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Danish CIMMYT staff member breaks cover to break record

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Jesper Nørgaard, Project Leader in the Crop Research Informatics Lab (CRIL), is sometimes to be seen playing chess in the atrium at El Batán, but did you know that he is ranked the fifth-best player in Mexico? If not, you are not alone: Jesper is modest about his chess master status, and still surprises colleagues after 15 years at CIMMYT.

You can see him in action from 10 am on Sunday 22 October, in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people playing chess at the same time – last set in Cuba by an event with around 13,000 players. Organizers of ‘El Festival de Ajedrez’ are hoping that this time 13,500 people will play chess in the Zócalo in Mexico City. Master players – Jesper among them – will play simultaneous games against around 30 people of all abilities. Anyone can take part, so if you know your knight from your bishop you could help break the record. If you arrive early you could even try requesting Jesper as your opponent!

Chess has been a big part of Jesper’s life. He started playing when he was around nine years old with a chess set given to him by his grandparents, and became serious about it a few years later. He even met his wife through chess: at 19 he took part in the Junior World Chess Championship in Mexico, where his future wife was working as a guide, and so began a relationship that eventually blossomed over years of correspondence.

He usually plays at a chess club several times a week and has been known to play 15-20 tournaments a year, though the birth last December of his baby twins, Majken and Magnus, has meant that he has had a quiet year – on the chess front at least! Jesper enjoys chess for the mental challenge, and because there is no element of luck – as he says, “whether you win or lose you have no-one to blame except yourself.” He attributes his success to hard work, and his advice to budding players is to play regularly, analyze your games for mistakes and missed opportunities, and study openings, endgames, tactics and strategies.

UPDATE: CIMMYT chess player helps shatter world record

Mexico hit the headlines around the world last weekend, and the Zócalo was even more crowded than usual, when thousands arrived to break the world record for the number of simultaneous chess games. CIMMYT’s very own chess master, Jesper Norgaard, was among them.

He was one of around 700 simultaneous players, and played against 25 individuals, winning all 25 games in around two and a half hours. In total, 13,446 acknowledged games were played. Jesper also took part in a blitz tournament with other masters and placed third. Congratulations!

Two other Guinness World Records were also broken: from the air, the players formed a huge chessboard, the biggest ever human logo. Former World Champion Anatolij Karpov broke the third record by signing 1951 books (stopping here at the year he was born!) in a session lasting more than 6 hours

Paper wins award

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A scientific paper which includes among its authors CIMMYT scientists Jose Crossa, Suketoshi Taba and Uruguayan researcher and CIMMYT partner Jorge Franco has been given an award by the prestigious journal, Crop Science as one of the three outstanding papers of 2005 in plant genetic resources.

The paper is titled “A Sampling Strategy for Conserving Genetic Diversity when Forming Core Subsets” and furthers the science of genetic resource conservation statistics, a science in which this team is a world leader.

In 2005, 31 papers were eligible. An awards committee selected the three outstanding plant genetic resources papers by secret ballot. Reviewers identified outstanding papers based on scientific merit and innovation in discovery of novel agronomic genes from exotic germplasm by classical or molecular methods, statistical or molecular methods for quantifying genetic diversity, methods to improve germplasm regeneration and maintenance, and new approaches in the study of genetic diversity.

This is the second year in a row a paper from CIMMYT has won this award. Congratulations!

First international meeting of the GRI

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The First International Workshop of the Global Rust Initiative (GRI), 9-11 October, ended in Alexandria, Egypt, with agreement that a tremendous coordinated effort is needed to combat the resurgence of wheat stem rust, a fungal disease that could place the entire world’s wheat production in serious jeopardy.

Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and former Chairman of the CGIAR, made the library’s conference facilities available to the workshop. Fifty-six participants from 21 countries attended the three-day consultation to exchange research results to date and map out priority areas for the GRI activities.

“This is a global threat, and no single country can provide a solution; only by working together can we tackle it,” CIMMYT Director General Masa Iwanaga told the meeting.

“We have the world’s leading rust scientists here saying that we have a potentially explosive situation on our hands,” said the GRI Coordinator, CIMMYT wheat scientist Rick Ward. “And we basically have to replace all the wheat in the world.” “The caliber of scientists present and the terrific sense of urgency enabled us to address a great array of critical issues during the workshop. I believe all participants felt the event was a success,” said Ward.

Outcomes of Nairobi MC and Board meetings

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The management committee (MC) met in Nairobi, 28-29 September, prior to the Board of Trustees meeting, and had an excellent discussion on research planning, resource allocation, and budgeting processes in CIMMYT. The CGIAR Science Council requires centers to plan, budget, and implement all research activities within the context of the medium-term plan (MTP) Projects. For this and other reasons, the MC agreed in Nairobi on some new policies and procedures with regard to research priority setting, research planning, resource allocations, and budgeting.

The previous portfolio of 11 MTP Projects has been reduced to 8, with each director responsible for two:
P1: Genetic resources (GREU, Jonathan Crouch)
P2: Breeding tools (GREU, Jonathan Crouch)
P3: Abiotic and biotic stress maize (Marianne Bänziger)
P4: Quality and specialty maize (Marianne Bänziger)
P7: Water use efficient wheat (Hans Braun)
P8: Wheat yield and quality (Hans Braun)
P10: Maize and wheat systems (John Dixon)
P11: Impacts and targeting (John Dixon)

The regional maize Projects (Africa and Latin America/ Asia) have been rolled into trait-based Projects. The wheat Projects have been aggregated along with the core aspects of conservation agriculture applicable to both maize and wheat systems. The latter will be managed as a cross-cutting Project, similar to the impacts and targeting Project. The numbering for the Projects retained is the same as in the MTP, following CGIAR requirements. Directors will explain in greater detail the implications of the changes, particularly with respect to restricted projects that may be re-allocated. Apart from bringing CIMMYT in line with Science Council requirements, the changes more closely align our flagship products with the Projects that deliver them.

CIMMYT and John Dodds bid each other fond farewell

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At a luncheon organized by CIMMYT in his honor in the Rincón Mexicano on 22 September 2006, out-going Deputy Director General for Research, John Dodds, thanked CIMMYT for the fond memories and excellent support during his two-year stay here.

“I’d worked at other CG centers before coming to CIMMYT, and you always think of CIMMYT as a place of excellence with the most outstanding scientific and communications staff, so it was a dream come true for me to get this job,” he said.

The luncheon was attended by some 30 staff, including directors, researchers, and personnel from support units. Director General Masa Iwanaga mentioned John’s habit of constantly monitoring his email and recalled how, when he was in Washington and first got in touch with John about the job, he sent him a message: “I got a reply in about five minutes!”

Masa read the words of the commemorative plaque, signed by himself and Board Chair Lene Lange, that was presented to John: “The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center wishes to recognize and thank John Dodds who, during 2004-06, fostered scientific dialog, innovation, and efficiency by re-establishing the biannual science forum and, through his leadership in developing the business plan, helped reshape CIMMYT and cultivate a delivery-focused approach in research. His accomplishments included enhancing Center partnerships with ICARDA and IRRI and spearheading a global initiative to combat and control the spread of stem rust. Finally, his concern and talents for human relations and sincere and direct efforts in communication contributed significantly to staff morale.”

CIMMYT wishes you all the best in future endeavors, John!

Board of Trustees to meet in Nairobi

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The CIMMYT Board of Trustees will hold its second full meeting of the year in Nairobi from 2-6 October. In addition to regular business, the Board will spend a day visiting CIMMYT and KARI work in the field and will discuss the mini-reviews of two projects (P3-Stress tolerant maize and P5- African livelihoods). The Nairobi session will be followed by a joint meeting between the CIMMYT and IRRI Board Executive Committees in Dubai on 7 October.

Conservation agriculture: solution for Mexico’s maize farmers?

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Using the conventional practices for growing maize in the state of Mexico—heavy tillage combined with removing and marketing residues—farmers are actually losing money, said CIMMYT research affiliate Bram Govaerts, during his invited presentation at a forum on results of projects conducted with the state of Mexico’s Institute for Training, Research, and Development in Agriculture (ICAMEX), on 12 September 2006.

“Many people were shocked to hear that,” explains Govaerts, who since 2002 has worked with Ken Sayre investigating and analyzing the results of the conservation agriculture trial begun at El Batán in 1991. “But when you consider the reduced labor costs of, say, zerotillage and residue retention, plus the higher crop yields that result, and compare that to the expense of removing and selling residues and the soil degradation that appears after five years or so, then conservation agriculture clearly wins as the money-making option.”

Held at the ICAMEX facilities in Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico, the presentations were attended by 50 or more researchers, farmers, and officials, including state Secretary of Agriculture Arturo Osornio Sánchez, and ICAMEX Director General Jaime Segura Lazcano. The ICAMEX project, which is a collaboration between Cinvestav, Mexico’s Research and Advanced Studies Center; UAEM, the Autonomous University of Mexico State; and CIMMYT, and began in 2005, involves both field research and extension with state farmers.

“We’ve drawn a lot on the expertise and interest of Fernando Delgado Ramos, Superintendent of CIMMYT’s Toluca research station, who has actively promoted zero-tillage and other resource-conserving practices for maize farming in Mexico,” says Govaerts, who is with CIMMYT as a PhD student from K.U. Leuven Belgium and funded by VLIRUDC, Flemish Interuniversity Council – University Development Cooperation.

World Bank parliamentarians connect with the CGIAR in Nairobi

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Parliamentarians from World Bank member countries spent the first two of a four-day mission to Kenya visiting and interacting with CGIAR scientists, partners, and stakeholders. The dozen members of the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank (PNoWB) joined Senior CGIAR scientists on 11 and 12 September to debate three issues of major global concern: sustainable agricultural development in sub- Saharan Africa, avian influenza (bird flu), and climate change.

Marianne Bänziger, Wilfred Mwangi and Stephen Mugo participated in the panel discussion of September 11, led by Director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Ephraim Mukisira, John Lynam of the Kilimo Trust, and three other scientists. The debate covered an array of issues, including fertilizer prices, water use efficiency in agriculture, HIVAids, regional trade within the COMESA and East African Community blocs, national and regional rail and road infrastructure, land holding sizes, producer organizations, biotechnology, and African-womanfriendly farming implements, and explored the complex interrelations among these factors, as well as their impacts on agricultural development and poverty reduction. Kenyan MPs were well represented, contributing vigorously to the plenary discussions, at which several Kenya-based UN and NGO staff also participated.

The PNoWB members asked the CGIAR centers and national agricultural institutions to provide them with clear messages they could use in making policy decisions, and also to spell out the long-term impacts of the requested investments. Lynam put it to the meeting that given the 70% agrarian population in sub-Saharan African countries, “in order to get these economies going, you’ve got to get agriculture going.”

CIMMYT and the other CGIAR centers each mounted individual poster exhibitions on Day one. The CIMMYT stand featured several activities, including the Global Rust Initiative, our work on Conservation Agriculture, the Africa Maize Stress Project, IRMA, QPM and Striga research. We received a good level of traffic and interest, in particular from the Kenyan MPs who browsed the CIMMYT flyers displayed and took away copies. The parliamentarians visited a mixed smallholder farm in Thika, a small agro-industrial settlement about 80 km northeast of Nairobi that afternoon.

Day two (September 12) was devoted to bird flu and climate change discussions, held at ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) headquarters, and led by Director Carlos Serè and ICRAF Deputy Director Jan Laarman. A field visit to pastoralist communities in the outskirts of Nairobi wrapped up the 2-day interaction with the CGIAR.

Turning on radios, tuning in to resource-conserving farm practices

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A radio program in Nepal brings information to farmers in a language they understand.

It’s Monday, 6:30 pm on Radio Birgunj, the voice of the plains in Southeastern Nepal. Fans for kilometers in all directions huddle by their radios to listen—not to a soap opera or pop music, but to a show about bed planting, horticulture, and zero-tillage. The weekly radio show on farming, targeted specifically to rural inhabitants, is one component of a project funded by CABI to introduce and promote resource-conserving technologies to the region’s rice and wheat farmers.

Radio is often the best way to reach rural families in developing countries, and farm shows broadcast from small community stations are not unusual. But Radio Birgunj broadcasts to a population of five million Nepalese, nearly all from farm families, and the station’s only “competition” is the region’s government radio network.

Ganesh Sah, head of the Agricultural Implement Research Center in Birgunj and long-time CIMMYT partner, is responsible for 70 programs since the show’s launch in January, 2005. “It’s been difficult coming up with a different topic each week, but we’ve managed with just a couple repeats,” he says.

The program’s popularity has led the government of Nepal launch another radio farm show in the region. For the whole article, go to staging.cimmyt.org, under Enews/August 2006.

Workshop on group facilitation skills for participatory decision-making

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Facilitation skills are strategically important in the CGIAR, as staff are increasingly called upon to manage teams and participatory processes involving people from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, nationalities, and cultures. To address the challenges for effective communication and decision-making that arise in participatory processes, 21 researchers and team leaders from CIMMYT and other CGIAR centers gathered at El Batán during 5-8 September in a workshop led by Sam Kaner, a leading expert on consensus decisionmaking and senior author of the book The Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. Activities aimed to build essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills for participatory decisionmaking. Participants came from Philippines, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Italy, USA, and Mexico.

Participant Grant Singleton, IRRI researcher and Coordinator for Irrigated Rice Research Consortium, came away with very positive impressions: “Wow! What an action-packed workshop! We learned and role-played many useful facilitation techniques. Two highlights were the superb teaching skills of Sam and the great camaraderie among course participants. It was an excellent opportunity for me to meet many new CGIAR colleagues. Finally, I thank Petr Kosina and his CIMMYT colleagues for being most generous hosts.”

New biotech lab manual: flashy look for flash technology

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We’re pleased to announce the compiling and publication of “Laboratory Protocols: CIMMYT Applied Molecular and Genetics Laboratory.” The manual is intended for use by scientists, researchers, and students from national agricultural research systems, universities, and small private companies in developing countries, as well as advanced research institutions in the developed world and CIMMYT staff.

Now in its third edition, this manual incorporates feedback and suggestions from diverse users. Since its first edition, more than 1,000 copies in English and Spanish have been distributed. The main protocols described are for molecular marker technology and can be used in mapping, molecular marker assisted selection, or studies on genetic diversity, and many protocols are useful for crops other than maize and wheat. The Spanish version is of particular importance in Latin America, where it is difficult to find a comparable work. Versions in either language can be viewed and downloaded from CIMMYT’s web page, under “Publications/Manuals.”

Mwangi honored

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Kenya-based, CIMMYT agricultural economist Wilfred Mwangi has been named an Honorary Life Member by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). Mwangi was among seven Association members to be thus recognized for their long-standing contributions, at the 26th IAAE Conference in Queensland, Australia, 12–18 August.

Established in 1929, the Association has a large worldwide membership, and holds international conferences every three years.

More information on the IAAE: http://www.iaae-agecon.org/

The 2006 International Plant Breeding Symposium

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How can new knowledge from research on plant DNA quickly reach farmers’ fields in more productive, resource-conserving cultivars? This was only one pressing issue discussed by some 350 crop breeding specialists from over 70 nations, who gathered in Mexico City during 20-25 August for the 2006 International Plant Breeding Symposium.

Co-organized by CIMMYT, Iowa State University, the University of Illinois, Monsanto, and Pioneer Hi-Bred, and supported by numerous sponsors, this year’s event honored John W. Dudley, emeritus professor of plant genetics of the University of Illinois. Dudley is widely recognized for his significant improvements to maize, alfalfa, and sugar beets, his contributions to crop breeding science and allied disciplines, and as a teacher and mentor to leading researchers.

Held in Mexico City’s Sheraton “Centro Histórico” Hotel and involving both public and private sector researchers from developed and developing countries, the program of invited presentations, poster sessions, and other activities fostered partnerships, North- South interactions, and capacity building. Presentation and discussion sessions covered breeding for complex traits, plant breeding education, prebreeding and allelic discovery, quality and nutritional traits, molecular breeding, cultivar development methodologies, and contributions from former students of Dudley.

Field visits to CIMMYT and INIFAP on 23 August ended with a luncheon attended by the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture, Francisco Mayorga Castañeda, and during which the ambassador of India to Mexico, his Excellency R.K. Bhatia, formally presented to Norman E. Borlaug the Padma Vibhushan Award from the Government of India, for his many and illustrious services to farmers of that country. The Padma Vibhushan is India’s second highest civil award and the highest honor India has ever given to a foreign citizen.

Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT Director General, said the highly successful event was evidence of the vibrant nature of the Center: “The symposium underlines our leadership role in global crop improvement and comes at a fitting moment, as we celebrate 40 years of worldwide research partnerships. Many participants congratulated CIMMYT for demonstrating world-class strength in science and partnerships.”

Masa expressed his gratitude for the work of Petr Kosina and his team, who coordinated symposium logistics; Rodomiro Ortiz, for his efforts on the Program Committee; Kevin Pixley, for organizing the field visit; others who helped with the field tours, and the security and cafeteria staff; Javier Peña, who served as Master of Ceremonies for the field-day luncheon; and John Dodds, for services as Master of Ceremonies for the gala dinner. “There were many, many more who helped make this event something special,” says Masa. “You know who you are, and you have my sincere thanks.”

Visitors tour headquarters

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visitantesDr Qu Dongyu, Vice-President, CAAS China and Dr M.E. Tusneem, Chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, learn about CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture research work from Bram Govaerts during a visit to El Batan this week (see photo below). In addition CIMMYT welcomed visitors from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the principal and 16 teachers from the Liceo Mexicano Japonés.

Breeders come to Mexico

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More than 320 plant breeders from both developing and developed countries will gather in Mexico City next week for the International Plant Breeding symposium. CIMMYT is one of the major co-organizers of the event, which will focus on the most recent developments in plant breeding. Petr Kosina (ITAU) has been coordinating and organizing much of the symposium.

“CIMMYT has played an important role in ensuring representation from the developing world,” he says. “I am so happy it has all come together.”

Among the highlights will be a field day on Wednesday here at CIMMYT Headquarters and at INIFAP, coupled with a special presentation to Norman Borlaug by the Ambassador of India. India is giving Borlaug the Padma Vibhushan award, that country’s second highest civil honor, for the work he did in bringing the Green Revolution to India. Many CIMMYT scientists will present scientific posters and some will make major presentations. The five-day event will be opened by Masa on Monday.