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Ethiopian officials praise CIMMYT program on eve of second phase

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By Seifu Mahifere/CIMMYT

The Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program has successfully completed its first phase with significant outputs that helped improve the food and nutritional security of smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa.

SIMLESA, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), was launched in 2010 to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farming communities in Africa through productive and sustainable maize-legume systems and risk management strategies that conserve natural resources. It is managed by CIMMYT and implemented by partners in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. With lessons from these core countries, the program is also implemented in Botswana, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.

SIMLESA’s contribution to improving system productivity and profitability was highlighted in a meeting held in April. Photos: Seifu Mahifere

SIMLESA’s first phase ended with its Fourth Annual Regional Review, Planning and Program Steering Committee meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 7-11 April. Sileshi Getahun, Ethiopia’s state minister  of agriculture and the guest of honor, said the program has paid “substantial dividends” to sustainable agricultural development in eastern and southern Africa. The second phase of SIMLESA, which will also be funded by ACIAR, is expected to launch in July. “SIMLESA is a model for many regional and sub-regional collaborative projects to address agricultural intensification [in Africa],” Getahun told more than 120 representatives of SIMLESA partner organizations attending the event.

Mulugeta Mekuria, program coordinator, outlined the program’s main achievements in developing conservation agriculture (CA)-based sustainable intensification options, technology adoption by both female and male farmers, capacity building  for national agricultural research systems (NARS) of partner countries and the creation of enhanced partnerships and collaboration for a common goal. He noted in particular that SIMLESA has contributed to the release of 40 new maize varieties, which have yield advantages of 10 to 30 percent when compared to existing commercial varieties in its program countries. The program also trained more than 3,000 agricultural scientists in the maize and legume production value chains and engaged more than 40,000 farmers (almost half of them women) through farmer field days and exchange programs.

John Dixon, ACIAR principal research advisor, expressed ACIAR’s commitment to support SIMLESA. The program is considered a flagship program and is being adopted by donors as a framework for sustainable intensification. Fentahun Mengistu, director general of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and SIMLESA Program Steering Committee member, underlined that SIMLESA has significantly contributed to the generation and adoption of user-preferred maize and legume technologies, as well as information and knowledge that improve system productivity and profitability of the target farming systems. “The outcome of SIMLESA, in terms of human capacity and research facility building, will improve our efficiency and impact in agricultural research in the future,” Fentahun said. Olaf Erenstein, CIMMYT Socioeconomic Program director and SIMLESA Program Management Committee chair, said SIMLESA II will have a broader technological focus on systems and impact orientation as well as the creation of more partnerships and scaling out of program results.The week-long event featured country-specific achievements from Australia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, backed by poster displays showing success stories.

Remarks are given at the SIMLESA review meeting. Photo: Seifu Mahifere

Participants also visited maize and legume seed production, forage and irrigated intercropping trials and the Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre, showcasing SIMLESA-supported technologies. They also saw an ultra-modern export company that cleans, grades and packages legumes and is linked with SIMLESA research teams in Ethiopia.

The SIMLESA Program Steering Committee commended SIMLESA for its substantive progress and NARS partners for their professionalism and skill during the meeting.

Development officer promotes SIMLESA Project

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By Isaiah Nyagumbo/CIMMYT

Starting a personal conservation agriculture plot and providing training via group theater are some of the tactics an extension development officer in Malawi is using to reach farmers.

Fredrerick Lukhere, the local extension development officer for the Mtuthama Extension Planning Area, has led by example as part of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project, which is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. A SIMLESA team visited fields in the Kasungu district on 12 February. The team was led by Isaiah Nyagumbo, SIMLESA Southern Africa objective 2 coordinator, and included Gift Mashango, program manager; Jefias Mataruse, research assistant; Cyprian Mwale, national coordinator; Donwell Kamalongo, national objective 2 coordinator; Keneth Chaula, assistant chief agricultural extension officer; and others from the local district office.

Fredrick Lukhere takes the time to explain maize-soybean rotations to farmers in Kasungu. Photo by Jefias Mataruse

More than 60 farmers, including 42 men and 20 women, participated in the tour. Initiated in 2010, SIMLESA activities in Malawi’s Kasungu District are in their fourth season. The project aims to improve the food security and incomes of 650,000 households in eastern and southern Africa within 10 years. Activities also aim to increase productivity by 30 percent and reduce downside risk by 30 percent through use of improved maize and legume varieties and conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification technologies.

Lukhere has promoted SIMLESA activities using innovative techniques. He reinforces innovation platforms and partnerships founded on the Area Stakeholder Panel, a local community-based institution. He strengthens partnerships with local NGOs such as CADECOM and Total Land Care, subcontracted by SIMLESA to scale out sustainable intensification technologies. He has single-handedly trained NGO staff on how to set up and implement outscaling activities using SIMLESA’s outscaling model involving maizelegume (soybean) rotations.

Exploratory trials involving maize and soybeans are testimony to Fredrerick Lukhere’s efforts in Kasungu, Malawi. Photo by Isaiah Nyagumbo

Lukhere has also ensured the success of core exploratory trials, which were established in 2010 with six farmers in the area. The trials provide a learning platform and are also a source of research data. To increase farmer confidence in the technologies tested, Lukhere set up his own conservation agriculture plot planted with maize in 2012 and has increased the area to 0.5 hectares. The healthy and well-managed maize crop stands as a testimony to Luhkere’s efforts. He also runs a small drama group that trains farmers on SIMLESA technologies and performs to visitors and farmers during field days.

As a result of Luhkere’s efforts, at least 37 farmers are hosting outscaling trials; 84 follower or volunteer farmers are using these technologies without any support; and another 140 farmers are working through CADECOM in the surrounding extension planning areas. Total LandCare also supports farmers by providing herbicides and loans and hosts SIMLESA trials in neighboring extension planning areas.

Machinery book published in Bangladesh

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A new, open-source book on agricultural machinery in Bangladesh is now available online. Made in Bangladesh: Scale-appropriate machinery for agricultural resource conservation was written by authors from CIMMYT and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. The book was a product of the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia – Mechanical and Irrigation (CSISA-MI) and CSISA Bangladesh projects, as well as the EU-funded Agriculture, Nutrition and Extension Project (ANEP) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research-funded Rice-Maize Project.

Machinery-Book

The book details the functions and designs of smallscale agricultural machinery used in conjunction with two-wheel tractors (2WTs). 2WTs are used extensively in Bangladesh and several other countries, and the small-scale implements extend the usefulness of the 2WTs. Most implements are compatible with conservation agriculture-based management practices while the book’s technical drawings allow manufacturers and engineers to reproduce and improve upon the original designs. The PDF version of the book, which is found here in the CIMMYT repository, is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The book will soon be translated and released in Bangla. For more information, contact Tim Krupnik, CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist, at t.krupnik@cgiar.org.

Australian delegation praises CIMMYT’s global achievements

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By Miriam Shindler/CIMMYT

The Australian delegation stand with CIMMYT representatives in front of the Gene Bank. Front row left to right: Ambassador Tim George, Ms. Robyn McClelland, Sergeant-at-Arms, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, Mr. Stephen Jones MP, Hon. Philip Ruddock MP and his wife Back row left to right: Ashleigh McArthur, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Senator Deborah O’Neill; Mr. Mark Coulton MP; William Blomfield, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Dr.Marianne BĂ€nziger , CIMMYT Deputy Director General; Mr. Damien Jones, Special Adviser to the Speaker; Dr. Kevin Pixley, Director Genetic Resources Program Director; Dr. Hans Braun, Director Global Wheat Program Director; Ricardo Curiel, MasAgro Communications Specialist. (Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT)
The Australian delegation stand with CIMMYT representatives in front of the Gene Bank.
Front row left to right: Ambassador Tim George, Ms. Robyn McClelland, Sergeant-at-Arms, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, Mr. Stephen Jones MP, Hon. Philip Ruddock MP and his wife Back row left to right: Ashleigh McArthur, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Senator Deborah O’Neill; Mr. Mark Coulton MP; William Blomfield, Australian Embassy in Mexico; Dr.Marianne BĂ€nziger , CIMMYT Deputy Director General; Mr. Damien Jones, Special Adviser to the Speaker; Dr. Kevin Pixley, Director Genetic Resources Program Director; Dr. Hans Braun, Director Global Wheat Program Director; Ricardo Curiel, MasAgro Communications Specialist. (Photo: Xochiquezatl Fonseca/CIMMYT)

The Honorary Bronwyn Bishop, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, commended CIMMYT’s impressive achievements during a visit to the El Batán campus on 16 January. Bishop was accompanied by Tim George, the Australian ambassador to Mexico, as well as three other members of the House of Representatives and a member of the Senate.

In an engaging presentation, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin captivated the delegation by showcasing CIMMYT’s history and extensive agricultural research for development activities. The delegation was also impressed by CIMMYT’s contribution to the Australian agriculture sector; 98 percent of Australian wheat is derived from CIMMYT parental lines. A 4.6 percent yield increase due to CIMMYT germplasm translates into additional annual income of up to AUD$ 250 million (US$ 219.8 million) for Australian wheat farmers.

The fruitful visit was an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between CIMMYT and Australia and to form future collaborative projects that will help both farmers in the developing world and in Australia. Australia is one of CIMMYT’s strongest partners and collaborators. Institutions such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) are working with CIMMYT to improve maize and wheat varieties for farmers in Australia and the developing world.

Australian ambassador visits program in Ethiopia

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By Dagne Wegary/CIMMYT

The Australian Ambassador to Ethiopia paid her first visit to a CIMMYT program this month and commended efforts to improve livelihoods in resource-poor rural households.

On her 7 November visit, Ambassador Lisa Filipetto learned about activities under the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program, which have been implemented in different parts of Ethiopia since 2010. She visited SIMLESA sites in northwest Ethiopia, where work is conducted by the Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI). Maize-based farming in the region is characterized by unsustainable production systems, including monocropping, repeated tillage and residue removal. SIMLESA promotes new crop varieties and production practices such as intercropping, maize-legume rotations, reduced tillage and year-round residue coverage. Farmers who have traditionally monocropped maize appreciate the new practices, which help them increase harvests while replenishing soil fertility.

Australian-Ambassador-to-Ethiopia-briefed-on-the-peformances-of-SIMLESA-activties

Filipetto was accompanied by scientists from CIMMYT-Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), SIMLESA partners. Dr. Biru Yitaferu, director general of ARARI, and Likawent Yeheyis, director of livestock research for ARARI, welcomed the visiting team. Yitaferu highlighted ARARI’s managerial structure, mandates, missions and resource capacities while Yiheyis presented an overview of SIMLESA work in the region.

Presentations showcased the program’s extensive research and development activities including conservation agriculture-based exploratory trials; farmer participatory variety selection (PVS) for maize, grain legumes and forage and fodder varieties; and technology implementation in South Achefer and Jabitenan districts, which is aided by ARARI researchers and district agricultural offices.
Ambassador-Lisa-Filipetto-and-SIMLESA

Filipetto visited a SIMLESA site hub in South Achefer and saw activities of the Abchikli Farmers’ Training Center on conservation agriculture-based intercropping, as well as PVS trials with hybrid and open-pollinated maize and varieties of sweet lupine – a multi-purpose legume crop traditional in Ethiopia. Four of the sweet lupine varieties in the trials are under the final stage of evaluation for future commercial release. Yeheyis said Amhara’s agriculture bureau will include conservation agriculture, maize-legume intercropping and maize-fodder/forage relay cropping in its regular extension program. This will contribute significantly to adoption of the technologies by a wider range of farming communities in the region, according to Yeheyis.

At the end of her visit, Filipetto expressed great interest in partnering with CIMMYT to improve livelihoods in the region. SIMLESA in Ethiopia is funded by Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

Collaboration to combat a common climate challenge

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By Emma Quilligan/CIMMYT

More than 70 experts on maize, millet, rice, sorghum and wheat identified cross-cutting priorities and goals to address climate change, one of the most pressing issues for food security, at a recent meeting in India.
Entitled “Maintaining cereal productivity under climate change through international collaboration,” the meeting took place during 18-20 November at the National Agriculture Science Centre (NASC) Pusa Campus in New Delhi. CIMMYT organized the meeting with co-sponsorship from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). “We learn a lot by comparing notes among crops,” said Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT wheat physiologist and organizer of the meeting’s scientific program. “It can help provide new inspirations as well as avoid reinventing the wheel.”

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Following welcome speeches from Etienne Duveiller, CIMMYT Director for South Asia, as well as Saharah Moon Chapotin and Srivalli Krishnan from USAID, Tony Cavalieri from the BMGF and Swapan Kumar Datta from the Indian Centre for Agricultural Research (ICAR), a diverse panel summarized the challenges climate change poses to cereal production. Mark Rosegrant, director of the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), highlighted the numerous effects climate change is predicted to have on cereal production and prices. Maize prices are predicted to increase by more than 50 percent and the prices of other crops by 25 to 50 percent by 2050. “This is without accounting for effects of climate change,” he said. “Climate change is a threat multiplier, and significant new expenditures are required to reduce its adverse impacts.”

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Other presentations included information on temperature thresholds in different crops, efficient phenotyping and breeding approaches and how crop modeling might facilitate the design of climate-ready crops. Leading scientists focusing on each of the five crops gave presentations on recent genetic gains and research achievements in their field, which enabled participants to see the similarities between the crops and learn about discoveries applicable to their own research. Donor representatives emphasized the importance of collaboration and cross-cutting research to improve yield gains in the face of climate change. “With all the expertise we have in this room, and with all the partners you have across the globe, I really think we can make a difference in this area,” Chapotin said. Participants split into multidisciplinary working groups to identify priorities and potential areas for cross-crop collaboration in the following areas: data management and sharing; genotyping platforms; heat and drought adaptive traits; phenotyping in a breeding context; and the minimum dataset required to define target environments.

K.C. Bansal, director of the National Bureau for Plant Genetic Resources in India, questioned whether people are making the most of plant genetic resources in the face of climate change during his session “Biodiversity Act and Germplasm Access in India.” Many participants highlighted their own difficulties in getting germplasm out of India and Bansal outlined the procedure to simplify the process. Participants agreed that more accessible, synchronous and searchable data sharing will be essential for future collaborations. Data sharing will soon become mandatory for all USAID projects, and participants emphasized the need for a common system. Collecting data requires funding. Scott Chapman, crop adaptation scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, estimated Australian programs spend several million dollars annually to collect the data from their national trials. Most participants expressed interest in establishing a working group to continue these fruitful, cross-crop interactions. A web portal to facilitate such dialogue will be established as soon as possible.

SIMLESA-supported innovation platforms inspire Kenya’s farmers

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By Michael Arunga/CIMMYT

Farmers in Siaya and Bungoma counties of western Kenya, a region with low agricultural productivity, are embracing good agricultural practices and increasing their harvests through innovation platforms established as part of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project, in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

Members of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform attend a SIMLESA meeting.
Members of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform attend a SIMLESA meeting.

This was evident during 7-8 October when a team of scientists from CIMMYT, KARI, SIMLESA and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) visited farmers in both counties who are members of the Boro and Bungoma South farmer innovation platforms. During the visit, farmers described how they had adopted conservation agriculture and intercropping and switched to using herbicides to control weeds.
Ferdinand Makhanu, one of several farmers visited in the Bumula region, said that information from SIMLESA’s innovation platforms has helped him improve his seed and farming technologies. “I initially harvested 10 bags of maize, which increased to 15,” he said. “I attribute this yield increase to utilizing the rich information I got during innovation platform meetings.” Makhanu’s farm is only about half a hectare, so the yield increase he describes — 450 kilograms (each bag of maize weighs about 90 kilograms) — is significant. He stated he now has better harvests, a greater variety of food crops on his farm and healthier cattle, enabling him to provide for the basic needs of his seven children.

About 200 kilometers away, in Siaya County, Julius Ong’ayi from the Ng’ombe Sifa Self Help Group also praised the innovation platforms. “I learned about conservation agriculture, which has improved my soil’s fertility,” he said. Ong’ayi said the greatest challenge faced by area farmers is adapting to new farming methods. “Many farmers stubbornly stick to traditional seeds, when innovation platforms provide modern solutions that improve yields,” he told the visiting SIMLESA team.

Julius Ong’ayi of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform in Siaya county, Kenya, tends to legumes on his farm. Photos: Michael Arunga
Julius Ong’ayi of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform in Siaya county, Kenya, tends to legumes on his farm. Photos: Michael Arunga

An Operational Field Guide for Developing and Managing Local Agricultural Innovation Platforms, produced by KARI with funding from AusAID through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which also funds SIMLESA, defines an innovation platform as a forum to foster interaction among a group of relevant stakeholders around a shared interest. Innovation platforms offer opportunities or practical solutions at the local level, linking farmers to markets and other stakeholders, and provide evidence for realistic policies and policy areas at the regional and national levels, according to Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT socioeconomist and SIMLESA coordinator.

Mekuria urged farmers to try new maize varieties, including drought-tolerant ones developed in collaboration with CIMMYT and released by KARI. “We know farmers want to use the varieties they know and have used for many years,” Mekuria said. “However, we have farm-level evidence that the new varieties grown under conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification practices contribute to increased yield, reduce production costs and improve soil fertility over time.”

Trees keep Ethiopia’s wheat cool and productive

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By Frédéric Baudron/CIMMYT

Researchers with CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) in Ethiopia have found that use of agroforestry systems involving an indigenous tree could mitigate climate change effects in Ethiopian smallholder wheat systems. Specifically, their study showed that maximum temperatures under the canopy of Faidherbia albida, a nitrogen-fixing, acacia-like species found throughout African savannas, were constantly 4 to 5°C lower than temperatures outside the canopy.

Wheat grows under the canopy of F. albida around mid-October in Mojo area, Ethiopia.
Wheat grows under the canopy of F. albida around mid-October in Mojo area, Ethiopia.

By 2050, the maximum daily temperature in wheat-growing areas of Ethiopia is predicted to rise by 2 to 3°C. This could significantly reduce yields of wheat, a crop that accounts for 18 percent of Ethiopia’s cereal area and nearly a fifth of its cereal production. The crop is key to the food security and incomes of smallholder farmers who grow it. CIMMYT researchers are studying the effect of scattered trees that are currently common in farmers’ field.

Keeping trees in fields for the production of firewood and fencing materials is extremely common in Ethiopia. “But these trees have other functions and may positively affect the productivity of crops underneath,” said FrĂ©dĂ©ric Baudron, CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist based in Ethiopia. In addition to more wheat-friendly temperatures, the benefits of F. albida in wheat systems are manifold, according to Baudron. “Soil moisture increases greatly under the canopy, resulting in a greener wheat crop for a longer period of time,” Baudron said. “The presence of F. albida also fosters longer wheat leaf blades, a greater number of tillers per plant, longer spikes and a higher number of seeds per spike — all of which translates into higher stover and grain yields.” Moreover, the incidence of wheat diseases like fusarium wilt and head smut diminishes under the tree canopy.Trigo2

Under the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)-led project Trees4Food, funded by the Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC) and managed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), GCAP-Ethiopia studies interactions between food crops and various indigenous trees in wheat- and maize-based systems. In the case of F. albida, there are no tradeoffs between the provision of tree products and the crop yield underneath. Research aims to come up with management practices – such as proper fertilization rates, genotypes of crops, pruning management and tillage practices – that maximize the existing synergy.

With other tree species commonly found in Ethiopian fields (such as Acacia tortilis, Cordia africana, or Croton macrostachyus), these tradeoffs are often substantial. In that case, research aims to come up with management practices that minimize competition. The project is being implemented in Ethiopia as well as Rwanda.

Conservation agriculture machines brought to Afghanistan

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CIMMYT is taking the next step in bringing Afghanistan a much-needed intervention to improve wheat research and production, an official for the country said at a meeting last month. With support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), CIMMYT-Afghanistan held the “Conservation Agriculture: Concept and Application” training event in Kabul from 28 to 29 October.

Photo: Rajiv Sharma/CIMMYT
Photo: Rajiv Sharma/CIMMYT

Thirty-five participants from the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project (AAEP), the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), CIMMYT, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Kabul University and other stakeholder organizations attended the program. Wheat accounts for 60 percent of an average Afghan’s caloric intake, but domestic wheat production falls short of the country’s needs. This happens in part because more than half of Afghanistan’s wheat is rainfed, but rainfall is often scarce and irregular in those areas. Moreover, wheat is often the sole crop for those farmers, making them food-insecure and economically vulnerable.

“Conservation agriculture is a set of practices that includes reducing or eliminating traditional tillage, keeping crop residues on the soil and using intercropping or crop rotations,” said Rajiv Sharma, senior scientist and country liaison officer for CIMMYT-Afghanistan. “Its benefits include saving resources like time, labor and fuel, as well as reducing farmers’ risk, promoting diversified cropping and more effectively capturing and retaining rainfall in the soil.”

In his inaugural speech, Mir Aminullah Haidari, deputy minister for technical affairs for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), congratulated CIMMYT for its work in support of the country’s wheat research and production. Mohammad Qasem Obaidi, director of ARIA, welcomed the participants and thanked CIMMYT for organizing the training. Sharma said he hoped ARIACIMMYT would use the 2013-14 season to experiment with conservation agriculture interventions throughout Afghanistan.

Harminder Singh Sidhu, senior research engineer for CIMMYT, introduced the participants to different types of conservation machines available and used globally, which were imported by CIMMYT for the event. Attendees watched field demonstrations of two- and four-wheel zero tillage seed drills, raised bed planters and two-wheel tractors. H.S. Jat, CIMMYT agronomist, introduced conservation agriculture concepts, principles and procedures. He later helped wheat agronomists from six ARIA stations plan conservation agriculture experiments relevant to their local conditions. Participants expressed satisfaction and were excited to try new machines and new ways of conserving resources at their experiment stations and in farmers’ fields.

Farming systems design: to feed a changing world

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Farming-systems2Farming systems all over the world face complex problems in terms of production, such as natural resource depletion, climate change, increasing food demand, and volatile prices. Farmers have to adapt to continuously changing conditions to produce food. ‘Farming systems design’ is an approach that aims at modifying designs of farming systems to sustainably increase the overall productivity and profitability of the systems—and, hopefully, the welfare of individual farming families—while considering interactions in the system. Interactions are important features of farm system structure and operation. They may occur between the various components, including crop-crop, crop-livestock, and farm-household as well as on-farm-off-farm activities as they compete for the same resources.

More than 70 papers on systems research were recently presented at the 4th International Farming Systems Design Symposium in Lanzhou, China. CIMMYT researchers were represented by Bruno GĂ©rard, director of the Conservation Agriculture Program, and CIMMYT agronomists Santiago LĂłpez Ridaura, Tek Sakpota, Isaiah Nyagumbo, and Jack McHugh. The conference took place from 19- 22 August and was organized by WHEAT CRP Chinese partner Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and others. Research with a farming systems perspective can have various objectives ranging from increasing the amount of knowledge about farming systems to solving specific problems in the farming system. If it is commonly agreed that cross-links between disciplines and participatory approaches are needed to provide solutions, “there is no silver bullet approach to be expected,” said keynote speaker David Norman, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Kansas State University and pioneer in the field of Farming Systems Research (FSR). “The most important is to take into account the whole farming system and bring together all stakeholders,” Norman explained. “If a project works on one crop, like CIMMYT on maize for instance, FSR would look at how maize impacted if they have livestock, the influence on livestock components, etc. The reductionist approach would look at how improving productivity of one item without considering the whole farming system.”

Farming-systems3For Peter Carberry, chair of the Program Committee and deputy director at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), “this conference is about bringing those who are interested in a more integrative science together, and have all the different disciplines articulating possibilities for the future in terms of agriculture and farming.” One of the benefits of the conference for him is that among the 300 participants, there were 200 Chinese researchers and students, some who may not have been exposed to this thinking before. “We have a mix of people who are familiar with Farming Systems Design and others who are just starting learning about it; it is a great opportunity,” Carberry said. LingLing Li, professor at Gansu Agricultural University and keynote speaker, shared a similar point of view. “This platform is a really good start for all experts and students involved in Farming Systems Design, as we do not yet have many scientists doing this type of research in China,” Li said.

On day one and two, there were several presentations on Africa and on the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program led and mentored by CIMMYT. “SIMLESA has been innovating in so many different ways, firstly about systems and farming systems, participatory approaches and new experiments in research methodology by targeting not only productivity but also reduced risks, which we have heard a lot in this conference. Because for farmers risks are sometimes more important than total yields,” said John Dixon, senior advisor in the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and principal regional coordinator for Africa. Important questions raised throughout the conference included how to get better participation with farmers, how to get the private sector involved for marketing through innovation platforms, how to manage risks and how scientists can work much better at systems productivity to understand better nutrition, as one of the outcomes, “to better feed our future farmers,” Dixon insisted. On the last day, a special session brought together Australian and Chinese farmers to discuss farming operations. This opportunity to exchange information and share experiences related to climate risks, prices or yields created enthusiasm on both parts.

Tracking the adoption patterns in maize and legume farming system in Ethiopia

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DSC_5826_Group-photo-900x4001Myths and cultural practices can block farmers’ acceptance of a new technology, particularly the principles of reduced tillage, residue retention, and cropping rotations that underlie conservation agriculture. This was one observation in a recent visit to farmers in four districts in Ethiopia by Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC) director, Mellissa Wood, and AIFSC Biosecurity and Food Safety Manager, Dennis Bittisnich.

Farmers in one village who continued intensive tilling instead of conservation agriculture said that tillage helps control crop diseases. Many Ethiopian farmers also keep livestock, so crop residues have higher value as fodder for cows than as cover for soils. “Maize stover is also used as fuel for cooking fires,” said CIMMYT socioeconomist Menale Kassie, who is also regional leader for the project Adoption Pathways to Sustainable Intensification in Eastern and Southern Africa. “Understanding the constraints and incentives affecting adoption is crucial, if innovations are to be relevant for farmers.”

The four-year adoption pathways project is funded by AIFSC, managed by the Australian

Fatuma Hirpo on her conservation agriculture demonstration plot where she has intercropped drought tolerant maize variety Melkassa II with beans.
Fatuma Hirpo on her conservation agriculture demonstration plot where she has intercropped drought tolerant maize variety Melkassa II with beans.

Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and led by CIMMYT, in collaboration with national universities and research institutes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania; the University of Queensland, Australia; the Norwegian University of Life Sciences; and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

According to Menale, the project is closely linked to the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in East and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program; working where SIMLESA has been promoting and testing conservation agriculture using demonstrations on farms and on national agriculture research stations.

Farmers learn from their peers, particularly early adopters and those who lend their farms to showcase the practices. Fatuma, a widowed mother of 10 and an early adopter who farms with help from her children, says reducing tillage has cut her work load. She is a role model to other farmers—a rare feat for a woman, according to village sources—and neighbors have decided to try conservation agriculture after seeing Fatuma’s crops flourish.

“The project will evaluate the data and use the rich survey information to advise on potential policy and technical interventions,” said Yirga, researcher with the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research (EIAR) and country coordinator for the project. Innovative livestock management and community engagement can help, according to Chilot Yirga, as can providing alternative cattle feeds such as intercropped legume fodders, which also enrich soils by fixing nitrogen. “The way to show this is through on-farm demonstrations,” said Wood, lauding the researchers for the on-station trials and on-farm engagement. “In Australia, conservation agriculture is very important as we have a lot of drought and changing rainfall patterns; CA makes us more productive.”

SIMLESA scientists receive agronomy training in South Africa

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SIMLESA-ARC-traineesFifteen young scientists from SIMLESA partner and spillover countries were recently trained by the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC-SA) on various aspects of agronomy and innovation learning platforms (ILePs), including conservation agriculture principles, nitrogen fixation, experimental design and field layout, agro-climatology principles, and data collection and analysis.

The training took place during 06-17 May 2013 at three ARC institutes: Institute for Soil, Climate and Water (ARC-ISCW), Plant Protection Research Institute (ARC-PPRI), and Grain Crops Institute (ARC-GCI), and aimed to expose the scientists to grain production information and to enable assimilation of terms, theories, and principles through practice. The training was based on experiential learning principles and employed a variety of interactive learning methods, scientific presentations, discussions, multiple practical sessions in the laboratory, and field demonstrations.

During field visits, such as the one to SOYGRO, a company manufacturing rhizobium inoculant and related products, trainees got to experience how the grain industry functions in South Africa from manufacturing and packing to the distribution processes.

Trainees also visited the NAMPO Harvest Day in Bothaville, Free State, taking place during the NAMPO Agricultural Trade Show, one of the largest privately organized and owned exhibitions in the world and the largest agricultural machinery and livestock show in the Southern Hemisphere. The show draws more than 650 exhibitors each year from all over the world, including Australia, Sweden, the USA, Italy, Brazil, and Germany. Another visit on the program was to the Unit of Environmental Sciences and Management at the North-West University, where Professor Driekie Fourie introduced the trainees to the University research programs and related study fields. Before the trip, Professor Johnny van den Berg from the University had given an introductory talk on integrated pest management.

The program was coordinated by CIMMYT agronomist Fred Kanampiu, Yolisa Pakela-Jezile from ARC-CO, and Annelie de Beer from ARC-GCI. Participants are expected to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills to train their colleagues.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding between ARC and CIMMYT under SIMLESA, ARC is responsible for organizing capacity building of scientists and extension officers in the five target countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania) and the seven spillover countries (Uganda, Botswana, Rwanda, and South Sudan). SIMLESA is funded by the Australian government through ACIAR.

Conservation agriculture: The Green Revolution for Africa?

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SaidiThe Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) works closely with partners all over the world toward an ultimate vision of widespread use of sustainable systems by smallholder farmers, based on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA). Our key partner in Africa is the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT). We asked their Executive Secretary, Saidi Mkomwa, about the current status and future of CA in Africa.

ACT was established in 1998. Has Africa seen a big change in CA adoption since then?

Mkomwa: The adoption rate isn’t very big, but we think it’s good. It took Brazil 17 years to get the first one million hectares under CA; it’s been a shorter time in Africa and we have almost reached one million hectares already. It is happening at a slower rate than we would want, but it’s getting there. We have seen partial adoption of CA principles across the continent. For example, during one of our exchange visits to Zambia, we met a woman – we nicknamed her Barefoot Woman – who had no shoes but she was rich and she was proud to be a farmer. She wasn’t practicing all three principles, only reduced tillage combined with some mechanization, but it’s a start.

Why do you think that CA is key in improving food security in Africa?

Mkomwa: The Green Revolution that has been so helpful in Asia has passed by and Africa has not benefited from it. We think it’s primarily because of the continent’s poor infrastructure: getting fertilizers to people is a problem because transportation is difficult; farmers don’t have cash and there are no banks to borrow from. But even when farmers can efficiently utilize fertilizers and improved seeds, their work is hampered by degraded soil, inadequate soil moisture, and inadequate access to water. For Africa to benefit, the soil has to improve. We believe that the Green Revolution in Africa has to start with smallholder rainfed farmers and CA is a possible intervention, more affordable than, for example, building irrigation schemes.

We have been promoting CA a lot by looking at the yields. A lot of people will ask how much the yield increase is. I’ll say that we should also be looking at the annual productivity of the land, annual productivity of labor. You can have a modest yield of 3 tons per hectare, but if you can have two crops in there instead of one, we’re looking at 6 tons per hectare per year in the end. This is affordable intensification. And it’s not only that: CA also increases the soil moisture retention, thus increasing annual productivity of the land and – through the use of crop residues – decreasing the dependency on external inputs, such as fertilizers, which farmers fail to acquire.

What are the biggest challenges you’re facing in your work?

Mkomwa: One is that people don’t know about CA. We organize a lot of awareness creation activities, from conferences to exchange visits. What makes this worse, though, is that many of our colleges are still training their graduates to work in conventional systems. We are telling people not to plough and the professors are training the next generation of extension staff to plough. We have established a community of practice of researchers and academia through which we try to sensitize the professors themselves so that they can change their curricula. Changing people’s mindset is another challenge. They have been farming a certain way all their lives and, all of a sudden, we come and tell them to do something different.

However, the challenges differ depending on the farming system and farmers’ resources. You cannot be prescriptive; you have to work with the farmers to create a solution relevant to them. In an agropastoralist system, you have to integrate livestock, although we have seen promoters of CA seeing livestock as a threat. In reality, livestock integration benefits the farming system; it can increase the value of our cereals: instead of taking grains to the market, you take milk or eggs. In West Africa, you literally can’t talk about leaving crop residues on the field as soil cover. People will think you’re crazy, since some of the crop residues have a higher value as livestock feed. Again, you have to look into alternatives, such as shrubs and trees.

Are there any downsides to CA?

Mkomwa: So far we have not encountered any. CA should create a win-win-win situation: provide more food for farmers, reverse environmental degradation, and arrest climate change for future generations.

Does the climate change argument help convince African farmers to adopt CA?

Mkomwa: It is one of the biggest promoters of CA. Farmers practicing CA have proven to their neighbors that they’re able to get some crop when conventional agriculture gets zero. Then we don’t need to say anything. The resilience of CA fields is much higher. The message is straightforward.

If I was an African smallholder farmer, how would you convince me to adopt CA?

Mkomwa: You’ve been farming for the last 40 years, can you tell me how far has this farming taken you? The reflection on how conventional farming has managed to feed farmers’ families is important: it has failed to feed them and they have to look at alternatives. And we’re offering one. But if you’re an African farmer, we should take you to your nearest neighbor who is doing well so that you can talk to them. If we talk to you as scientists or development workers, you might think we’re adding salt to the benefits. That’s the challenge we’re facing: having enough model farmers.

How is CIMMYT helping your work?

Mkomwa: CIMMYT is an important partner in capacity building and research. We don’t have a research system in place and GCAP is thus a great asset to our work. CIMMYT is also leading the ‘Farm power and conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification’ (FACASI) project. We are part of this project and as we see mechanization as one of the bottlenecks hindering CA adoption in Africa, it is a very valuable partnership. Furthermore, we are jointly organizing – with CIMMYT, FAO, and NEPAD – the upcoming Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture (18-21 March 2014, Lusaka, Zambia). With farmers at the center of the Congress, we hope to hear about their problems and progress. We need them to move forward as we believe that an increase in CA adoption would have a great impact on food security on both national and continental level.

International Conservation Agriculture Forum in Yinchuan

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The International Conservation Agriculture Forum, held at the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences in Yinchuan during 27-31 May, was attended by a significant number of provincial government officials and private sector representatives who joined to discuss national and international partnerships in farming system intensification, mechanization, nutrient-use efficiency, precision agriculture, and training; gain better understanding of what conservation agriculture is; jointly identify needs, priorities, and constraints to broad adoption of conservation agriculture in China; and explore the Cropping Systems Intensification Project for North Asia (CSINA).

Key academic leaders from across China briefed the international participants, including Bruno Gerard, Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio, M.L. Jat, Scott Justice, Dan Jeffers, and Garry Rosewarne from CIMMYT, Wang Guanglin from ACIAR, and Rabi Raisaily, international liaison for Haofeng Machinery. Some key constraints to adoption of conservation agriculture were covered, including the lack of financial, political, and personal incentives; inadequate or unavailable zero-till machinery; inflexible irrigation-water distribution and fixed pricing; narrow approach to research, development, and engineering without linkages to the larger issues of farming and cropping systems; and limited knowledge of rural socioeconomic conditions. Consequently, the participants defined future priorities: a socioeconomic study covering labor, gender, impacts of previous projects, and adoption issues; and mechanization development and plant residue trade-offs and handling, especially of rice/wheat systems.

One of the most important outcomes of the forum was the establishment of new relationships with the China Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University, and others. Similarly, invigorating of old partnerships with the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences is expected to be highly beneficial for future research platform development.

As partnerships with machinery manufacturers are often crucial in driving the uptake of conservation agriculture by creating a push demand for conservation agriculture machinery, the presence of private sector representatives, including the Henan Haofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company (Henan province), Qingdao Peanut Machinery Company (Shandong province), Jingxin Agricultural Machinery (Sichuan province), and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), was crucial. The importance of such partnerships has been proven before; for example, the research and development activities of the Qingdao Peanut Machinery Company have seen a considerable advancement of the Chinese Turbo Happy Seeder, which has been downsized through a number of iterations to suit tractors with less than 30 hp. Thanks to this public-private interaction, the forum participants learned about preliminary discussions to prototype the two-wheel tractor Happy Seeder specifically for Africa and joint CIMMYT/ACIAR projects. “We are hopeful that one of the companies present at the forum will take up this opportunity to create demand for conservation agriculture machinery for the small landholder,” said CIMMYT senior cropping systems scientist Allen McHugh.

The forum, jointly organized by the Ningxia Provincial Government Foreign Experts Bureau, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and CIMMYT, was regarded very successful, as it has advanced CIMMYT’s stakes in future funding requests. “Overall, we have had a very good start toward the development of integrated research platforms in three distinct agro-ecological zones. The next step is to consolidate the outcomes from the forum and commence the iterative process of project development,” McHugh added, summarizing the results of the event.

Allen McHugh reports on conservation agriculture in China

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caunews_-China3The past few weeks have been busy and interesting in China: preparing for the International Conservation Agriculture Forum in Yinchuan and work travels to Beijing, Yangling (Shaanxi province), and Xuchang (Henan province) are a sure way to keep oneself occupied.

Strengthening partnerships in Beijing

I travelled to Beijing during 2-4 May to discuss future cooperation between the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and the China Agricultural University (CAU) at a meeting with Jan Thomas, USQ vice-chancellor, and K.E. Bingsheng, CAU president, accompanied by the USQ delegation and CAU senior professors. What does this have to do with CIMMYT? Part of my mandate in China is to forge new partnerships, especially with universities seeking to expand internationally. This requires putting on the CIMMYT uniform to demonstrate presence and reinforce linkages with old and new colleagues. As a result, we hope to see a memorandum of understanding and the facilitation of staff and student exchanges between these universities, Ningxia institutions, and CIMMYT.

Water-use efficiency in Yangling

The Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling hosted the final review of the ACIAR “More effective water use by rainfed wheat in China and Australia” project led by Tony Condon (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO), in which the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences is a partner (led by Yuan Hanmin). The project aims to improve and stabilize farmer returns from growing wheat in dry, rainfed environments in northwest China through development of higher-yielding wheat germplasm that uses water and soil resources more effectively. I spent 6-10 May first hearing about and seeing the extensive breeding work with Australian and Chinese lines, and later discussing the role of conservation agriculture and soil management in breeding with the reviewers and other participants, including Greg Rebetzke from CSIRO. During a Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on Phenotyping for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Water-Use Efficiency in Crop Breeding, which followed the review, Richard Richards (CSIRO) presented a very pertinent paper on “Opportunities to improve cereal root systems for greater productivity.” His focus on below-ground processes provides considerable and significant support for conservation agriculture and associated management practices in improving root system functions.

Farm mechanization in Xuchang

The 30th anniversary of the Henan Haofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company in Xuchang, Henan province, provided an excellent opportunity to present conservation agriculture and small machinery requirements for developing countries to 4 academicians, about 10 high level officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Henan Provincial Government, and many highly regarded Chinese mechanization scientists and extension workers.

During 16-18 May, the factory hosted two forums, one focused on combination of wheat agricultural machinery and agronomy, and another on scientific innovation and development of Chinese agricultural machinery. Although the language of the forums was Chinese, my presentation in English was understood by the senior people, some of whom later inquired about the new Chinese Turbo Happy Seeder developed by CIMMYT. The discussion on conservation agriculture per se was limited, but I was able to meet many old Chinese friends and strengthen new relationships for CIMMYT and the Global Conservation Agriculture Program.