Since the outbreak of FAW was reported in 2016, maize yields have dropped by between 30-50 percent, increasing the country’s challenges for food security.
Prasanna Boddupalli, Director of the Global Maize Program at CIMMYT, said, ″We want farmers to dissociate from application of synthetic toxic pesticides and chemicals but revert to use of combined approaches like use of resistant varieties, bio-pesticides and related biological control methods that are environmentally friendly.”
Preliminary assessment of the viability of naturally tolerant maize varieties from Mexico suggests that at least two or three resistant varieties may be approved after certification from the regulator.
Learning to evaluate wheat stem rust, a significant cause of crop loss, in the field in Kenya. (Photo: Petr Kosina/CIMMYT)
With rising demand for food, it is more critical than ever to address the challenge of crop losses due to pests and diseases. Current limited understanding of the extent of the problem prevents the advancement and implementation of plant health solutions. Global scientific collaboration is integral to ensure policy recommendations are well-informed by robust evidence and therefore more likely to succeed in the long-term.
The issue of global burden of crop loss closely correlates with the objectives of the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, which aims to prevent and manage major pest and disease outbreaks through the development and deployment of inclusive innovations and by building effective national, regional, and global networks. The Initiative, which is being led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), will support low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to reduce crop losses due to pests and diseases, and improve food security and livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
Data-driven approaches
The Global Burden of Crop Loss project, which is run by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), is working to ensure that there is accurate data on the challenges posed by plant pests and diseases. Questions to understand include where crop losses are the highest, the causes behind these losses, and how best these they can be addressed.
Cambria Finegold, Global Director, Digital Development, CABI said, “If you are not measuring crop loss well, then you don’t know if the extraordinary $25.8 billion spent annually on agricultural research and development is working, or if we are spending it in the right ways.”
Research by the Plant Health Initiative will play a significant role in collecting and disseminating data on some major pests and diseases, which can guide scientists on which areas to prioritize, thereby contributing to an impactful research agenda.
Once data is gathered, CABI aims to inform decision-making for actors at the top levels of the plant health system and ensure that appropriate action is taken to safeguard global food security with the limited resources available.
Integrated pest management strategies have been key in dealing with fall armyworm in Africa and Asia. (Photo: B.M. Prasanna/CIMMYT)
Establishing global networks
The value of a data-driven approach was emphasized at a session organized by the Global Burden of Crop Loss on October 14 exploring evidence-based systems to tackle food security. This session was a side event of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Science and Innovation Forum, which this year focused on highlighting the centrality of science, technology and innovations for agrifood systems transformation.
Prasanna Boddupalli, One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead and Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, explained how the Initiative will bridge knowledge gaps, build risk assessment and rapid response capability, improve integrated pest and disease management, design and deploy tools to prevent contamination of food chains, and promote gender-equitable and socially inclusive innovations for plant health.
With six devastating plant epidemics in Africa alone during the last decade and an increased number of climate change-induced droughts and floods, Boddupalli proposed a revitalized strategy using the objectives of the Plant Health Initiative.
Built on a foundation of partnerships, there are more than 80 national, regional, and international organizations involved in the Initiative across 40 countries in the Global South, in addition to the CGIAR research centers. Through this rapidly expanding collaboration, the focus will be on establishing regional diagnostic and surveillance networks and implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and integrated mycotoxin management.
To address the need for evidence-based policy recommendations, Boddupalli explained the purpose of the Plant Health Innovation Platforms in Africa, Asia and Latin America, leveraging the partners’ research sites. Combining innovations from the CGIAR system, national partners and the private sector, these platforms will enable the co-creation and validation of pest and disease management packages, with the aim of significantly improving adoption of effective and affordable plant health innovations by smallholder farmers.
Removing the barriers for data sharing
The Plant Health Initiative team has recently collected and collated information from national partners and the private sector on actions needed to remove constraints on sharing pest and disease surveillance data. Potential solutions include improved training of national partners, joint research projects, pre-defined processes for data sharing, and focusing on work that meets national and regional priorities.
These approaches will inform the sharing of data collected through the Initiative. For example, researchers are gathering surveillance data on 15 crop pests affecting seven different plants in 25 countries, with the expectation of collecting more than 44,000 samples from 2,100 sites in 2022 alone, with plans for sharing the results with partner institutions.
Boddupalli also emphasized the importance of ramping up remote sensing and drone usage, wherever feasible, for diagnostics and surveillance. However, the current gaps in accessing data and computing facilities in the Global South need to be addressed to make this a reality.
“The OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative and the Global Burden of Crop Loss project have excellent complementarity,” said Boddupalli. Both have an opportunity to generate and share robust data on crop loss due to existing and emerging crop pests and diseases and use this data to drive effective policy change on plant health management.”
About the Global Burden of Crop Loss:
The Global Burden of Crop Loss initiative is modelled after the Global Burden of Disease initiative in human health, which has transformed health policy and research, over the last 25 years through better use of data.
The initiative aims to have a similar impact in agriculture, providing evidence to enable the global plant health community to generate actionable information and lead to a dramatic reduction in crop loss, resulting in increased food security and trade.
About the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI):
CABI is an international, inter-governmental, not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.
Their approach involves putting information, skills and tools into people’s hands. CABI’s 49 Member Countries guide and influence their work which is delivered by scientific staff based in their global network of centers.
The intersection between agriculture and peace has been brought to the forefront of the news agenda this year due to the Ukraine crisis, which has caused widespread disruption to wheat supply chains – disruptions that are contributing to food insecurity for millions of people worldwide.
Agriculture was therefore a compulsory topic for the International Week of Science and Peace, and formed the main theme for an online fireside chat between Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the Hon. Sharon Burke on November 8.
Burke was the director of New America’s Resource Security program and a senior advisor to New America’s Future of War project in the Department of Defense. She served in the administrations of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Futureproofing security and food
“[Food] is a foundational element of all security,” explained Burke, when asked about the connection between the two. “We are facing global pressures. Everything that’s made us successful has also made us vulnerable – with biodiversity loss, with climate change. The challenge of having that foundational element of food security has never been harder than it is right now.”
This is a central vision of CIMMYT as a Wallace center, which Burke referenced to highlight how conflict and food insecurity drive one another: “It’s this terrible knot where things are connected. But when we add in climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and other elements of our modern life, it’s more important than ever to understand how these elements fit together.”
“Peace, prosperity, and equity… are more relevant than ever in the environment we are working in,” agreed Govaerts.
Govaerts then invited Burke to offer recommendations for the development of CIMMYT’s new strategy. She suggested three points to consider:
How is climate change going to shift what agricultural production and productivity means – 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now?
In that world, how does that reflect through your research and development priorities?
How do you continue to have that dialogue with farmers, so that you affect them, and they affect you, and what are the ways to make sure that you deepen that and the equity that’s inherent in that conversation?
Govaerts reflected on recent examples from history where conflict destabilized the global food system, such as the Arab Spring as provoked by consecutive droughts that heavily impacted wheat crops. Burke agreed that it was essential to build peace and secure food supplies simultaneously, always having peace as the end goal before any conflict even begins, and the importance of showing the systems effect to donors to encourage future investment.
“One of the reasons that I really love what CIMMYT does, is that you’re talking about not just food security as some abstract concept but as the people and the places where it’s created,” shared Burke.
CIMMYT’s role in peacebuilding
Burke highlighted the commitment from the United States Government to invest money in food security and food assistance, not just for necessary emergency aid but also for improving food production, farming, and last mile technology.
“How can we leverage this investment that is being made now in an emergency to be one that also builds resilience for this longer-term emergency that we are all facing?” she asked, encouraging research and development organizations to always evidence the impact of their work.
In her closing words, Burke expressed high levels of admiration for our scientists. “You get to actually touch the problem and deliver the solution and work in that two-way dialogue with farmers and that you get to bring that all together – how we think about a problem, how we come up with novel science and technology for solving the problem, and then you get to actually carry it to the field and make it work.”
“You’re not just thinking about peace or researching about peace – you’re delivering it!”
The largest real-world test of grains that grow year after year without replanting is showing promise for saving money, helping the environment, and reducing labor in China.
Initial trials with perennial rice as part of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) suggest the crop could be a game changer for agriculture and food security.
The next phase of the research will determine whether farmers wish to adopt Perennial Rice 23 (PR23), which has been developed by breeding an Asian variety of rice with a wild, perennial relative from Nigeria.
For the first time in Zambia, a special Ministry of Agriculture committee has endorsed innovative sustainable intensification practices to diversify maize-based farming systems and boost the food and nutritional security of millions of small farm households, while enriching depleted soils.
Zambia’s recently formed “National Advisory Committee for the Approval/Validation of Candidate Technologies or Agronomic Practices” approved in September the release to farmers of three new systems for better yields and soil maintenance: growing maize between “hedge-rows” of legume trees; or in rows side-by-side with grain legumes as strip crops; or on permanent, raised soil beds or ridges.
Legume trees and grain legumes enhance soil nitrogen and organic matter content, and legume grains themselves are a valuable, alternative food, rich in protein for rural households. Raised soil beds and ridges can keep soils oxygenated and productive when heavy rainfall floods the fields, as can often occur in northern and northwestern Zambia.
All three systems can be bundled with conservation agriculture approaches, which are based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, keeping crop residues on the soil, and growing a more diverse selection of crops.
“The official clearing of these transformative cropping technologies is a huge milestone for the project and for Zambia’s resource-poor farmers,” said Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT principal cropping systems agronomist based in southern Africa who, as part of SIFAZ, is testing and disseminating maize cropping practices that boost harvests, enrich soils, and capture and conserve moisture. “We’re working closely with Zambia’s MoA and the FAO, planning research trials, demonstrations and promotion to reach 20,000 farmers as a first step.”
An essential crop
Maize is the number-one food staple in sub-Saharan Africa, sown by some 300 million smallholder farmers using seasonal rains. A leading crop as well for Zambia’s small-scale, subsistence, and often impoverished farmers, maize grows poorly in extreme heat, infertile soils, and extended dry weather. Failed maize crops can bring hunger to smallholders and their families, for whom risks are high and formal safety nets are non-existent.
The EU recently announced that it will provide an additional EUR 20 million in funding for SIFAZ, now three years old and operating in five provinces and 27 districts of Zambia.
The cropping practices submitted to the National Advisory Committee by Thierfelder and his colleagues conform to a sustainable intensification assessment framework developed by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Kansas State University.
“The framework provides a set of indicators for evaluating technologies according to their effects on productivity, economics, the environment, and social and human conditions — domains considered essential for sustainable agriculture systems,” Thierfelder explained. “The framework is well suited for smallholder farm settings, where agriculture is linked to development goals such as alleviating poverty, avoiding land degradation, increasing food and nutrition security, and supporting women’s empowerment.”
Cover photo: Jane Miti, a Zambia extension methodology officer, is testing intercropped strips of maize and soybean at Nyanje, Sinda District, to improve her soils and yields. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)
Mustafa Alisarli, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University rector, is awarded for hosting this symposium by the representative of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR), Dr Suat Kaymak.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) coordinated the VIII International Cereal Nematode Symposium between September 26-29, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies and Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University.
As many as 828 million people struggle with hunger due to food shortages worldwide, while 345 million are facing acute food insecurity – a crisis underpinning discussions at this symposium in Turkey focused on controlling nematodes and soil-borne pathogens causing reduced wheat yields in semi-arid regions.
A major staple, healthy wheat crops are vital for food security because the grain provides about a fifth of calories and proteins in the human diet worldwide.
Seeking resources to feed a rapidly increasing world population is a key part of tackling global hunger, said Mustafa Alisarli, the rector of Turkey’s Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University in his address to the 150 delegates attending the VIII International Cereal Nematode Symposium in the country’s province of Bolu.
Suat Kaymak, Head of the Plant Protection Department, on behalf of the director general of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR), delivered an opening speech, emphasizing the urgent need to support the CIMMYT Soil-borne Pathogens (SBP) research. He stated that the SBP plays a crucial role in reducing the negative impact of nematodes and pathogens on wheat yield and ultimately improves food security. Therefore, the GDAR is supporting the SBP program by building a central soil-borne pathogens headquarters and a genebank in Ankara.
Discussions during the five-day conference were focused on strategies to improve resilience to the Cereal Cyst Nematodes (Heterodera spp.) and Root Lesion Nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.), which cause root-health degradation, and reduce moisture uptake needed for proper development of wheat.
Richard Smiley, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, summarized his research on nematode diseases. He has studied nematodes and pathogenic fungi that invade wheat and barley roots in the Pacific Northwest of the United States for 40 years. “The grain yield gap – actual versus potential yield – in semiarid rainfed agriculture cannot be significantly reduced until water and nutrient uptake constraints caused by nematodes and Fusarium crown rot are overcome,” he said.
Experts also assessed patterns of global distribution, exchanging ideas on ways to boost international collaboration on research to curtail economic losses related to nematode and pathogen infestations.
A special session on soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi drew attention to the broad spectrum of diseases causing root rot, stem rot, crown rot and vascular wilts of wheat.
Soil-borne fungal and nematode parasites co-exist in the same ecological niche in cereal-crop field ecosystems, simultaneously attacking root systems and plant crowns thereby reducing the uptake of nutrients, especially under conditions of soil moisture stress.
Limited genetic and chemical control options exist to curtail the damage and spread of these soil-borne problems which is a challenge exacerbated by both synergistic and antagonistic interactions between nematodes and fungi.
Nematodes, by direct alteration of plant cells and consequent biochemical changes, can predispose wheat to invasion by soil borne pathogens. Some root rotting fungi can increase damage due to nematode parasites.
Integrated managementFor a holistic approach to addressing the challenge, the entire biotic community in the soil must be considered, said Hans Braun, former director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT.
Braun presented efficient cereal breeding as a method for better soil-borne pathogen management. His insights highlighted the complexity of root-health problems across the region, throughout Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa (CWANA).
Richard A. Sikora, Professor emeritus and former Chairman of the Institute of Plant Protection at the University of Bonn, stated that the broad spectrum of nematode and pathogen species causing root-health problems in CWANA requires site-specific approaches for effective crop health management. Sikora added that no single technology will solve the complex root-health problems affecting wheat in the semi-arid regions. To solve all nematode and pathogen problems, all components of integrated management will be needed to improve wheat yields in the climate stressed semi-arid regions of CWANA.
Building on this theme, Timothy Paulitz, research plant pathologist at the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), presented on the relationship between soil biodiversity and wheat health and attempts to identify the bacterial and fungal drivers of wheat yield loss. Paulitz, who has researched soil-borne pathogens of wheat for more than 20 years stated that, “We need to understand how the complex soil biotic ecosystem impacts pathogens, nutrient uptake and efficiency and tolerance to abiotic stresses.”
Julie Nicol, former soil-borne pathologist at CIMMYT, who now coordinates the Germplasm Exchange (CAIGE) project between CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute, pointed out the power of collaboration and interdisciplinary expertise in both breeding and plant pathology. The CAIGE project clearly demonstrates how valuable sources of multiple soil-borne pathogen resistance in high-yielding adapted wheat backgrounds have been identified by the CIMMYT Turkey program, she said. Validated by Australian pathologists, related information is stored in a database and is available for use by Australian and international breeding communities.
Economic losses
Root-rotting fungi and cereal nematodes are particularly problematic in rainfed systems where post-anthesis drought stress is common. Other disruptive diseases in the same family include dryland crown and the foot rot complex, which are caused mainly by the pathogens Fusarium culmorum and F. pseudograminearum.
The root lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei can cause yield losses in wheat from 38 to 85 percent in Australia and from 12 to 37 percent in Mexico. In southern Australia, grain losses caused by Pratylenchus neglectus ranged from 16 to 23 percent and from 56 to 74 percent in some areas.
The cereal cyst nematodes (Heterodera spp.) with serious economic consequences for wheat include Heterodera avenae, H. filipjevi and H. latipons. Yield losses due to H. avenae range from 15 to 20 percent in Pakistan, 40 to 92 percent in Saudi Arabia, and 23 to 50 percent in Australia.
In Turkey, Heterodera filipjevi has caused up to 50 percent crop losses in the Central Anatolia Plateau and Heterodera avenae has caused up to 24 percent crop losses in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The genus Fusarium which includes more than a hundred species, is a globally recognized plant pathogenic fungal complex that causes significant damage to wheat on a global scale.
In wheat, Fusarium spp. cause crown-, foot-, and root- rot as well as head blight. Yield losses from Fusarium crown-rot have been as high as 35 percent in the Pacific Northwest of America and 25 to 58 percent in Australia, adding up losses annually of $13 million and $400 million respectively, due to reduced grain yield and quality. The true extent of damage in CWANA needs to be determined.
Abdelfattah Dababat, CIMMYT’s Turkey representative and leader of the soil-borne pathogens research team said, “There are examples internationally, where plant pathologists, plant breeders and agronomists have worked collaboratively and successfully developed control strategies to limit the impact of soil borne pathogens on wheat.” He mentioned the example of the development and widespread deployment of cereal cyst nematode resistant cereals in Australia that has led to innovative approaches and long-term control of this devastating pathogen.
Dababat, who coordinated the symposium for CIMMYT, explained that, “Through this symposium, scientists had the opportunity to present their research results and to develop collaborations to facilitate the development of on-farm strategies for control of these intractable soil borne pathogens in their countries.”
Paulitz stated further that soil-borne diseases have world-wide impacts even in higher input wheat systems of the United States. “The germplasm provided by CIMMYT and other international collaborators is critical for breeding programs in the Pacific Northwest, as these diseases cannot be managed by chemical or cultural techniques,” he added.
Closing ceremony of the International Cereal Nematode Symposium. From left to right; Hans Braun, Brigitte Slaats, Richard Sikora, Grant Hollaway, Mesut Keser, Zahra Maafi, Richard Smiley, Mustafa Imren, Fatih Ozdemir, Amer Dababat. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Road ahead
Delegates gained a greater understanding of the scale of distribution of cereal cyst nematodes and soil borne pathogens in wheat production systems throughout West Asia, North Africa, parts of Central Asia, Northern India, and China.
After more than 20 years of study, researchers have recognized the benefits of planting wheat varieties that are more resistant. This means placing major emphasis on host resistance through validation and integration of resistant sources using traditional and molecular methods by incorporating them into wheat germplasm for global wheat production systems, particularly those dependent on rainfed or supplementary irrigation systems.
Sikora stated that more has to be done to improve Integrated Pest Management (IPM), taking into consideration all tools wherever resistant is not available. Crop rotations for example have shown some promise in helping to mitigate the spread and impact of these diseases.
“In order to develop new disease-resistant products featuring resilience to changing environmental stress factors and higher nutritional values, modern biotechnology interventions have also been explored,” Alisarli said.
Brigitte Slaats and Matthias Gaberthueel, who represent Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta, introduced TYMIRIUM® technology, a new solution for nematode and crown rot management in cereals. “Syngenta is committed to developing novel seed-applied solutions to effectively control early soil borne diseases and pests,” Slaats said.
It was widely recognized at the event that providing training for scientists from the Global North and South is critical. Turkey, Austria, China, Morocco, and India have all hosted workshops, which were effective in identifying the global status of the problem of cereal nematodes and forming networks and partnerships to continue working on these challenges.
Shelves filled with maize seed samples make up the maize active collection in the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center at CIMMYT’s El Batán headquarters, Mexico. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)
Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Genebank Collections is expanding CGIAR’s and other organizations’ crop improvement research. This initiative is key to developing new crop varieties adapted to the stresses of climate change, including disruptions caused by drought, heat and flooding. Through this ambitious research program, scientists have already developed critical traits using the genebanks, strengthening the identification of high-value genetic diversity from germplasm collections and more efficiently leveraging this diversity to develop new varieties of climate-resilient crops.
Join virtually to learn more about this program’s pioneering research, the value of collaboration in this research and opportunities to engage further.
WHEN: November 11, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST
RSVP: Please register for the webinar to receive call-in information. This event is free and open to the public.
AIM for Climate is a joint initiative by the United States and United Arab Emirates seeking to address climate change and global hunger. The initiative brings together partners to increase investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation. Specifically, AIM for Climate is advancing research through Innovation Sprints. As an AIM for Climate Knowledge Partner and an Innovation Sprint Partner, FFAR has two other Innovation Sprints in addition to the genebanking project: AgMission and the Greener Cattle Initiative.
For more information, contact Jamie Nickel, communications & legislative affairs associate, at jnickel@foundationfar.org.
About the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement USDA’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
Cover photo: Shelves filled with maize seed samples make up the maize active collection in the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center at CIMMYT’s El Batán headquarters, Mexico. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)
AGG is a collaborative project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) bringing together global partners to advance the development of higher-yielding varieties.
This field day was organized by the Crops Research Institute at Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the department of agriculture.
During the event, researchers aimed to encourage farmer adoption by familiarizing them with the stress-tolerant hybrids and emphasizing the high and stable grain yields.
To mitigate their amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, companies and individuals have access to international voluntary carbon offset markets, which are trading systems that financially compensate credit producer participants for offsetting the amount of carbon emitted. An innovative new initiative from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) is working to establish carbon markets among smallholder farmers in India, with the goal of reducing GHG emissions, encouraging climate smart farming practices through financial incentives.
In India, agriculture is one of the biggest sources of GHG emissions – between 14 and 21 percent of all GHGs are attributable to agricultural activities, which derive from the use of farm machinery, rice cultivation, fertilizer use, and other activities. Emissions from agriculture are increasing drastically due to synthetic fertilizers and enteric fermentation from livestock.
Within CIMMYT’s farmer-centered approach, participants in voluntary carbon markets will improve their own financial viability in two ways – through adopting sustainable practices and through receipt of payments from carbon markets. The approach will also employ regenerative interventions such as direct dry seeding of rice, minimal tillage, crop diversification, use of biofertilizers, and perennial cropping all while contributing to an overall reduction in GHG emissions.
“Working with ICAR to engage smallholder farmers with high-quality carbon offsets allows the farmers to offset their unavoidable emissions,” said Vijesh Krishna, senior CIMMYT scientist. “This program promotes inclusiveness because this newly created income is distributed among participating farmers, thereby improving their income.”
These regenerative agriculture interventions will increase and retain soil’s carbon content, water permeability and retention, resulting in crops’ ability to withstand drought, flooding, and temperature stresses. Only a small percentage of farmers currently implement these methods in India.
CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that widespread adoption of these practices, combined with upgraded technologies, has the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of 0.5 percent back to 1.5 percent. At present, the agricultural soils of India are poor with respect to soil organic carbon.
Carbon markets for smallholders
About 2,000 small holder farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Maharashtra, all in India, are enrolled in the project through individual partnership agreements. Once farmers implement regenerative agricultural methods, they will be eligible to receive payments for carbon credits generated for 10 to 20 years, conditional upon continuing to use climate-smart practices.
“We believe these efforts can be expanded to other regions of India, and other countries,” said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director. “Helping farmers and reducing GHG emissions at the same time is the way forward in dealing the crisis of climate change.”
Farms are geo-tagged and monitored using remote sensing for regenerative farming practices, and soil carbon content will be measured at the beginning and end of the crop cycle. Those that produce rice and wheat with a lower carbon footprint will be identified, so their produce gets purchase and price preferences from those who want to promote lower carbon agriculture.
Digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon offsets and on-farm GHG emission levels are essential for scaling small farmer-centered carbon projects. The veracity, transparency, and traceability of each carbon offset have direct implications for its credibility and actual market value. CIMMYT will contribute towards a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) platform to expand climate action country-wide.
So far, CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that the enrolled smallholder famers have sequestered between four and five tons of carbon dioxide. After independent third-party auditors verify the data, farmers will be paid based on the amount of GHG reduction, with the first carbon offset payments expected to be issued in 2023.
Cover photo: A green maize seedling emerges from the soil (Photo: Wasim Iftikar/CIMMYT)
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine undoubtedly impacts food security, as these two countries are responsible for more than a quarter of wheat traded globally. Developing countries that rely heavily on wheat imports are most at risk from this supply disruption.
Set against an existing backdrop of food insecurity and increasing poverty, the conflict exacerbates present challenges. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that a further 11 to 19 million people will be experiencing chronic hunger by 2023, on top of the existing 193 million people facing food insecurity, and at least 47 countries are expected to fall short of the Zero Hunger target, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a study at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), scientists theorized that the domestic price of wheat is determined by the international price. Their hypothesis also supposed that wheat production is constant and that no significant change in wheat consumption habits is expected in the foreseeable future.
Schematic diagram on the relationship between export-import price, producer price, and wheat consumption.
Scientists discovered that a 1 percent decrease in the global wheat trade could increase the producers’ price by 1.1 percent in the countries sampled. Furthermore, a 1 percent increase in the producers’ price could reduce annual per capita wheat consumption by 0.59 percent, daily calorie intake by 0.54 percent and protein intake by 0.64 percent. A 50% reduction in Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports could increase prices by 15 percent, leading to an 8% reduction in wheat consumption and dietary energy intake.
Rising costs of staple foods such as wheat can lead to violence and social unrest, as witnessed in 2007-11. It is therefore vital to ensure that import-dependent, resource-poor countries are supported to address their precarious food security. Steady public funding, investment in research, and enhanced production in wheat-growing nations can play an integral role in achieving a solution. In the long-term, closing the yield gap through research and investment, particularly in Africa, will lead towards self-sufficiency in wheat in Africa, contributing towards overall food security across the continent.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Director General, Bram Govaerts, participated in a panel discussion on applied maize science to sustainably feed the world as part of the International Maize Congress on October 19-20, 2022 in Argentina.
The congress was organized by the governments of Córdoba and of the Central Region provinces of Argentina, together with the Argentine Maize and Sorghum Association (MAIZAR) and the Córdoba Grain Exchange.
Other panelists for the session included representatives from Argentina’s National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), and the National University of Mar del Plata.
In his presentation, Govaerts highlighted CIMMYT’s scientific efforts to improve the resilience of grain-based systems and produce sufficient, nutritious, and sustainable diets. He also shared CIMMYT’s determination to adopt a collaborative and future-proof approach to research, factoring in climate change to support effective decision-making processes for food producers and to meet demand for innovations and technologies.
The origins of the CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly funded agricultural research consortium for the poor, are closely related to the Green Revolution; a revolution mostly told as the work of one Northern hero with a superior technology that saved the world from starvation. Only recently has the notion that the introduction of that superior technology was one of many investments and innovations that kicked off as the Revolution started to gain ground – and that these investments and innovations came from both the North and South. Scaling of innovation happens in a larger system, often one that feels resistant to whatever we try to scale or, like in the case of the Green Revolution, aligned with what was being scaled and thus led to a tipping point and a completely new way agriculture is produced. The Revolution changed our relation to food, from which there was no going back.
In my ten years at the CGIAR – from 2005 to 2010 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and then from 2017 to now at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) – major shifts can be observed in how scaling is approached.
First, scaling equals large adoption during the project, stemming from strong confidence that “if we build it, they will come”, or we just show how good our innovation is and others will scale it. From my own experience developing scale-appropriate drip irrigation in the Sahel, North Africa, I can say that approach hardly worked. When I re-joined the CGIAR in 2017, there was much more attention to the context in which the intervention is being scaled – we need to “create an enabling environment” for the innovation, and multiple innovations need to scale alongside “our”, mostly technical, innovation. It was very interesting to see up close how more and more colleagues have started to question whether scaling is “good” in the first place and whether it should be about “our” innovations.
COVID-19 and the major energy transitions that are going on in Europe and some states in the United States of America (USA) seem to have awoken a much stronger systems view, the realization that change takes decades, and that there are winners and losers in that process. I think we did a great job in questioning the “silver bullet” and “transfer of technology” mindset and see the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a transition process that requires radically different approaches and addresses multiple leverage points.
Scaling at One CGIAR
The major reform from 15 CGIAR centers to One CGIAR was the perfect opportunity to take scaling seriously as a science and an art. A range of methodologies have been developed, and informal networks of like-minded people have worked together a lot to push for a new paradigm on scaling. It is great that scaling is now well embedded in the One CGIAR strategy for the future. The big One CGIAR Initiatives have all reserved about 5 percent of their budgets to integrate scaling expertise. Also, scaling is very much recognized as a topic that requires a culture and mindset change within the organization to be much more effective.
Not surprisingly, the Call to Action from the Global South and its eight action points resonated a lot with me, especially since the following principles match really well:
It is not about reaching a target as fast as possible but about the whole environment for sustainability – more is not always better. Scaling can help us understand whether project outputs have contributed to something good (Action 1).
We need to reflect better on the viability of some innovations to go to scale – rather than promoting or selling our own solutions, supporting Southern solutions could increase viability (Action 7).
Problem owners should be in charge of scaling – scaling should be a locally owned process where those on the ground negotiate what is good and enough, and we, the research and development organizations, facilitate and support (Action 2).
The way projects are designed and implement set us up for failure. We create fake, highly controlled environments designed to prove that our innovation works – the gap with the reality on the ground could not be larger. The development community, with donors, need to rethink our approach (Action 5).
We need to invest in learning and the science of scaling. Organizations in the Global North need modesty in understanding that our role is not neutral and realize that there is so much we don’t know (Action 8).
Within organizations, scaling is a cultural issue tightly connected to change management. We need to shift mindsets and behaviors to allow better scaling to happen.
That this Call comes from researchers in the Global South is so powerful. It shows us that the current ways of working are not delivering and paints a picture of a better way of doing things, but at the moment, we are in uncertain limbo between the two. The guidance in the Call can help to incite momentum and change. I believe we are coming to a critical mass of people that can tip the scale and that the actions in the Call can become the new normal – so that the stories we tell in the future focus not just on external (Northern) innovations that lead to big change, but on the interplay between what is going in the South and how external “solutions” fit in.
Cover photo: Lead farmer Santa Bhandari harvests green maize for her buffaloes
Neulapur, Bardiya, Nepal. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
How does CIMMYT’s improved maize get to the farmer?
CIMMYT is happy to announce four new, improved tropical maize hybrids that are now available for uptake by public and private sector partners, especially those interested in marketing or disseminating hybrid maize seed across Latin America and similar agro-ecological zones. Public- and private-sector organizations are hereby invited to apply for licenses to pursue national release and /or scale-up seed production and deliver these maize hybrids to farming communities.
The deadline to submit applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is 25 November 2022. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during subsequent rounds of product allocations.
The newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids, CIM20LAPP1C-9, CIM20LAPP1C-10, CIM20LAPP1A-11 and CIM20LAPP1A-12, were identified through rigorous trialing and a stage-gate advancement process which culminated in the 2020 and 2021 CIMMYT Latin America Stage 4 and Stage 5 Trials. The products were found to meet the stringent performance criteria for CIMMYT’s LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C breeding pipelines. While there is variation between different products coming from the same pipeline, the LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C pipelines are designed around the target product profiles described below:
Product Profile
Basic traits
Nice-to-have / Emerging traits
Target agroecologies
LatAM-PP1A
(Tropical Lowland White)
Intermediate maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to TSC, MLB, and ear rots
GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot
Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
LatAM-PP1C
(Tropical Lowland Yellow)
Intermediate maturing, yellow, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to MLB and ear rots
GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot
Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
Jubilant farmers after buying seed during day two of a fair in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is working with its partners to support farmers in Zimbabwe embrace conservation agriculture and improved seed varieties to achieve more successful harvests in areas affected by climate change.
The R4 Rural Resilience and ZAMBUKO initiatives aim to help farmers through a number of activities. These include demonstrations of seed and conservation agriculture, field days and seed fairs, which look to develop farmers’ awareness about improved seed and novel varieties.
The fairs highlighted the importance of good seed practices and the benefits of improved varieties to both farmers and seed companies, who attended the events.
The initiative, which is run in collaboration with the Department of Specialist Services (DRSS), the Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (ARDAS) and the World Food Program (WFP), with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), helps those in the industry see the advantages of improved varieties over old ones, which may have been on the market for more than 20 years.
“It is now very critical for farmers from all walks of life to abandon old varieties which they have grown for decades and adopt the recently released varieties that offer some solutions to the new challenges,” said James Gethi, a seed systems scientist with CIMMYT. “There has been massive investment in research that has specifically focused on addressing the adversity of climate change and variability it brings, such as prolonged dry spells, heat stress, and new diseases that have emerged. As such, it is beneficial to the farmer to shift to the latest varieties as they suit the environmental context better compared to the older varieties.”
In recent years, Zimbabwe has experienced erratic rainfall and severe heatwaves during summer months, which is a key period for the growth of crops. This has led to low yields in various parts of the country, but the situation could improve through the combination of improved agronomy and varieties presented by seed and seed distribution companies who attended the fairs.
“Together with CIMMYT and other partners, we have invested in developing varieties that will help us achieve our annual food security goals,” added Busiso Mavankeni, head of the Crop Breeding Institute (CBI), which is housed within DRSS. “As such, farmers not adopting these new varieties contribute towards a huge waste of beneficial and relevant scientific research. Whilst it is not the farmers’ fault why they haven’t adopted them, we need to take deliberate steps to ensure farmers are aware of these varieties. That is the only way we can stimulate their adoption.”
Private sector partner poses with a happy farmer, who has procured drought tolerant seed. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)
Improving seed management
One of the project’s core aims is to promote positive seed management practices to both farmer and seed companies. In fact, these seed companies have a key role to play in supporting farmers with this knowledge. Understanding how to store crops in optimal conditions, for example, can lead to a more successful harvest.
“It is essential for both the farmers and local agro dealers to know how to manage seed before sale and planting,” Gethi added. “For example, rarely do farmers check the expiry date of seed when they buy them from an agro dealer. Secondly, when the seed needs to be stored, it is essential for it not to be stored close to heat sources or to be unnecessarily exposed to the sun for prolonged periods. This compromises its germination potential. Furthermore, it is crucial for farmers to only buy seed from registered and reputable agro dealers.”
These important messages were relayed to farmer throughout the project’s demos and field days, which led up to the seed fairs.
In addition to purchasing seeds, farmers had the opportunity to learn about new developments and build relationships in the private sector by attending the fairs.
“With these seed fairs, we have not only brought this multitude of seed and machinery companies to your doorstep so that you easily access good seeds, but so that you can also talk and understand what new products are on offer,” explained Christian Thierfelder, principal cropping systems agronomist, innovation science leader for Africa within CIMMYT. “For this coming season, we do not want to see you growing ancient varieties but would want to see you purchase new products which perform better than the old ones.”
ARDAS agricultural extension officer Canaan Jakata was also encouraged by the success of the project’s activities and is looking forward to seeing the farmers who attended the seed fairs enjoy a successful yield during the upcoming summer season. “I am very keen on assessing the performance of farmers in my ward who bought these improved varieties at the seed fairs as compared to neighboring wards in the district which did not. Regardless of how the season turns out, I expect superior performance from my farmers,” said Jakata.
Food crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology innovations can now be imported into Kenya after the ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was lifted.
Kenyan scientists and research institutions are now able to develop crop varieties that will benefit farmers and their communities.
In a landmark statement on October 3, the Cabinet said: “In accordance with the recommendation of the Task Force to review matters relating to GMOs and Food Safety, and in fidelity with the guidelines of the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) on all applicable international treaties including the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), Cabinet vacated its earlier decision of 8th November 2012 prohibiting the open cultivation of GMOs and the importation of food crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology innovations; effectively lifting the ban on GMOs. By dint of the executive action open cultivation and importation of white (GMO) maize is now authorized.”
