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Linking sustainable agricultural methods

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Publications.

While agricultural food systems feed the world, they also account for nearly a third of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing the negative environmental footprint of agrifood systems while at the same time maintaining or increasing yields is one of the most important endeavors in the world’s efforts to combat climate change.

One promising mechanism is carbon credits, a set of sustainable agricultural practices designed to enhance the soil’s ability to capture carbon and decrease the amount of GHG’s released into the atmosphere.

Farmers generate these carbon credits based on their reduction of carbon released and then sell these credits in the voluntary carbon market, addressing the critical concern of sustainably transforming agricultural systems without harming farmers’ livelihoods.

Two is better than one

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a system that involves minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and crop diversification, among other agricultural practices. Its potential to mitigate threats from climate change while increasing yields has made it increasingly popular.

Using remote sensing data and surveys with farmers in the Indian states of Bihar and Punjab, four CIMMYT researchers quantified the effect on farmer’s incomes by combining CA methods with carbon credits. Their findings were published in the April 22, 2024, issue of Scientific Reports.

Previous CIMMYT research has shown that implementing three CA practices: efficient fertilizer use, zero-tillage, and improved rice-water management could achieve more than 50% of India’s potential GHG reductions, amounting to 85.5 million tons of CO2.

“Successfully implemented carbon credit projects could reward farmers when they adopt and continue CA practices,” said Adeeth Cariappa, lead author and environmental and resource economist at CIMMYT. “This creates a win–win scenario for all stakeholders, including farmers, carbon credit businesses, corporate customers, the government, and the entire economy.”

Farmers would enjoy an additional income source, private sectors would engage in employment-generating activities, the government would realize cost savings, and economic growth would be stimulated through the demand generated by these activities.

Less carbon and more income

The researchers found by adopting CA practices in wheat production season, farmers can reduce GHG emissions by 1.23 and 1.97 tons of CO2 per hectare of land in Bihar and Punjab States, respectively.

The researchers determined that CA practices, when combined with carbon credits, could boost farmer income by US $18 per hectare in Bihar and US $30 per hectare in Punjab. In Punjab, however, there is a ban on burning agricultural residue, which reduces potential earnings from carbon markets to US $16 per hectare.

“More farmers engaging CA methods is an overall positive for the environment,” said Cariappa. “But convincing individual farmers can be a struggle. By showing them that carbon credits are another potential source of income, along with increased yields, the case for CA is that much stronger.”

While the potential benefits are significant, there are challenges to linking CA and carbon credits.

“To achieve these potential benefits, carbon credit prices must rise, and projects must be carefully planned, designed, monitored, and implemented,” said Cariappa. “This includes selecting the right interventions and project areas, engaging with farmers effectively, and ensuring robust monitoring and implementation mechanisms.”

Embracing the future of crop breeding

Written by dmedina on . Posted in In the media.

In a discussion on the future of crop breeding at the Cereals seminar, experienced wheat breeder Bill Angus highlighted CIMMYT as a leading example of effective global crop breeding, particularly for regions with limited agricultural inputs. He emphasized that while the UK has a competitive wheat breeding environment, it could learn from CIMMYT’s approach, which successfully develops wheat varieties suited for the developing world, where farmers often lack the luxury of chemical inputs. Angus advocated for the UK to adopt a more impactful and globally engaged breeding strategy, drawing inspiration from CIMMYT’s successes.

Read the full story.

CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist Matthew Reynolds named recipient of the 2024 International Crop Science Award

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT proudly announces that Distinguished Scientist and Head of Wheat Physiology, Matthew Reynolds, has been honored with the prestigious 2024 International Crop Science Award by the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA). Reynolds has advanced CIMMYT’s mission by promoting global partnerships that strengthen plant science, expand the center’s international reach, and provide young scientists with opportunities to engage in agricultural research.

Revolutionizing wheat breeding for climate resilience

Reynolds develops wheat breeding technologies aimed at improving climate resilience and the productivity of wheat cropping systems. His research has unveiled the physiological bases of yield potential and abiotic stress resistance in wheat. Reynolds’s efforts reveal the genetic underpinnings of complex traits, facilitating the development of hardier wheat varieties from diverse gene pools.

Global collaboration and impact

Reynolds promotes international collaboration among wheat scientists. He leads key initiatives such as the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) and the Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HEDWIC). These collaborations leverage collective expertise and have resulted in significant outputs, including high-yield lines tested at approximately 200 sites globally, which confirm innovative routes to enhanced yields and climate resilience.

Mentorship and educational contributions

Reynolds’s laboratory at CIMMYT is a hub for mentoring young scientists. He has provided open-access manuals on phenotyping, translated into four languages, to support global research efforts. His extensive publication record covers crop physiology, genomics, and pre-breeding. Since 2018, Reynolds has consistently ranked in the top 1% of researchers in his field by Web of Science. In 2024, Matthew Reynolds also received the Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Mexico Leader Award for placing 53rd in the world and 1st in Mexico.

International Crop Science Award

The International Crop Science Award recognizes creativity and innovation in transforming crop science practices, products, and programs on an international level. The award acknowledges scientists who have achieved global impact through long-lasting knowledge generation that strengthens international crop science.

For more information on the 2024 awards, including award descriptions, please visit CSSA Awards or contact awards@sciencesocieties.org.

Eight-year study in India by CGIAR and ICAR scientists suggests adoption of Conservation Agriculture can boost yields and manage an increasing carbon footprint

Written by Nima Chodon on . Posted in Publications.

Twenty-twenty four is set to become one of the hottest years on record. Warmer temperatures are destabilizing ecosystems, threatening human life, and weakening our food systems. On Earth Overshoot Day, CIMMYT calls for increased attention to the interplay between environmental health and efficient, abundant food production through sustainable practices.

Food systems are one of the top contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for one-third of all human-caused GHG emissions. While contributing to climate change, food production is also sorely impacted by it, undermining agrarian livelihoods and the ability to feed an increasing global population. Extreme and unpredictable weather is causing economic hardship, food and nutrition insecurity, and use of environmentally harmful practices.

In the Western Indo-Gangetic Plains of India, rice and wheat are the dominant staple crops, grown yearly in rotations covering more than 13 million hectares. But conventional tillage-based methods have been unable to increase yields. Some of these traditional methods based on intensive tillage have harmed the soil, exhausted aquifers, and increased GHG emissions, without raising crop yields. CGIAR soil and climate scientists and agronomists have partnered to find solutions that help increase rice and wheat production, while minimizing harmful environmental effects.

One of the CA-based practice research fields at ICAR-CSSRI. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

At CIMMYT, we interviewed a group of CGIAR scientists who recently published a long-term study on sustainable intensification in the Western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Their work, conducted at the Central Soil and Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI) in Karnal, India, demonstrates how integrating Conservation Agriculture (CA)-based principles into cropping systems can support climate-resilient and sustainable food systems.

“Today, agriculture faces many challenges, such as increasing input costs to maintain yield in the face of climate change and ensuring the sustainability of agricultural land,” said Mahesh Gathala, senior scientist at CIMMYT.

He mentioned that the collaborative research spanned over eight years, covering various crops and cropping cycles, and studying seven scenarios representing different farming practices. One scenario was based on farmers’ existing practices, while the other six involved combining and integrating the agronomic management practices and crop diversification options based on CA principles. The team collected data on yield, profitability, soil health, global warming potential, and fertilizer use, to name critical factors.

Gathala highlighted, “The findings are consistent with our previous research conclusions, while reinforcing the significant compounding impact of Conservation Agriculture-based cropping practices in the region, in the long-run.”

According to M.L. Jat, a former CIMMYT scientist who is global director for ICRISAT’s Resilient Farm and Food Systems Program, the CA-based measures that emerged from this research are applicable in much of the Western Indo-Gangetic Plains and beyond.

“Most of our research trials over some 2-5 years have provided substantial evidence in favor of Conservation Agriculture-based cropping diversification and sustainable intensification,” Jat said. “However, this study is one of very few long-term, collaborative research trials that provide strong evidence for policy decisions on resilient, climate-smart cropping system optimization to boost yields and nutrition, while improving soil health and fighting climate change.”

Other lead authors of the publication, Timothy Krupnik, principal scientist at CIMMYT and CGIAR South Asia, and Tek Sapkota, the Climate Change Science lead at CIMMYT, provided further explanation of important lessons from this eight-year study.

Two CA-based practice research scenarios at ICAR-CSSRI. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)
How does CA contribute to the sustainable and conscious use of natural resources? In what ways could CA be framed to governments to develop policies that do a better job of feeding us nutritious food while contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation?

Tek Sapkota: Conservation Agriculture promotes the production of nutritious, diversified crops, sustainable yield improvements, climate change adaptation, economic benefits, and environmental protection. Governments can support these initiatives through financial incentives, subsidies, investment in research and extension services, and the development of supporting infrastructure and market access. This support further enables farmers to implement and benefit from sustainable agricultural practices.

CIMMYT and CGIAR-led projects in South Asia, like CSISA/SRFSI/TAFFSA, have already recorded some wins for CA implementation. What are some immediate implications of this study on CIMMYT’s ability to deliver this knowledge to more smallholders in the region?

Timothy Krupnik: The ICAR-CIMMYT partnership establishes long-term experiments, or living labs, across diverse ecologies to build trust among smallholder farmers, extension workers, and stakeholders. These initiatives aim to demonstrate CA’s benefits, as part of sustainable intensification. The science-based evidence generated will be co-owned by partners, through their extension networks, and shared with farm communities to highlight CA’s advantages. Additionally, the study supports reducing carbon footprints, contributing to climate change mitigation and sustainable agricultural practices and potentially used by carbon market players to disseminate CA.

Apart from climate resilience, could you explain what are the economic benefits of diversification in the rice-wheat dominant systems?

Tek Sapkota: Diversifying away from rice-wheat cropping systems provides significant economic benefits beyond climate resilience. It enhances income stability, improves resource use efficiency, maintains soil health, reduces production costs (such as irrigation expenses and water usage), and opens up new market opportunities. Diversification contributes to the creation of more sustainable and profitable farming systems.

How can CGIAR and national agricultural research and extension systems promote more widespread adoption of these technologies by farmers in South Asia and beyond?

Tek Sapkota: By establishing a multi-stakeholder platform for learning, knowledge sharing, and developing adoption pathways, CGIAR Research Centers could work together with national partners to create programs that support capacity building and knowledge transfer. Another crucial step would be to collaboratively adapt and customize the technology to local production conditions ensuring smooth implementation at the grassroots level. Additionally, it is important to encourage innovations in policies, markets, institutions and financial mechanisms to facilitate scaling.

Read excerpts of the full journal article: Enhancing productivity, soil health, and reducing global warming potential through diverse conservation agriculture cropping systems in India’s Western Indo-Gangetic Plains

SKUAST-K Maize Improvement Programme: Transforming Challenges into Bountiful Harvests

Written by dmedina on . Posted in In the media.

The SKUAST-K Maize Improvement Programme, in collaboration with CIMMYT, is making significant advancements in maize agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir. By developing resilient maize varieties and leveraging cutting-edge research, the programme addresses key challenges such as poor soil nutrition and erratic rainfall. This partnership has not only enhanced maize productivity and climate resilience but also secured substantial funding and facilitated the release of landmark varieties, ultimately contributing to a sustainable maize-based economy in the region.

Read the full story.

Enhancing the resilience of our farmers and our food systems: global collaboration at DialogueNEXT

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Features.

“Achieving food security by mid-century means producing at least 50 percent more food,” said U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security, Cary Fowler, citing a world population expected to reach 9.8 billion and suffering the dire effects of violent conflicts, rising heat, increased migration, and dramatic reductions in land and water resources and biodiversity. “Food systems need to be more sustainable, nutritious, and equitable.”

CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy aims to build a diverse coalition of partners to lead the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems. This approach addresses factors influencing global development, plant health, food production, and the environment. At DialogueNEXT, CIMMYT and its network of partners showcased successful examples and promising directions for bolstering agricultural science and food security, focusing on poverty reduction, nutrition, and practical solutions for farmers.

Without healthy crops or soils, there is no food

CIMMYT’s MasAgro program in Mexico has enhanced farmer resilience by introducing high-yielding crop varieties, novel agricultural practices, and income-generation activities. Mexican farmer Diodora Petra Castillo Fajas shared how CIMMYT interventions have benefitted her family. “Our ancestors taught us to burn the stover, degrading our soils. CIMMYT introduced Conservation Agriculture, which maintains the stover and traps more humidity in the soil, yielding more crops with better nutritional properties,” she explained.

CIMMYT and African partners, in conjunction with USAID’s Feed the Future, have begun applying the MasAgro [1] model in sub-Saharan Africa through the Feed the Future Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I), where as much as 80 percent of cultivated soils are poor, little or no fertilizer is applied, rainfed maize is the most widespread crop, many households lack balanced diets, and erratic rainfall and high temperatures require different approaches to agriculture and food systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CIMMYT are partnering to carry out the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) movement in Africa and Central America. This essential movement for transforming food systems endorsed by the G7 focuses on crop improvement and soil health. VACS will invest in improving and spreading 60 indigenous “opportunity” crops—such as sorghum, millet, groundnut, pigeon pea, and yams, many of which have been grown primarily by women—to enrich soils and human diets together with the VACS Implementers’ Group, Champions, and Communities of Practice.

The MasAgro methodology has been fundamental in shaping the Feed the Future Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) Rapid Delivery Hub, an effort between government agencies, private, and public partners, including CGIAR. AID-I provides farmers with greater access to markets and extension services for improved seeds and crop varieties. Access to these services reduces the risk to climate and socioeconomic shocks and improves food security, economic livelihoods, and overall community resilience and prosperity.

Healthy soils are critical for crop health, but crops must also contain the necessary genetic traits to withstand extreme weather, provide nourishment, and be marketable. CIMMYT holds the largest maize and wheat gene bank, supported by the Crop Trust, offering untapped genetic material to develop more resilient varieties from these main cereal grains and other indigenous crops. Through the development of hardier and more adaptable varieties, CIMMYT and its partners commit to implementing stronger delivery systems to get improved seeds for more farmers. This approach prioritizes biodiversity conservation and addresses major drivers of instability: extreme weather, poverty, and hunger.

Food systems must be inclusive to combat systemic inequities

Successful projects and movements such as MasAgro, VACS, and AID-I are transforming the agricultural landscape across the Global South. But the urgent response required to reduce inequities and the needed investment to produce more nutritious food with greater access to cutting-edge technologies demands inclusive policies and frameworks like CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy.

“In Latin America and throughout the world, there is still a huge gap between the access of information and technology,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Laura Elena Suazo Torres. “Civil society and the public and private sectors cannot have a sustainable impact if they work opposite to each other.”

Ismahane Elouafi, CGIAR executive managing director, emphasized that agriculture does not face, “a lack of innovative science and technology, but we’re not connecting the dots.” CIMMYT offers a pathway to bring together a system of partners from various fields—agriculture, genetic resources, crop breeding, and social sciences, among others—to address the many interlinked issues affecting food systems, helping to bring agricultural innovations closer to farmers and various disciplines to solve world hunger.

While healthy soils and crops are key to improved harvests, ensuring safe and nutritious food production is critical to alleviating hunger and inequities in food access. CIMMYT engages with private sector stakeholders such as Bimbo, GRUMA, Ingredion, Syngenta, Grupo Trimex, PepsiCo, and Heineken, to mention a few, to “link science, technology, and producers,” and ensure strong food systems, from the soils to the air and water, to transform vital cereals into safe foods to consume, like fortified bread and tortillas.

Reduced digital gaps can facilitate knowledge-sharing to scale-out improved agricultural practices like intercropping. The Rockefeller Foundation and CIMMYT have “embraced the complexity of diversity,” as mentioned by Roy Steiner, senior vice-president, through investments in intercropping, a crop system that involves growing two or more crops simultaneously and increases yields, diversifies diets, and provides economic resilience. CIMMYT has championed these systems in Mexico, containing multiple indicators of success from MasAgro.

Today, CIMMYT collaborates with CGIAR and Total LandCare to train farmers in southern and eastern Africa on the intercrop system with maize and legumes i.e., cowpea, soybean, and jack bean. CIMMYT also works with WorldVeg, a non-profit organization dedicated to vegetable research and development, to promote intercropping in vegetable farming to ensure efficient and safe production and connect vegetable farmers to markets, giving them more sources for greater financial security.

Conflict aggravates inequities and instability. CIMMYT leads the Feed the Future Sustainable Agrifood Systems Approach for Sudan (SASAS) which aims to deliver latest knowledge and technology to small scale producers to increase agricultural productivity, strengthen local and regional value chains, and enhance community resilience in war-torn countries like Sudan. CIMMYT has developed a strong partnership funded by USAID with ADRA, CIP, CRS, ICRISAT, IFDC, IFPRI, ILRI, Mercy Corps, Near East Foundation, Samaritan’s Purse, Syngenta Foundation, VSF, and WorldVeg, to devise solutions for Sudanese farmers. SASAS has already unlocked the potential of several well-suited vegetables and fruits like potatoes, okra, and tomatoes. These crops not only offer promising yields through improved seeds, but they encourage agricultural cooperatives, which promote income-generation activities, gender-inclusive practices, and greater access to diverse foods that bolster family nutrition. SASAS also champions livestock health providing food producers with additional sources of economic resilience.

National governments play a critical role in ensuring that vulnerable populations are included in global approaches to strengthen food systems. Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture, Victor Villalobos, shared examples of how government intervention and political will through people-centered policies provides greater direct investment to agriculture and reduces poverty, increasing shared prosperity and peace. “Advances must help to reduce gaps in development.” Greater access to improved agricultural practices and digital innovation maintains the field relevant for farmers and safeguards food security for society at large. Apart from Mexico, key government representatives from Bangladesh, Brazil, Honduras, India, and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to CIMMYT’s work.

Alice Ruhweza, senior director at the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, and Maria Emilia Macor, an Argentinian farmer, agreed that food systems must adopt a holistic approach. Ruhweza called it, “The great food puzzle, which means that one size does not fit all. We must integrate education and infrastructure into strengthening food systems and development.” Macor added, “The field must be strengthened to include everyone. We all contribute to producing more food.”

Generating solutions, together

In his closing address, which took place on World Population Day 2024, CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts thanked the World Food Prize for holding DialogueNEXT in Mexico and stressed the need for all partners to evolve, while aligning capabilities. “We have already passed several tipping points and emergency measures are needed to avert a global catastrophe,” he said. “Agrifood systems must adapt, and science has to generate solutions.”

Through its network of research centers, governments, private food producers, universities, and farmers, CIMMYT uses a multidisciplinary approach to ensure healthier crops, safe and nutritious food, and the dissemination of essential innovations for farmers. “CIMMYT cannot achieve these goals alone. We believe that successful cooperation is guided by facts and data and rooted in shared values, long-term commitment, and collective action. CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy goes beyond transactional partnership and aims to build better partnerships through deeper and more impactful relationships. I invite you to partner with us to expand this collective effort together,” concluded Govaerts.

[1] Leveraging CIMMYT leadership, science, and partnerships and the funding and research capacity of Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry (SADER) during 2010-21, the program known as “MasAgro” helped over 300,000 participating farmers to adopt improved maize and wheat varieties and resource-conserving practices on more than 1 million hectares of farmland in 30 states of Mexico.

Visual summaries by Reilly Dow.

Unlocking Zambia’s maize potential through crop diversity

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Publications.

While maize is the primary staple food crop in Zambia, its productivity on farmers’ fields reaches on average only about 20 percent of what it could achieve with good agronomic practices. Some reasons for this inefficiency are use of traditional varieties, low fertilizer use, and ineffective weed and pest control.

Closing the gap between potential and realized yields would have major benefits for farmers in Zambia, both in terms of income and food security at the household and national levels. One possibility to increase maize productivity is by increasing crop diversity through the inclusion of legumes in maize-based farming systems. This could be done through intercropping, growing legumes in the rows between maize plants, or crop rotations and alternating maize and legumes in the same field from season to season.

CIMMYT scientists, along with collaborators from the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) and the University of Zambia’s School of Agricultural Science, set out to determine which cropping systems might lead to increased productivity for maize farmers in Zambia and their results were published in the journal Field Crops Research.

“There is great potential in Zambia to increase yields to help ensure food security,” said Mulundu Mwila, PhD candidate and scientist at ZARI. “We wanted to determine the cropping systems that offered the most benefits.”

Setting up the study

For this research, ZARI and CIMMYT scientists established maize-based cropping systems trials, comprising maize monocropping, and maize-legume rotations and intercrops under both ‘conventional’ tillage, and Conservation Agriculture, across 40 farms in a variety of agroecological zones in Zambia.  The team also conducted household surveys in the same communities hosting the on-farm trials to determine the share of households with enough cultivated land to benefit from the tested cropping systems.

Researchers found that the tested cropping systems produced more maize per hectare compared to non-trial host farms in the same region. The greatest positive effect uncovered was that maize-legume rotations in Zambia’s Eastern Province had the potential to increase maize yield by 1 to 2 tons per hectare, per growing season. “The Eastern Province trials showed better results because of stable and adequate rainfall amounts and distribution and because of using groundnut as a rotation crop,” said Mwila.

Researchers attributed the small effect of legumes on maize yield in the Southern Province to low levels of biomass production and nitrogen fixation, due to low and erratic rainfall, and to low residue incorporation because of livestock grazing. Conversely, the small effect of legumes on maize yield in the Northern Province might be attributed to the high rainfall amount in the region, leading to high rates of leaching of residual nitrogen during the growing season as well as the use of common beans as the preceding crop.

Finding the right amount of land

With evidence showing the potential benefits of maize-legume rotations, the availability of land is a constraint for small farms across sub-Saharan Africa, thus it is important to quantify the land area needed for farmers to implement maize-legume rotations.

“Our findings match prior research showing the benefits of maize-legume rotations in Eastern Zambia” said Silva. “However, implementing maize-legume rotations remains a challenge for many smallholders due to small farm sizes.”

Nearly 35, 50, and 70% of the surveyed farms in the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Provinces, respectively, had enough land to achieve the same level of maize production obtained on their farm with the yields of the maize-legume rotations tested in the on-farm trials. “With our findings showing increased maize yields, and our efforts to determine the amount of land needed for food and nutrition security at household level, the next steps can be to facilitate methods to disseminate this information to policy makers and to farmers that have enough land area to benefit from diversified cropping systems,” said Silva.

For farmers with not enough land to reap the benefits of maize-legume rotations, intercropping legumes within the maize has shown promising results. The researchers also call for further research to specify the contributing factors to small farms not seeing benefits from maize-legume rotations.

Mars delivers record carbon emissions reduction

Written by dmedina on . Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT contributes to Mars’ sustainability efforts by equipping Mexican maize producers with tools and training through the Next Generation Soil program. This collaboration supports Mars’ climate-smart agriculture initiatives, reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, which make up 60% of its total GHG footprint. By promoting regenerative agriculture practices, CIMMYT helps Mars work towards a 50% GHG reduction by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Read the full story.

CIMMYT scientists deliver training to improve agriculture in Uzbekistan

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

Scientists from the Research Institute of Plant Genetic Resources in Uzbekistan (RIPGR) attended training on gene bank management and genetic resources, coordinated by CIMMYT-Türkiye on 13-20 April 2024. Hosted at the Turkish Department of Agricultural Economics and Project Management (TAGEM), the training is supported by the World Bank Group, which is helping Uzbekistan to modernize the country’s agriculture. With one of the highest levels of wheat consumption in Central Asia, the modernization project aims to increase Uzbekistan’s wheat yield and meet demand for the crop.

The course included lectures on status and activity of the Turkish Seed Germplasm Bank (TSGB), policy instruments and international perspectives on plant genetic resources, herbarium techniques, biotechnology studies, and genetic resources. Uzbek scientists also became acquainted with scientific laboratories, visiting the field station in İkizce Gölbaşı and learned about the breeding, pathology, and agronomy activities at the station as well as the collaboration activities between CGIAR Research Centers and TAGEM.

Country-wide expertise

In addition to sessions at CIMMYT’s office in Türkiye, participants also visited the National Gene Bank in Ankara and the National Gene Bank of Izmir.

At the latter location, experts delivered sessions on a range of topics, such as the Plant Diversity and Genetic Resources Program of Türkiye; in vitro and cryopreservation techniques; the conservation, data recording, and documentation of plant genetic resources; conservation and utilization of vegetable genetic resources; conservation studies on mushroom genetic resources; studies on wheat genetic resources and wheat breeding at the international winter wheat breeding program; regional collaboration to combat wheat rust disease in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA); and international winter wheat breeding strategies.

In addition to the seminar sessions, the participants also visited several locations to familiarize themselves with scientific processes in field and laboratory conditions. They visited the field gene banks, guided by Fatih Çağir, who provided brief information about the fruit genetic resources activities of Türkiye. They also visited the plant collection activities and herbarium techniques laboratory, the National Gene Bank, Herbarium, Fungarium & Seed Physiology Laboratory of the Plant Genetics Resources Department & Plant Tissue Center, and the Regional Cereal Rust Research Center.

The importance of the training course for Uzbek scientists is to study the system of rational use, conservation, and management of plant genetic resources of Türkiye and to introduce new innovative knowledge in Uzbekistan. It also consists of discussing aspects related to bilateral cooperation and sustainable development in the field of plant genetic resources as well gene bank management.

The delegation from Uzbekistan, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the director of the Research Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, Zafarjon Mashrapovich Ziyaev, expressed their deep gratitude to the organizers and departments for this training course.

Climate Change And Growing Global Population Affects Food Security; Africa Most Affected Continent

Written by dmedina on . Posted in In the media.

Chris Ojiewo, from CIMMYT, emphasizes the urgent need for African farmers to produce more food within restricted areas to accommodate the continent’s growing population. He advocates for increasing crop productivity by developing resilient varieties and advanced production systems that can thrive in intensified and drought-prone conditions. Ojiewo suggests boosting maize yields from one ton per hectare to higher levels through innovative agricultural practices, highlighting CIMMYT’s role in addressing food security challenges exacerbated by climate change.

Read the full story.

Launch of a new Global Partnership for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils initiative

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Press releases.

Traditional and nutrient-rich crops are vital for global food security. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Rome/Texcoco, Mexico – An initiative to build resilient agrifood systems grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils, today marked another milestone through a new partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CIMMYT, a CGIAR Research Center.

FAO and CIMMYT signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Partnership for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative. The joint Partnership will play a pivotal role leading efforts to coordinate, grow, and strengthen the VACS movement across a wide range of public and private stakeholders.

“By joining forces with CGIAR and CIMMYT, we bring together our collective capacities to build a strong momentum and platform to advance the VACS,” said FAO’s Director-General QU Dongyu. “VACS effectively brings together the Four Betters set out in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.”

“Our 2030 Strategy focuses on strengthening agrifood systems to increase nutritional value and climate resilience,” said CIMMYT’s Director General, Bram Govaerts. “We are proud to stand united, through VACS, with FAO, whose excellent track record on policy work and networking with national governments will help equip farmers with resilient seed and climate-smart cropping systems that regenerate, rather than degrade, the soils on which their diets and livelihoods depend.”

Launched in 2023 by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the African Union and FAO, the VACS movement aims to build sustainable and resilient agrifood systems by leveraging opportunity crops and building healthy soils to enhance agricultural resilience to climate change and improve diets. Nutrient-rich and traditional crops like sorghum, millet, cowpea, and mung bean are vital for food security and nutrition under climate change but have seen little attention so far. VACS recognizes the interdependence of crops and soils: Crops need good soil to be productive, and different crops can only be sustainably grown on some types of land.

FAO-CIMMYT partnership aims to boost farm productivity and nutrition

Since its launch the VACS initiative has supported many activities including the Quick Wins Seed Systems Project in Africa, which promotes the adoption of climate-resilient dryland grains and legumes and helps smallholders access seeds of local nutritious crops like pearl millet, finger millet, and mung bean, and connects them with markets and agri-services. Meanwhile, the VACS Fellows programme trains African breeding professionals, strengthening regional agrifood systems. In Central America, InnovaHubs partner with CGIAR, Mexico, and Norway to connect farmers with markets, technologies, and high-quality seeds. FAO, through its work, including as part of the International Network on Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (INSOILFER) and the Soil mapping for resilient agrifood systems (SoilFER) project, assists members with the implementation of sustainable and balanced soil fertility management for food security and to promote actions to enhance the link between nourished healthy soils and opportunity crops.

Leveraging on the expertise and mandates of both CIMMYT and FAO, the new joint VACS Partnership will support, coordinate and amplify the impact of all stakeholders of the VACS movement, public and private, through the following functions:

  • Strategy: The Partnership will develop and maintain a VACS strategy, including by defining its mission, objectives, and approach.
  • Resource Mobilization: The Partnership will work with public and private sector donors to increase investments in VACS-aligned work.
  • Donor and Implementer Coordination: The Partnership will coordinate work among major VACS donors and implementers, including by coordinating the VACS Implementers’ Group.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: The Partnership will strengthen ties across public and private stakeholders to catalyze action in support of VACS, including by coordinating the VACS Community of Practice and the VACS Champions program.
  • Shaping the Policy Environment: The Partnership will coordinate the development of a VACS policy agenda and work to advance it at the local, national, and multinational levels.
  • Communications: The Partnership will elevate the importance of diverse crops and healthy soils as a fundamental means of advancing a range of sustainable development goals.
  • Results Management: The Partnership will develop and maintain a results management framework to track progress in achieving VACS objectives.

About CIMMYT

CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries.

About FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Our goal is to achieve food security and nutrition for all by enabling all people to have regular access to enough locally appropriate high-quality nutritious food to prevent all forms of malnutrition and to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members – 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

For more information or interviews:

Jelle Boone
Interim Head of Communications, CIMMYT
j.boone@cgiar.org
Mobile/WhatsApp: +52 595 1247241

Peter Mayer
FAO News and Media
peter.mayer@fao.org

Transforming agricultural systems in Mozambique

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

With 96% of its population engaged in farming and crop production, residents of the province of Niassa in the northern part of Mozambique rely heavily on agriculture for both their own nutritional needs and household income.

Famers in Niassa face many challenges in achieving successful agricultural development, including a 60% yield gap between male head of household farms and female led farms and while improved crop varieties are available, their rate of adoption is uneven across the province.

Implemented by CIMMYT in partnership with key collaborators and supported by Irish Aid, the Transformative Dryland Crops Project aims to enhance food security and boost incomes for more than 14,000 farm families in Niassa.

Delegation from CIMMYT and the Embassy of Ireland led by Moses Siambi, Africa’s regional director, and Adrian Fitzgerald, chief of cooperation at the Embassy of Ireland, during discussions at the launch of the Transformative Dryland Crops Project in Mozambique. (Photo: Mozambique)

Speaking at the launch meeting, Niassa’s Secretary of State, Lina Maria da Silva Portugal said, “This project focuses on leveraging technology and innovative approaches to bolster resilience and sustainability which will benefit all of Niassa.”

The Transformative Dryland Crops Project will focus on crops known for their drought tolerance, such as pigeon peas, groundnuts, common beans, and soybeans. By adopting a ‘hub-model’ approach, the project will enhance learning and technology dissemination, facilitating collaboration among farmers, farmer organizations, service providers, buyers, and processors. This collaborative effort will ensure the effective implementation of the project and maximize its impact on the ground.

“Through collaborative efforts with local stakeholders, we aim to narrow the gender yield gap, increase adoption rates of improved crop varieties, and enhance overall agricultural productivity, said Irish AID Ambassador, Adrian Fitzgerald.

Governor of Lichinga, Judite Massengele, Niassa’s capitol, said, “The launch of this project marks a significant milestone in the journey towards enhancing food security and improving livelihoods here in Niassa.”

Governor of Niassa, Judite Massengele, hosts a meeting in her office during the launch of the transformative dryland crops project in Mozambique. (Photo: Mozambique)

Transformative changes

Besides increased agricultural productivity, enhanced food security, and income generation, the Transformative Dryland Crops Project promotes gender equity, increases resilience to climate shocks, implements sustainable resource management, builds capacity among farmers and extension agents and facilitates inclusive market systems.

“The Transformative Dryland Crops Project will impact many different parts of the agricultural system of Niassa,” said Moses Siambi, CIMMYT Africa regional director. “The key part of our implementation plan is the knowledge that all these systems and stakeholders are interconnected and any intervention in one of part of the system must account for its effects on the entire system in order to be sustainable.”

Innovation hubs in western Honduras, cornerstones for agricultural sustainability

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

Visit to the hub located at Elmer’s plot in Lentago, Belén Gualcho Ocotepeque, Honduras. (Photo: Erardo Díaz)

We are paving the way for significant agricultural change in the community of Lentago, Belén Gualcho, Ocotepeque. By means of the AgriLAC Resiliente initiative, we have taken firm steps towards more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems in Honduras through continuation efforts at the agricultural innovation hub.

“Fertilization is one of the main issues identified through plot diagnosis and the participation of several producers from three areas (Lentago, El Aguacatillo and La Mohaga),” says Jesús Erardo Díaz Gómez. He is a technician participating in the project and provided Elmer Valeriano with technical support during the installation of the hub on his plot, where sustainable practices are currently being implemented and compared with conventional local practices.

Traditionally, fertilization occurs 15 to 22 days after planting. “The innovation hub seeks to improve this practice by evaluating fertilization during planting in order to ensure adequate nutrient availability maize plants,” says Erardo, who is part of the InnovaHub West Honduras technical team, which coordinates local organization and stakeholder AgriLAC Resiliente efforts, promoting innovation and sustainability in the Honduran agricultural sector.

InnovaHub Occidente is not just impacting fertilization methods. Erardo states that the seed selection processes for future crops also needs to be reexamined. Currently, seeds are selected once they “tapizcan” (harvest) the maize, taking it out of the field. However, this has its problems. “With the innovation hub, we aim to start this process in the field, carefully selecting the healthiest plants most suited to the needs of local producers,” he explains.

Hubs like the one in Lentago help disseminate knowledge about sustainable practices. The CIMMYT and ODECO technical team has played a pivotal role resolving questions and orienting farmers about sustainable maize management.

Of course, the success of efforts like this one requires commitment and active participation from farmers like Elmer Valeriano. Elmer is a proactive farmer open to new techniques. He is an inspirational model showing how collaboration between technicians and farmers drive the shift towards more sustainable and efficient practices, like the installation of a rain gauge that promises to yield vital data for informed decision making in the hub.

Though seemingly simple, the rain gauge provides a way to better understand crop irrigation requirements and adjust agricultural practices accordingly. “The results will allow us to compare the amount of water received with actual crop requirements, providing a reliable foundation for making decisions,” says Erardo, noting Elmer’s commitment to collecting and recording the data from the rain gauge.

Elmer reads the rain gauge. (Photo: Erardo Díaz)

The work by InnovaHub Occidente de Honduras is not isolated. It is a part of a broader initiative: AgriLAC Resiliente. This CGIAR driven effort aims to transform agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean by increasing resilience and competitiveness. The InnovaHubs in Honduras, in collaboration with organizations such as the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and CIMMYT, are paving the way towards a more prosperous and sustainable future for agriculture in the region.

Ultimately, success for these initiatives will depend on continued collaboration among all stakeholders: farmers, technicians, organizations, and local communities. More resilient agrifood systems that not only feed present generations, but also protect and restore land for future generations, are possible as long as we continue to focus on innovation and sustainability.

The original piece was published in Spanish. 

Revised market segmentation for spring wheat—achieving alignment between ICARDA and CIMMYT

Written by dmedina on . Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT, in collaboration with ICARDA and the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence, has revised the market segmentation for spring wheat to align breeding efforts using a unified “crop view” approach. This initiative resolves duplication challenges, provides objective crop prioritization, and aligns Target Product Profiles (TPPs) to meet the needs of farmers, consumers, and processors. By establishing a consistent application of eight market segmentation criteria, the effort standardizes the process and lays a foundation for future discussions on market segment prioritization and TPP alignment, ensuring all relevant market requirements are prioritized in breeding programs.

Read the full story.