component brings together public and private organizations to increase maize and wheat productivity, obtain higher returns on yields, and strengthen local small- and medium-sized agribusinesses. The “International Maize Improvement Consortium” is helping local small- and intermediate-scale seed producers to make diverse maize varieties and hybrids available to Mexican farmers at affordable prices. At the event Gemma Molero (Postdoctoral Fellow, Wheat Physiology Program) presented the “Wheat Yield Consortium”, which constitutes Mexico’s contribution to an international consortium of public and private sector researchers in more than 30 countries who have come together to increase wheat’s yield potential by 50% over the next 20 years through improvements in photosynthetic efficiency and plant architecture. As part of the MasAgro component “Discovering the Genetic Diversity of Seed,”, presented by Peter Wenzl (Head, CRIL), scientists are applying cutting-edge technologies to study and classify the diversity in CIMMYT’s genetic resource collections and make the information widely available to breeders in Mexico and abroad.

Partners in southern Africa projects discuss maize seed regulations

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Partners from various projects for farmers in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met in Gaborone, Botswana, during 10-12 August 2011 to review progress and discuss future directions. Interactions involved members of the New Maize Seed Initiative for Southern Africa (NSIMA), the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) projects, as well as representatives from SADC, CIMMYT, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and local seed producers.

BotswanaEdison Wotho, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana, praised Botswana’s participation in NSIMA, whose products for that country’s farmers include a new drought tolerant maize hybrid (CZH0623) and three OPVs (ZM309, ZM401 and ZM523). “The projects come at the right time,” said Wotho. “The region is experiencing frequent droughts and food shortages.”

Simon Mwale, SADC headquarters, Gaborone, highlighted the progress of his organization, CIMMYT, and other partners to harmonize the seed regulations and ease restrictions on the release and cross-border movement of seed in the region. He said a SADC Seed Centre would be established in Lusaka, Zambia, to help implement harmonized seed regulations (a MoU is expected to be signed soon by SADC countries). George Bigirwa, Senior Program Officer, AGRA and Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS), described how to establish a successful seed business in Africa. Presenting outcomes of a recently conducted review of NSIMA in preparation for a phase III, SDC consultant David Karite mentioned that 7 new OPVs and 13 hybrids had been registered in SADC during 2008-10.

During a visit to Botswana’s Seed Multiplication Unit, participants discovered that the Unit produces about 3,000 tons yearly of Kgalagadi Early Pearly, the only registered OPV sold at a subsidized price by the government. It is looking forward to multiplying seed of drought tolerant maize varieties from the various projects. As part of NSIMA, breeder’s seed is also being multiplied to scale up seed production for the new varieties.

At a cocktail party sponsored by Seed Co-Botswana, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT Regional Liaison Officer for Southern Africa, gave an overview of the center’s activities in the region and commitments in support of the SADC objectives to enhance food security. He said CIMMYT was very pleased to partner with the new Center for the Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (Southern Africa-CCARDESA). Mekuria and CIMMYT Maize Breeder Peter Setimela also visited the Botswana Department of Agricultural Research to introduce the “Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa program” (SIMLESA), following up on a 2010 visit by the President of Botswana to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to involve Botswanan scientists in the project.

Ambassadors Day highlights the importance of global collaboration in agricultural research

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To feed a growing population on today’s cultivated land, the world must increase food production 70% by 2050, said the Mexican Agriculture Ministry’s (SAGARPA) coordinator of advisors, Omar Musalem, citing FAO data and speaking for Agriculture Secretary Francisco Mayorga at CIMMYT’s Ambassadors Day in El Batán on 14 September 2011.

Ambassadors-Day11With diplomatic representatives from 15 countries in attendance, the event was designed to raise awareness and foster discussion on partnerships to secure global food security through agricultural research, an issue at the forefront of recent G20 talks in France. Musalem highlighted the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative—implemented by SAGARPA and CIMMYT with myriad national, regional, and local organizations, both public and private—as an innovative model.

Prefacing Musalem’s address and welcoming the guests, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin cited global challenges for agriculture—climate change, population growth, resource scarcities, rising food prices, new diseases, and increasing demand for biofuels. “SUVs are competing with the hungry people in the developing world,” said Lumpkin. “To address these issues, we need to improve current varieties of maize and wheat, enabling them to tolerate weather extremes and diseases. We also need to use fertilizer and pesticides more efficiently and without polluting.”

Ambassadors-Day6As part of the event, the visitors toured the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center with Thomas Payne and enjoyed a presentation on wheat’s wild relatives by David Bonnet. At the long-term conservation agriculture trial plot, Bram Govaerts described current efforts to test and promote CA practices among thousands of Mexican farmers. The group saw new maize and wheat varieties and learned in more detail about the work CIMMYT and its partners are doing on these crops, in field presentations by FĂ©lix San Vicente, Natalia Palacios, JosĂ© Luis Torres, Marc Rojas, and Ravi Singh.

Interactions continued at a luncheon in the Guest House garden, closing this day of reaching out to Mexico City’s diplomatic corps. All participants enjoyed the cordial and professional attention of CIMMYT’s Corporate Services, particularly catering and security.

INIFAP visit

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As part of a Mexican government initiative to enhance the quality and service of its research organizations, on 20 September 2011 a team of specialists from the National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) spent the day at El BatĂĄn interacting with CIMMYT staff on respective organizational cultures and values, missions and visions, research and business plans, and professional development.

Launching the visit with an overview of INIFAP, forestry support director Juan Bautista Rentería Anima described a rich and challenging research agenda keyed to Mexico’s diverse native crops and cropping environments. “In recent years the emphasis has again shifted to extension,” said Rentería, “trying to reach farmers with our products.”

Prefacing an introduction to CIMMYT, corporate communications head Mike Listman remarked on the strong parallels in scientific and institutional challenges facing both organizations. “I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but we’re talking the same language on these issues” he said. The origins and evolution of CIMMYT are linked to INIFAP history, the director of the institute, Dr. Pedro Brajcich Gallegos, served as a CIMMYT wheat breeder, and both Brajcich and Salvador Fernández-Rivera, INIFAP Coordinator for Research, Innovation, and Partnerships, currently serve as CIMMYT Trustees.

Karen GarcĂ­a, executive director of the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project launched in 2010, highlighted the key role of INIFAP in the Mexico-funded initiative.

Presentations by Luz George, head of the project management unit, Carolina Roa, head of the intellectual property unit, and Carlos López, head of information and communications technology, addressed services and applications offered by those areas. Bibiana Espinosa, research assistant in wheat genetic resources, also took part in discussions. The event was organized by Isabel Peña, head of interinstitutional relations in Latin America.

The INIFAP team thanked CIMMYT warmly for its hospitality and open sharing of information. In a closing session, Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for support services, thanked the visitors for coming, and emphasized that CIMMYT is still finding its way to more efficient systems and structures: “We’ve doubled our budget over the four years, after 28 years of zero growth in real terms. We are dealing with all the organizational problems of such rapid and dramatic growth, and appreciate the chance to share experiences and ideas with a longstanding partner.”

The INIFAP group comprised Bertha Patricia Zamora, Director of Programs and Strategic Projects; Juan Bautista Rentería Anima, Director of Forestry Support; Vicente Santacruz García, Director of Planning; Ceferino Ortiz Trejo, Director of linking Operative Units; Héctor Peña Dueñas, Director of Human Development and Professionalism; Ramsés Gutiérrez Zepeda, Director of Evaluation and Systems; Francisco Gonzålez Naranjo, Dirección of Efficiency and Accountability; Ricardo Noverón Chåvez, Head of the Legal Unit; Edmundo Mårquez Santana; Director of Scientific Exchange and Cooperation; Miguel Ignacio Moneta Porto, Head of Strategic Information Consolidation; and Omar Chåvez Aguilera, Head of Agreements for Scientific Cooperation.

Third Conservation Agriculture Week in Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico

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Farmers in the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa use conservation agriculture (CA) practices to reduce costs and achieve sustainable food production. In Sonora CA can generate average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare, according to farmers. Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize by not using this technology, which saves costs and reduces the environmental impact of farming.

These were the main conclusions from an event held in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, and Guasave, Sinaloa, during 9-14 September. It was attended by about 1,000 people, including farmers, technicians, researchers, state authorities, and businessmen. The program was coordinated by CIMMYT which, in collaboration with SAGARPA (Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food), promotes the adoption of sustainable agronomic practices through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative.

Activities at the event began with a description by Lope Montoya, head of the Norman Borlaug Experiment Station of INIFAP (the National Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute) of soybean varieties that are highly resistant to a pest commonly known as white fly. A few days later, local research centers, such as the Technological Institute of Sonora (ITSON) and the Yaqui Valley Institute (ITVY), joined the event, which was aimed at transferring CA technology and knowledge to students, technicians, and farmers in Mexico’s North Pacific region.

During this rural extension effort, the testimony of maize and soybean farmer Roberto Encinas stood out: he compared conventional farming practices to conservation technology and reported average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare after shifting to minimum tillage, retaining part of the crop residue on the soil surface, and practicing crop rotations.

During the five-day event, there were also demonstrations of farm machinery adapted for use with CA. Representatives of Industrias VĂĄzquez, Sembradoras del BajĂ­o, ASGROW, and John Deere explained the workings of precision planters, bed re-shapers, and fertilizer drills, among other multi-use and multi-crop implements designed specifically for sustainable farming.

In his speech, the mayor of Guasave, RamĂłn Barajas, mentioned the economic advantages of direct drilling (as CA is also known) during the Fifth Technological Event on Maize Cropping, which was organized by FundaciĂłn Produce Sinaloa as the final event of the Third Conservation Agriculture Week. Barajas also stated that Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize with an approximate value of 20 billion pesos, because farmers do not apply the technology, which generates cost savings and reduces the impact of their farming activities on the environment.

8th International Symposium on Mycosphaerella and Stagonospora Diseases of Cereals

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On 11 September over 100 participants from more than 36 countries gathered for the opening of the 8th International Symposium on Mycosphaerella and Stagonospora Diseases of Cereals at the Hotel Sevilla in Mexico City. In attendance were representatives from universities and agricultural research centers worldwide, comprised of many of the most renowned members of the international scientific community focused on wheat pathogen research. Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program delivered the introductory remarks during which he stated, “In this room is the cream of the crop in Septoria research. If the answers cannot be found here, then they won’t be found”.

Also in attendance was Etienne Duveiller, Associate Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program who remarked that this year was the third time CIMMYT had hosted the symposium, highlighting the excellent and unique conditions for testing the diseases at the research station in Toluca and the research opportunities for breeding available at CIMMYT.

Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General, emphasized the growing concerns concerning the shortfalls of global wheat production, climate change induced yield reductions, and terminal heat stress in wheat. Lumpkin presented the WHEAT megaprogram as an integral component to CIMMYT’s efforts to address improving wheat production and productivity. He highlighted the impact of crop losses due to disease on smallholder farmers and on the one billion wheat dependent poor living less than 1 USD per day. The increasing use of wheat for biofuels and the reliance and dependence of north-south wheat trade were also stressed as concerns for the international community involved in agricultural development.

The opening lecture was delivered by J. Mathieu, Deputy Director of the Arvalis Institut du Végétal of France, who focused on the need to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides through advances in agronomy and wheat breeding. He estimated that two-thirds of fungicide application in France was targeted towards Septoria control and management, emphasizing the cost of fungicides on farmers.

Mycosphaerella graminicola, which causes Septoria tritici blotch disease, is a wheat pathogen affecting farmers’ yields worldwide —necessitating international cooperation to develop effective methods of disease control, management, and breeding for resistance. In some wheat growing areas, Stagonospora nodorum, which causes Septoria nodorum blotch disease, is prevalent and produces up to 30% loss in crop yields for fields which have not been treated with fungicides if varieties are susceptible and climatic conditions are suitable. Both diseases cause major annual yield reductions worldwide, with significant losses in Ethiopia, the UK, France, and the US. An estimated 5-10% of crops sown are lost annually as a result of the spread of these two fungal wheat pathogens.

The symposium will take place over four days and visit CIMMYT’s Toluca experimental station. The event will feature sessions to address issues ranging from disease management, genetics, resistance breeding, and evolution of the diseases and will conclude on 14 September.

Conservation agriculture course in rainfed farming, Karnataka, India

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From 18-22 August, the University of Agricultural Science (UAS) Raichur, Karnataka, hosted the first course on ‘Conservation agriculture (CA) in rainfed farming’ in India, in collaboration with CIMMYT, under the aegis of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). The 31 participants included young scientists and extension agents from NGOs and various research centers of UAS, in addition to machinery manufacturers and service providers from across Karnataka state. Also in attendance were BV Patil (Vice Chancellor, UAS, Raichur), Pat Wall (Director GCAP, CIMMYT), Raj Gupta (Head, CIMMYT-India), and Bruno Gerard (new Director GCAP, CIMMYT). ML Jat (Senior Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT) coordinated the course, with assistance from SG Patil (Director of Education, UAS), T Satanarayana (IPNI), RK Malik, and HS Sidhu.

During the course, participants learnt the basics of CA, including practical field training on CA machinery, techniques for intercropping systems under rainfed conditions, use of GreenSeeker optical sensors, spray techniques, and weed, nutrient, and water management practices in relation to CA. Raj Gupta described the CA priorities for the different ecologies of Karnataka, whilst Pat Wall shared his global experiences of CA and Bruno Gerard detailed his experiences with crop-livestock interactions in reference to CA.

In concluding the course, BV Patil thanked CIMMYT for previously initiating the CA program in Karnataka as part of the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC). Now, with the assistance of CSISA, it is hoped that the adoption of CA can be accelerated. The UAS has recently recruited new scientists in order to take CA to a larger scale in Karnataka, and has pledged to purchase CA planters to assist in these efforts, said Patil. Given that weed management is a key issue in rainfed areas, the university also hopes to collaborate with CSISA and CIMMYT scientists, in order to produce a publication of the subject of the synthesis of weeds on different production systems under rainfed ecologies.

21st ITMI workshop: wheat geneticists come together in Mexico City

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The 21st workshop of the International Triticeae Mapping Initiative (ITMI) was hosted in Mexico City from 05-09 September, coordinated by CIMMYT Wheat Molecular Biologist Susanne Dreisigacker. ITMI was conceived in 1989, originally as a five-year effort to develop RFLP maps for Triticeae crops (mainly wheat and barley). Today the ITMI international community coordinates research efforts in molecular genetics, genomics, and genetic analysis in the Triticeae (chiefly wheat, barley and rye), with the aims of keeping work in Triticeae at the cutting edge of genetic research, avoiding duplication, and ensuring that data and information on the Triticeae is readily available to the community.

Opening the meeting, speakers Jorge Dubcovsky of UC Davis, United States, and Takao Komastuda of the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Japan, shared the stories of their groups working on the characterization of the genes involved in vernalization in wheat and domestication in barley respectively. Dubcovsky presented his findings around the isolation of the Vrn1, 2, and 3 genes and their interaction with several NF-Y proteins, shedding new light on the complex network that regulates flowering and development in response to vernalization and photoperiod in wheat. Komastuda discussed his team’s work on the phylogenetic analysis of barley, demonstrating that the six-rowed phenotype of barley originated repeatedly, at different times and in different regions, through independent mutations in the gene responsible, Vrs1.

Over the following four days, 40 speakers outlined their research advances in the areas of functional genomics, mapping and cloning, applied molecular breeding, the exploitation of genetic resources, and computational biology. The participants also went on a field visit to the Toluca research station to learn more about CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. During the last day new initiatives and technologies were introduced, including the CIMMYT SeeD project, Genotyping by Sequencing, and the first results of using 9000 SNP chips in wheat and barley.

Prior to the ITMI meeting the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), of which CIMMYT is a member, held a one-day workshop to report on progress in sequencing the wheat genome. One of the IWGSC’s major milestones for 2011 has already been achieved: sequence assemblies—fragments of a long DNA sequence that are developed in order to reconstruct the original sequence of all 21 chromosomes—have been developed and will be accessible to the wheat community in September or October.

This year represented the ITMI meeting’s return to CIMMYT after a gap of approximately 20 years. Special thanks to the 140 participants from more than 30 countries who contributed to put together an effective and successful workshop.

Addressing the future of sustainable, high-quality wheat in Mexico

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Thanks to the work of Norman Borlaug and other Mexican wheat scientists, Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat production in the early 1960s. However, since the 1980s, Mexico has begun to import wheat once again, and in 2008 the level of imported wheat was almost equal to the amount produced domestically (3.2M tons and 4M tons, respectively). Mexico is now heavily dependent on the importation of bread wheat; a concern in the current climate of rising wheat prices in the international markets. In the coming years, climate change will create challenges for wheat production, whilst demand is increasing. Breeders will have to address such issues as how to increase wheat production in Mexico; what wheat quality is required by the industry now and in future years? What qualities are needed in which regions?

To address these topics, CIMMYT facilitated a workshop on ‘Strategies towards a sustainable high-quality wheat production in Mexico’ during 01-02 September, coordinated by Roberto Javier Peña and Petr Kosina. Active discussions focused on improving communication between the milling industry, farmers, and wheat breeders, alternative strategies of wheat commercialization (the problems and future of ‘agricultura por contrato’), key breeding traits for the next 10-15 years, the localization of different quality wheat varieties in particular regions of Mexico and grain storage needs in these regions, multiplication of required seed, and alternative strategies for public funding of wheat research in Mexico. Five working groups were formed which will continue the work on specific proposals to be presented to milling industry managers, the Mexican Government, wheat growers, and the national wheat chain CONATRIGO. Positive feedback was regarding the workshop itself, which was the first of its kind for many years, and also of the non-traditional plenary discussion methods (Samoan circle) used.

Matthew Reynolds becomes a Fellow of the ASA

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We are delighted to announce that in October, CIMMYT Wheat Physiologist Matthew Reynolds will be recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) for 2011. The position of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the society, and is awarded to a maximum 0.3% of its members. Candidates can be nominated by other members of the society, in recognition of “outstanding contributions in an area of specialization whether in research, teaching, extension, service, or administration and whether in public, commercial, or private service activities.” “It is always helpful and gratifying to be acknowledged by an important, professional organization like the ASA,” said Reynolds. Congratulations!

President CalderĂłn highlights importance of MasAgro

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President Felipe Calderón delivered his state of the nation address last Friday, 02 September, at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. While security and economic stability were highlighted as top priorities for President Calderón’s last year in office, he also stressed the importance of agricultural development, food security, and the development and access of technologies for farmers.

In his report to Congress, President Calderón made specific reference to the importance of the MasAgro project in achieving these objectives. He stated that “the project that began in April 2011 is the most important legacy in agricultural policy of the current administration, as it contributes to achieving food security for Mexican families by giving access to agricultural technologies adapted to a new environment”.

MasAgro (The Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture Project) is a comprehensive initiative focused on developing high yielding varieties of maize and wheat, achieving sustainable increases in production, as well as delivering the latest technologies to small-scale farmers throughout the states of Mexico. The Take it to the Farmer (TTF) component of MasAgro is an integral part of the initiative, incorporating conservation agriculture (CA) practices and precision tools for Mexican agricultural producers.

Demonstrating the impact of CA on maize production, Porfirio Bastida Olivares from Magdalena Panoaya, Texcoco, told CIMMYT that his yield before implementing CA techniques was 2.5 tons, which has increased to 4 tons after two years, on his 0.5 ha farm. He said that now, not only does he have enough maize to feed his family, but he is able to earn an income from his crop as well. The MasAgro project aims to implement this level of increase for small-scale farmers relying on rainfed agriculture throughout the entire country.

Reinforcing the high priority of agriculture, Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda, the Secretary of SAGARPA (Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food), delivered a press conference on 01 September, where he stated that “MasAgro is considered the most important and ambitious agricultural project of the current administration because it aims to sustainably increase the production of maize and wheat, along with their yielding potential, for the benefit of small farmers”.

MasAgro was launched on 05 April 2011 by CIMMYT and SAGARPA during an official visit of President CalderĂłn to CIMMYT headquarters. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs launched in Mexico and aims to increase maize yields by 5-9 million tons and 350,000 tons of wheat by the year 2020.

Precision nutrient management for improved efficiency, healthier and more productive soils under maize and wheat systems in India

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Precision or site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) is a science-based approach by which crops receive nutrients as and when needed, according to specific field conditions in a given cropping season. To apply it, farmers and their technical support need to know local crop yields, tillage systems, residue management, fertilizer use, external inputs, and the nutrient supplying capacity of the soil.

Adoption of such complex, knowledge-intensive approaches is slow, so the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), a not-for-profit, science-based organization headquartered at Norcross, Georgia, USA, has developed simple delivery systems entitled “Nutrient Expert” both for wheat and for hybrid maize, in consultation with scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), several state agricultural universities, and CIMMYT. The Nutrient Expert systems are suited to diverse soils and management scenarios in India.

On 10 August, 55 agricultural experts from India’s public and private sectors gathered in New Delhi for a one day workshop on “Nutrient decision support systems for cereals and their dissemination strategies using ICTs” to discuss these systems and how to share them more widely by way of information and communication technologies such as cell phone services and CIMMYT-Agriplex.

Participants highlighted the need for more information on nutrient requirements under varied growing  conditions in complex agroecologies and for Nutrient Expert to encompass those scenarios, as well as to adopt a “situation-specific” (rather than site-specific) approach and consider nutrient addition or mining effects from previous crops. A version of Nutrient Expert is also required for rice and for rice-wheat, rice-maize and maize-wheat cropping systems.

Like all models, Nutrient Expert requires validation for specific circumstances. The workshop discussed ways to do this, including comparison with Soil Test Crop Response (STCR), State Recommendation (SR) and Farmers Fertilizer Practice (FFP) based recommendations.

Nutrient Expert recommendations focus on the major nutrients―nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium―but also needs to give specific rates for secondary and micronutrients (currently the systems include only a “Yes/No” decision for those nutrients). The All India Crops Research Program (AICRP) on micronutrients should be able to provide the required data.

The group appointed a multiorganization/stakeholder team to help plan the addition of Nutrient Expert to policy guidelines for making fertilizer recommendations. DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL) requested a partnership with private industry and offered to validate Nutrient Expert in their Hariyali Kisan Bazar (HKB) farmer service centers.

Jointly organized by IPNI and CIMMYT, the workshop was attended by Dr PS Minhas, ADG (Soil and Water Management), ICAR directors and officers, vice chancellors and other officers from state agricultural universities, the State Department of Agriculture, the private sector, and nongovernment organizations, as well as scientists from IPNI (Adrian Johnston, Kaushik Majumdar, T Satyanarayana, Mira), CIMMYT (Pat Wall, Raj Gupta, ML Jat, Ajai Kumar), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; YS Saharawat), and hubs of the Cropping Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA; HS Sidhu, BR Kamboj, Kanwar Singh).

Conservation agriculture capacity building in Tamilnadu, India

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The promotion of conservation agriculture (CA) in different agricultural systems of Tamilnadu, India, was the focus of a consultation organized with the Agriculture Commissioner, Sandeep Saxena, and officers of the State Department of Agriculture on 12 August at the Commisionerate of Agriculture, Chepauk, Chennai, Tamilnadu. Over 50 people attended, including Agricultural Officers from all 32 districts of Tamilnadu.

The issues facing the farmers of Tamilnadu – water, labor and energy shortages, soil health, climate change, farm profitability and food and livelihood security – were addressed in a presentation by ML Jat, Senior Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT. He highlighted how the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), managed by CIMMYT and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in conjunction with national agricultural research and extension systems, is evaluating and disseminating CA-based crop management technologies, such as laser leveling, direct dry seeded rice, zero till mechanical transplanted rice, zero till maize, intercropping with raised bed technology and multi-crop planters, in the region. He also said that Tom Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT, and Robert Ziegler, Director General, IRRI, have both visited Tamilnadu to gain feedback from the farmers on the use of CA technologies, and found that they were being well received.

ML recommended that the Government of Tamilnadu prioritize investments on the CA technologies. Currently a significant investment is being made in 2-Wheel Tractors (2WT), but they are not fitted with the seeder attachments associated with CA methods. It was suggested that in order to maximize the government investments, the 2WTs and seeder attachments should be promoted together. The officers of the Department of Agriculture were particularly interested in the 2WT-based machinery, and Saxena pledged to include CA in future government investments and priorities, with proven and location-specific technologies being outlined for dissemination by the Department of Agriculture.

In order to increase understanding, capacity building and awareness among the officers and field staff of the state department of agriculture, it was suggested that the field trials of CA-based crop management technologies and machinery should be demonstrated in a block approach, to communicate the knowledge to a larger number of farmers. Innovative SMS technology (CIMMYT Agriplex) will also help in transmitting real time, location specific and needs-based information to the farmers. It is hoped that within one month, the Department of Agriculture  will formulate an action plan for these developments, before reporting back to the CIMMYT/CSISA team for further discussion and implementation of the proposed plans.

CIMMYT looks to collaborate with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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As part of ongoing efforts to enhance CIMMYT’s skills base and increase links with external organizations, a delegation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln visited on 05 September to discuss possible collaborations. Potential partnerships include student exchanges, e-learning courses, and joint research projects. The day started with presentations of both groups to get to know each others’ activities and identify areas of interest, and concluded with the development of an action plan.

Steve Mason, Professor of Crop Production and Management, University of Nebraska, highlighted the natural research facilities afforded by Nebraska’s diverse rainfall, temperature, and soil content conditions. The University has statewide research stations, and its researchers are able to adapt to different environmental conditions; a vital prerequisite to incorporating Mexico-based research.

Mason said the department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University is keen to further develop field-, landscape-, and community-level research, possibly through graduate student field research at CIMMYT. Bram Govaerts, Head of CIMMYT’s Mexico-based Conservation Agriculture Program, pointed out that the converse situation could also be beneficial, with talented students from developing countries being identified by CIMMYT and given the opportunity to study in Nebraska. The University of Nebraska currently has the capacity to supervise more graduate students in certain research areas such as crop physiology and production, soil and water sciences, and weed science. John Lindquist, Professor and Plant Ecologist at the University of Nebraska, indicated that their weed science group generally has strong federal and industry grant support, and currently has ten students, mostly doing applied research.

The Agronomy and Horticulture Department professors expressed their interest in having some of their field guides and extension materials produced in Spanish, and in return CIMMYT would be able to use the materials.

Discussions will continue between CIMMYT and the University of Nebraska team on possible areas of development.

Successful conservation agriculture trials continue in western Kenya

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As previously reported, trials of conservation agriculture (CA) have been yielding impressive results in southern Ethiopia. However, these positive changes are not restricted to this area; farmers in neighboring Kenya have also been reaping the benefits of adopting the new technologies of minimal tillage, application of herbicide, intercropping with desmodium and retention of crop residue. In just their third crop under CA practices, farmers in western Kenya are reporting more grain yield with less fertilizer use, and reduced labor requirements.

Since last year, the Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative has been conducting on-farm trials for maize and bean production in western Kenya. SIMLESA is being implemented by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), with technical support from CIMMYT and financial assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Christine Okola is one of the 25 members of the Liganwa Farmers Group participating in the trials. From a plot of 0.1ha, she used to harvest a maximum of one 90kg bag of maize per crop season; now, with CA practices, she harvests five bags of maize and one bag of beans from the same piece of land. John Achieng, KARI agronomist and SIMLESA Project Team Leader for western Kenya, estimates that it is possible for a farmer to harvest up to 4500kg of maize and 500kg of beans from 1ha using CA practices – a tenfold increase on the current averages. He attributes the increases to improved organic soil matter and the use of improved seed varieties. The maize used (DUMA 41) is a high-yielding and early maturing hybrid variety, whilst the bean (KK8) is resistant to bean root rot.

Like in Ethiopia, a farmers’ field day to demonstrate CA was also held in Siaya, western Kenya, with an attendance of over 1000 people. Boaz Cherutich, Siaya District Commissioner took this opportunity to thank CIMMYT and KARI for introducing CA to the region, and the Australian Government for providing financial support to the SIMLESA initiative.