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funder_partner: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Groundnut ESA crop improvement network sets regional and country level priorities

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

Members of Umoja, Tuaminiane, Upendo and Ukombozi groundnut farming groups in Naliendele, Tanzania showing their groundnut harvests in May 2022. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

The Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA) project has developed draft national groundnut target product profiles in Malawi, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Groundnut is grown in eastern and southern Africa, where it remains an important food and oil crop from small holder farmers.

The new findings from the project are a result of work from groundnut crop breeding and improvement teams from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) representatives from the six largest groundnut producing countries in the eastern and southern Africa region.

Their important research was carried out with the support of representatives from the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and CGIAR.

Developing target product profiles for groundnut

For the first time, through the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)-led AVISA program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, groundnut breeding teams discussed and documented country level priorities at a meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Their findings were developed using a standard target product profile template recently developed by CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) in conjunction with CGIAR’s Market Intelligence Initiative. The template serves as a tool to capture market segments and develop targeted product profiles.

The groundnut breeding teams also shared information on current groundnut production metrics and trends in the six national programs. This also helped to establish a common understanding of countries’ level research priorities.

Futhi Magagula from CCARDESA and Elailani Abdalla, Mohamed Ahmed and Abdelrazeg Badadi from ARC-Sudan deliberate on groundnut market segments for Sudan. (Photo: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT)

Agnes Gitonga, market strategist at CGIAR Genetic Innovations Action Area, who led the team in understanding and applying the template, explained that the quality of a target product profile (TPP) is dependent on how well market segments are defined. “To ensure target product profiles are an accurate reflection of customer needs, who include farmers, consumers, and processors,” she said.

“National groundnut teams nominated Country Product Design Teams that will meet nationally before the end of 2022 to review and update country TPPs. These multi-stakeholder teams will ensure that the needs of diverse groups are captured and that breeding efforts are accurately focused.”.

Harish Gandhi, Breeding Lead, Dryland Legumes and Cereals (DLC) at CIMMYT, further explained that a bottom-up approach for defining country and regional priorities was used, where each country defined market segments and target product profile based on the use of the produce and growing conditions of farmers. This strategy involved each country defining its market segments and TPP, which was based on the use of the produce and growing conditions of farmers.

Building on the draft national target product profiles that were defined at the meeting, participants went on to prioritize traits such as diseases, nutrition and stress tolerance. These factors can be critical at regional level and important in identifying potential locations for conducting phenotyping. The phenotyping locations are distributed based on capacity of stations in different countries to screen for traits, such as late leaf spot disease screening in Msekera in Zambia, which is a known hotspot for the disease.

“We had a good opportunity to consider grower needs as well as consumer needs in each country for purposes of defining the relevant groundnuts market segments. I believe this will have a positive impact on future work in groundnuts in the East and Southern Africa region,” reflected Gitonga.

The collaboration of the teams involved was a key factor for the project’s success so far and will be crucial in working towards its goals in the future.

“Involving different stakeholders in designing target product profile was an effective way of enabling transformation of individual preferences (area of interest) to collective preferences (targeted product) with consumer needs and markets in mind,” said Happy Daudi, Groundnut Breeding lead at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI).

Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) Naliendele Station Groundnut Research Team ((L-R) Bakari Kidunda, Gerald Lukurugu, Anthony Bujiku and Dr. Happy Daudi) deliberate on national groundnut breeding priorities. (Photo: Biswanath Das/CIMMYT)

Strengthening groundnut breeding programs in east and southern Africa

The project’s first meeting will provide an important foundation for future research, which will use the new findings as a blueprint.

Biswanath Das, Plant Breeder, Groundnut for East and Southern Africa region and NARES Coordinator and Programming lead for EiB said, “Defining national TPPs, identifying regionally important traits and mapping a testing network are fundamental building blocks of a modern breeding program.”

At the meeting, a schedule was laid out for peer-to-peer assessments of breeding programs within the regional network to take stock of current efforts and gaps. This step helps to develop customized capacity development plans for each network partner.

“Through targeted and demand led capacity development, the East and Southern Africa groundnut crop improvement network aspires to strengthen the role of each network member in collaborative, regional breeding efforts,” Das said.

The meeting laid the ground for coordinated regional groundnut breeding and took steps towards formalizing a regional NARES-CGIAR-SME groundnut crop improvement network. By building on excellent connections that already exist among national groundnut breeding teams. Das underscored that the move will strengthen alignment of NARES, CGIAR and regional research efforts around a common vision of success.

In addition, David Okello who leads groundnut research at National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) Uganda, noted that the meeting provided a good opportunity for consolidating the existing network. He also looked forward to welcoming more groundnut improvement programs in the region on board.

SP Poonia

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

SP Poonia is a Lead Researcher with CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program and Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in India.

Through his work, he aims to feed nutritionally rich and safe food globally through best collective efforts for enhancing farming systems’ productivity with efficient resource use and the adoption of conservation agriculture-based preferred technologies at grassroot level.

Partnership approach to maize development praised in new study

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Using data from 1995-2015, an empirical study from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), led by Vijesh Krishna, CIMMYT Lead Adoption – Impact Economist, has estimated the economic benefits of new varieties in 18 major maize-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Kevin Pixley, Deputy Director General for Research (Breeding and Genetics), a.i., and Director of the Genetic Resources Program, said, “This was not easy due to the challenges of gathering and analyzing complex data, but it’s a very important milestone for CIMMYT. Peer review in a highly respected journal is a gold standard that gives external critique and endorsement to the impact assessment methods used and estimates reported for CIMMYT and IITA’s work with partners in Africa.”

Around 60 percent of the 1,345 maize varieties released in this twenty-year period had a known CGIAR parentage.

Approximately 34 percent of the total maize area in 2015 was cultivated with CGIAR-related maize varieties from 1995 onwards, equivalent to 9.5 million hectares (ha); 13 percent of the maize area was under CGIAR-related varieties released before 1995.

The new maize varieties hold an economic benefit for the region, with an estimated value of US $1.1-1.6 billion in 2015 equally attributed to CGIAR, public-sector national research and extension programs, and private sector partners. With maximum annual investment in CGIAR maize breeding sitting at US $30 million, the estimated benefit-cost ratio for investment was between 12:1-17:1, depending on the underlying assumptions.

“This paper is a valuable contribution to literature on impact assessment, highlighting the real challenges and approaches to quantify impact of work that is a collaboration among many,” continued Pixley. “Both the methodologies and impact estimates will be valuable to researchers and funders of plant breeding programs.”

Read the study: Impact of CGIAR maize germplasm in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cover photo: Farmer Chana Filimoni harvesting maize in his field in Chakwawa village, Salima District, Malawi. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Farmers introduced to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in In the media.

The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project has introduced farmers in the Wa West District, Ghana, to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties during a monitoring visit to field trials in the Upper West Region.

AGG is a collaborative project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) bringing together global partners to advance the development of higher-yielding varieties.

This field day was organized by the Crops Research Institute at Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the department of agriculture.

During the event, researchers aimed to encourage farmer adoption by familiarizing them with the stress-tolerant hybrids and emphasizing the high and stable grain yields.

Read the original article: Farmers introduced to stress-tolerant hybrid maize varieties

How does CIMMYT’s improved maize get to the farmer?

New CIMMYT maize hybrids available from Latin America Breeding Program

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

How does CIMMYT’s improved maize get to the farmer?
How does CIMMYT’s improved maize get to the farmer?

CIMMYT is happy to announce four new, improved tropical maize hybrids that are now available for uptake by public and private sector partners, especially those interested in marketing or disseminating hybrid maize seed across Latin America and similar agro-ecological zones. Public- and private-sector organizations are hereby invited to apply for licenses to pursue national release and /or scale-up seed production and deliver these maize hybrids to farming communities.

Product Code Target agroecology Key traits
CIM20LAPP1A-11 Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies. Intermediate maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to TSC, MLB, and ear rots
CIM20LAPP1A-12
CIM20LAPP1C-9 Intermediate maturing, yellow, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to MLB and ear rots
CIM20LAPP1C-10

 

Performance data Download the CIMMYT Latin America Stage 4 and Stage 5 Trials: Results of the 2020 and 2021 Trials and Product Announcement from Dataverse.
How to apply Visit CIMMYT’s maize product allocation page for details
Application deadline The deadline to submit applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is 25 November 2022. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during subsequent rounds of product allocations.

 

The newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids, CIM20LAPP1C-9, CIM20LAPP1C-10, CIM20LAPP1A-11 and CIM20LAPP1A-12, were identified through rigorous trialing and a stage-gate advancement process which culminated in the 2020 and 2021 CIMMYT Latin America Stage 4 and Stage 5 Trials. The products were found to meet the stringent performance criteria for CIMMYT’s LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C breeding pipelines. While there is variation between different products coming from the same pipeline, the LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C pipelines are designed around the target product profiles described below:

Product Profile Basic traits Nice-to-have / Emerging traits Target agroecologies
LatAM-PP1A

(Tropical Lowland White)

 Intermediate maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to TSC, MLB, and ear rots GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
LatAM-PP1C

(Tropical Lowland Yellow)

 Intermediate maturing, yellow, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to MLB and ear rots GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
MLB: Maydis leaf blight; TSC: Tar spot complex; GLS: Grey leaf spot

 

Applications must be accompanied by a proposed commercialization plan for each product being requested. Applications may be submitted online via the CIMMYT Maize Licensing Portal and will be reviewed in accordance with CIMMYT’s Principles and Procedures for Acquisition and use of CIMMYT maize hybrids and OPVs for commercialization. Specific questions or issues faced with regard to the application process may be addressed to GMP-CIMMYT@cgiar.org with attention to Nicholas Davis, Program Manager, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT.

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Stepping up for South Asian women

Written by Nima Chodon on . Posted in Features.

Women play an integral role in all stages of agrifood systems, yet their unpaid labor is often culturally and economically devalued and ignored. As agriculture becomes more female-oriented, women are left with a double workload of caring in the home and laboring in the fields, leaving no time for leisure. Training programs are often developed with only male farmers in mind, and women can be completely excluded when it comes to mechanization.

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), established by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is empowering women to become active participants in farming, improving their abilities and confidence through training, expanded access to machinery and better crop management practices. To celebrate International Day of Rural Women, here are stories from three of the women CIMMYT has helped.

Equality in agricultural opportunities

Nisha Chaudhary and her husband Kamal were engaged in agriculture, poultry and pig farming in Nepal, but struggled to provide for their family of seven; their combined income was never sufficient for them to make ends meet.

Through the CSISA COVID-19 Response and Resilience Activity, CIMMYT introduced Chaudhary to mechanization’s advantages and supported her to connect with banks, cooperatives, and machinery dealers to access financial support to introduce agriculture machinery into the family business. She became the first farmer in her village to acquire a mini combine rice mill and offer milling services. The following month, Chaudhary received additional tutoring from the Activity, this time in business management and mill repair and maintenance.

Learning about mechanization was eye-opening for Chaudhary, particularly as the Bankatti community that she comes from uses traditional methods or travels great distances to process grains using machines hired out by other communities.

Chaudhary’s primary income is now from her milling services, offering post-harvest processing services to 100 households and earning more than $150 USD each month; after deducting expenses, she is still able to save around $50 USD every month. She has bought four more cows, increasing the number of cattle she owns from 12 to 16, and is able to make her own for her livestock, saving an additional $20 USD per month.

Giving rural women the credit they deserve

As part of its response to the pandemic, CSISA launched a COVID-19 Response Activity aimed at supporting farmers and service providers to access subsidies and collateral-free loans via the Government of Nepal Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, designed to support agriculture-related businesses. Through this scheme, farmers received hands-on training in providing after-sales support to customers, as well as mentoring to learn how to operate machinery and use it to generate sales and income.

Smallholder female farmers have been subject to many hardships due to lack of access to finance. They are forced to sell produce at low prices and buy inputs at high prices, which makes them suffer financially and physically. Now, loans through appropriate intermediaries can foster rural entrepreneurship and the service delivery business model.

The KCC scheme gave Chaudhary financial security just when she needed it. Her next step, with her newfound confidence, respect of her community, and the support of a collateral-free loan from KCC, will be to launch her own poultry farm agri-business.

Eradicating discrimination in mechanization

The CSISA Mechanization and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA) enables smallholder female farmers to discover the advantages of scale-appropriate mechanization and its benefits: increased productivity, reduced labor costs, improved financial stability and greater food security.

Rokeya Begum was a stay-at-home mother to three children in Bangladesh and aspired to give her daughter a good education. However, her husband found it difficult to sustain the family as a factory worker due to the high cost of their daughter’s education.

As a result, Begum opted to work in an agriculture machinery manufacturing workshop like her husband. She was initially hesitant to work in a male-dominated workplace but on the other hand realized that this job would mean she could pursue the dream she had for her daughter. She immediately began using her earnings to fund her daughter’s education, who is currently in high school.

Begum was part of the grinding and painting departments at M/S Uttara Metal Industries in Bogura, Bangladesh, for five years. Her weekly wage was equivalent to $12 USD – insufficient to support her family or sustain a decent quality of life.

CSISA-MEA included Begum in skills training, which proved to be a gamechanger. She participated in CIMMYT’s training on spray gun painting, as well as in fettling and grinding skills. As part of both training programs, she learnt how to handle an air compressor paint gun and painting materials, as well as different painting methods. She has also learnt more about keeping herself safe at work using personal protective equipment. “Before the training, I did not know about the health risks – now I don’t work without PPE,” she said.

Begum used to paint the traditional way with a brush, but now the owner permits her to paint with a spray gun with her increased expertise. As a result, she has been promoted from day laborer to contractual employee in painting and grinding, with a new weekly salary of $50 USD. Her confidence has grown to the extent that she is comfortable in an engineering workshop among male coworkers.

Farmer Malti Devi in her field, where she grew wheat through zero-till. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

Harvesting the benefits of improved practices

Farmer and mother of six, Malti Devi has an infectious smile that hardly reveals the toil and labor of her everyday farm work in India.

She grows wheat on nearly 0.45 acres of leased land. Her husband, a barber, earns an ordinary income that is insufficient for a family of eight. Despite the challenges, Devi has managed to earn income through her efforts in the field and by working as a daily wager in nearby fields.

To support women farmers like Devi, CSISA made efforts to build relationships via on-the-ground partnerships with civil society, women’s cooperatives like JEEViKa in Bihar and Mission Shakti in Odisha, or self-help groups. The team provides in-field demonstrations, training, workshops on best practices and support with access to better seed varieties and extension services. CSISA’s integrated approaches reach these women with information and associated technology that best serves them, while being climate-smart and sustainable.

Devi expressed that due to zero-till practice encouraged by the CSISA team, she saved time in the planting season, which she devoted to working on other’s fields for extra income. “The traditional method would have left me struggling for time, on the field or at home. Practices like zero-till ensured our crop was harvested on time with reduced input costs and resources and enabled a good harvest for consumption, and we could also sell some produce.”

Devi has ensured self-sufficiency for her family through her efforts and hopes to make use of the support in better crop management on offer from CSISA for wheat and other crops.

Cover photo: Rokeya Begum has increased her workshop salary through support from CSISA. (Photo: Abdul Mumin)

AGG-Maize project registers impressive progress

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

Participants of the AGG Maize Mid-Term Review and Planning Meeting at CIMMYT’s Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening Facility in Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)

The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) Project, which is halfway through its implementation, continues to register impressive achievements. At a meeting focusing on the project’s Maize component, held in Nairobi during July 25-28, B.M. Prasanna, Director of the Global Maize Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), highlighted the project’s major achievements in the opening session.

“One of the most important achievements of this project is increasing use of powerful tools and technologies to increase genetic gains in maize breeding pipelines in Africa,” said Prasanna. He noted that the AGG partners are showing keen interest in doubled haploid-based maize breeding. Prasanna pointed out that currently work is ongoing to produce third-generation tropicalized haploid inducers which, in combination with molecular markers, will support accelerated development of improved maize germplasm, a key objective of the AGG Project.

Prasanna also pointed out a significant increase in adoption of stress-tolerant maize in Africa – from less than half a million hectares cultivated under stress tolerant maize varieties in 2010, to 7.2 million hectares currently in 13 African countries, benefitting 44.5 million people. He explained that drought-tolerant maize is not only a productivity enhancing tool but also an innovation for improving the welfare of farmers. “It reduces the probability of crop failure by 30 percent and provides an extra income to farmers at a rate of approximately $240 USD per hectare, equivalent to about nine months of food for a family at no additional cost,” he said, adding that the essence of research is taking improved genetics to farmers and impacting their lives.

He noted there is remarkable progress in maize varietal turnover in sub-Saharan Africa, pointing out particularly efforts in Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where old maize varieties, some dating as far back as 1988, have been replaced with newer climate-resilient varieties. Prasanna highlighted the need to engage with policy makers to put in place appropriate legislation that can accelerate replacement of old or obsolete varieties with improved genetics.

Prasanna stressed on the importance of rapid response to transboundary diseases and insect-pests. CIMMYT has established fall armyworm (FAW) screening facility at Kiboko, Kenya, and that more than 10,000 maize germplasm entries have been screened over the last three years. He applauded South Sudan for being the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to recently release three CIMMYT-developed FAW-tolerant hybrids. He said CIMMYT’s FAW-tolerant inbred lines have been shared with 92 institutions, both public and private, in 34 countries globally since 2018.

Kevin Pixley, CIMMYT Global Genetic Resources Director and Deputy Director General, Breeding and Genetics, encouraged the participants to continuously reflect on making innovative contributions through the AGG project, to serve smallholder farmers and other stakeholders, and to offer sustainable solutions to  the food crisis that plagues the world.

B.M. Prasanna addresses partners at the KALRO Kiboko Research station in Kenya during an AGG field visit. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)

Synergies across crops and teams

Pixley pointed out that though the meeting’s focus was on maize, the AGG Project has both maize and wheat components, and the potential for learning between the maize and wheat teams would benefit many, especially with the innovative strides in research from both teams.

Pixley referenced a recent meeting in Ethiopia with colleagues from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and CIMMYT, where discussions explored collaboration among CGIAR centers and other stakeholders in strengthening work on cowpea, chickpea, beans, sorghum, millet and groundnut crops. He noted that maize, wheat and the aforementioned crops are all critical in achieving the mission of CGIAR.

“CIMMYT has been requested, since August of last year, by CGIAR to initiate research projects on sorghum, millet and groundnut because these crops are critical to the success of achieving the mission of CGIAR,” said Pixley. “So, we have recently initiated work on the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project together with partners. This is the first step towards OneCGIAR. It’s about synergies across crops and teams.”

Collaborative research commended

The meeting’s Chief Guest, Felister Makini, Deputy Director General – Crops of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), commended the collaborative research undertaken by CIMMYT and other CGIAR partners. She noted that the partnerships continue to build on synergies that strengthen institutional financial, physical and human resources. She attested that collaboration between KALRO and CGIAR dates back to the 1980s, beginning with training in maize breeding, and then subsequent collaboration on developing climate-adaptive improved maize varieties and training of KALRO technicians in maize lethal necrosis (MLN) screening and management among other areas.

Maize and wheat are staple food sources in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa and as the population increases, new methods and approaches must be found to accelerate development and deployment of improved maize and wheat varieties. She challenged the partners to intensify research and come out with high-yielding varieties that are resistant or tolerant to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses.

The Inaugural Session also featured remarks from the representatives of the AGG funders – Gary Atlin from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jonna Davis from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and John Derera from IITA, an AGG project partner.

A total of 116 participants, including representatives from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in 13 AGG-Maize partner countries in Africa and seed companies, participated in the meeting. Participants also visited the KALRO-CIMMYT MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha, and KALRO-CIMMYT maize experiments at Kiboko, Kenya, including the work being done at the maize doubled haploid and FAW facilities.

Because error has a price

Written by Alison Doody on . Posted in Publications.

A systematic review conducted by a team of scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has revealed that many farmers around the world incorrectly identify their crop varieties, with significant impacts on their farming practices, yields, profits, and research.

The review, published this month in Outlook on Agriculture, brings together information from 23 published studies to sketch crop variety misclassification among farmers, its determinants, and the implications of classification errors on the farm and in research.

“We found that seven out of ten farmers incorrectly identified the grown variety when they were asked to identify the variety by its specific name. When farmers were asked if the grown variety was either improved or local, three out of ten farmers made incorrect classifications,” said Michael Euler, first author of the study and agricultural resource economist at CIMMYT.

Whether farmers correctly identify crop varieties has a knock-on effect on their farming practices, which in turn affects their crop yields and income. This can bleed into research, impacting experiments and evaluation studies of agricultural technologies and methods. For example, scientists might assign treatment and control groups based on incorrect farmer variety classification, potentially leading to biased estimates and data discrepancies.

“Varietal misidentification can lead to improper agronomic management, forgone farm revenue, and seed system malfunctioning. From a monitoring and evaluation perspective, the potential presence of bias in estimates due to varietal misclassification is problematic as it may mask the true costs and benefits of seed technologies,” said Euler.

Immature wheat seeds. Ciudad Obregon, Mexico 2017. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

The study is the first systematic review of the use of DNA fingerprinting – a method that uses molecular markers to identify crop varieties – to assess how accurate farmers are in identifying their varieties and the impacts this has on seed markets, crop performance, farm profits, and research.

“The use of DNA fingerprinting to identify crop varieties in farmers’ fields has emerged only recently. The review of existing literature, nonetheless, shows its potential to strengthen the functioning and effectiveness of seed markets, supply chains, and extension services,” said Vijesh Krishna, co-author of the study and senior scientist at CIMMYT.

The results of the review show that cases of farmers misidentifying varieties are widespread, causing problems for farm productivity and profits, as well as research. The authors also found that DNA fingerprinting can shed light on what drives farmers to misidentify varieties and how they can minimize misclassification.

“Varietal misidentification is not only related to farmer and farm characteristics but also depends on the properties of the seed system through which seeds are obtained. We need more comprehensive modeling approaches to improve our understanding of the system-level drivers of farmer varietal misclassification,” said co-author and CIMMYT senior agricultural economist Moti Jaleta.

However, like most technologies, DNA fingerprinting has its limitations. It may not always be feasible in all settings, and the costs may offset the benefits in areas where formal seed markets are already well-functioning.

“DNA fingerprinting is considered a reliable method to accurately identify varieties grown by farmers and is increasingly seen as the ‘gold standard’ for varietal identification. However, it requires a high-quality reference library, a well-designed sampling strategy, and accurate tracking of plant samples from collection sites to the point of analysis,” said CIMMYT senior scientist and co-author David Hodson.

Based on the results of the analysis, the authors recommend integrating DNA fingerprinting into existing national data collection toolboxes to accurately estimate adoption and turnover rates of improved crop varieties and to evaluate existing genetic crop diversity on farms. Understanding and promoting genetic crop diversity are crucial steps for enhancing food security and increasing the climate and pest and disease resilience of crops.

Having accurate estimates of adoption and turnover rates of varieties, combined with seed supply system assessment, can also help researchers and decision-makers pinpoint any bottlenecks or loopholes in the “lab to farm” process, according to the authors.

“The review aims at helping researchers and policymakers strategize to more effectively assess the functioning and effectiveness of seed diffusion systems to deliver modern seeds to smallholders,” concluded Krishna.

Read the full study: Because error has a price: A systematic review of the applications of DNA fingerprinting for crop varietal identification

Cover photo: Farmer examines wheat seed. Ciudad Obregon, Mexico 2017. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Scientist urges upgrades to monitor groundwater use for agriculture in low-income countries

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in News.

Data collector reading data from offline groundwater level logger – one of the three tested monitoring technologies. (Credit: Subash Adhikari/CIMMYT)

Based on a pilot study regarding the feasibility and cost effectiveness of several groundwater monitoring approaches for agriculture in Nepal’s Terai region, a water and food security specialist who led the research has recommended the use of phone-based systems.

Speaking to diverse experts at the recent World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden, Anton Urfels, a systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), said that manual monitoring with phone-based data uploading is relatively low-cost and effective and could be scaled up across the Terai.

“One alternate monitoring approach studied — online data uploading — has substantially lower staff time requirements and technology costs and higher temporal resolution than phone-based monitoring, but does not provide real-time data and entails high technical skills, capital costs, and risks of theft and damage,” said Urfels in his presentation, ‘Upgrading Groundwater Monitoring Networks in Low-Income Countries’.

Urfels and partners also developed a prototype of an open-source groundwater monitoring dashboard to engage stakeholders, help translate raw data into actionable information, and detect water depletion trends.

Water has become a key part of food research and innovation, critical for sustainable and ecological intensification in agriculture, according to the scientist.

“Collecting groundwater data is difficult and the technology for monitoring is unreliable, which impairs effective modeling, decision-making, and learning,” Urfels explained. “Like other countries in the region, Nepal is increasing its agricultural groundwater consumption, particularly through private investment in irrigation wells and pumps that open irrigation to more farmers. This and climate change have altered groundwater recharge rates and availability, but national data on these trends are incomplete.”

An extensive lowland region bordering India and comprising one-fifth of the nation’s territory, the Terai is Nepal’s breadbasket.

Held yearly since 1991, World Water Week attracts a diverse mix of participants from many professions to develop solutions for water-related challenges including poverty, the climate crisis, and biodiversity loss. The 2022 theme was “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water”.

“I’d recommend more pilot studies on phone-based groundwater monitoring for other areas of Nepal, such as the Mid-hill districts,” Urfels said. “We also need to fine-tune and expand the system dashboard and build cross-sectoral coordination to recognize and take into account groundwater’s actual economic value.”

Urfels said the Nepal Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has requested the nationwide scale-out of a digital monitoring system, and CIMMYT and Nepal experts will support this, as well as improving the system, which would be freely available for use and development by researchers and agencies outside of Nepal.

The research described was carried out under the Cereal Systems Initiative in South Asia (CSISA), which is funded by USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and under the CGIAR integrated research initiative, Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA).

Can we accelerate gender equality?

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

In an introductory essay for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2022 Goalkeepers report, Melinda French Gates explores progress against the UN General Assembly’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Latest analysis by the foundation and its partner Equal Measures 2030 suggests gender equality will not be achieved for 100 years, three generations later than hoped.

French Gates believes initiatives to improve gender equality “treats symptoms, not the cause”, which is why the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) incorporates gender equality work into each project. Social norms and gender-based labor division mean women are often confined to set roles in agricultural production, leading to exclusion from decision-making and a lack of control over their economic wellbeing and household food security. Across CIMMYT’s work in the Global South, researchers are addressing multiple aspects of gender inequality.

Training shows women their power

Rina Begum, Nilufar Akter and Monika Rani are Bangladeshi women supported by CIMMYT to achieve their highest economic potential. Developing their business acumen enabled the women to take on essential roles in the workplace, establish themselves in their communities, and fund their children’s education.

CIMMYT-led workshops helped the women grow their self-confidence and identify where their skills and knowledge could enhance their economic situations. In turn, they are keen to help more women access the same opportunities for independence and growth.

“I used to think I wasn’t cut out for light engineering because it was primarily male-dominated, but I was mistaken”, confessed Akter. “This industry has a lot to offer to women, and I’m excited at the prospect of hiring more of them.”

“When women have economic means in their own hands—not just cash, but in an account that they control—it unlocks all kinds of things for their lives,” French Gates says.

Adapting research methods to women’s needs

CIMMYT’s Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project is designing a better framework for faster turnover of improved varieties and increased access for women and marginalized farmers. However, traditional data collection methods may not be suitable for understanding the true experiences of rural women.

Instead, researchers have adapted their data collection methods to cultural restrictions, where women may feel unable to talk openly. Instead of a traditional survey, the team used five vignettes that explore how the production and consumption decisions are held within the households. Respondents then chose the scenario that best represents their own experiences.

Providing opportunities for women to tell their stories in more accessible ways will lead to richer qualitative data, which can improve the development and implementation of gender interventions.

Climate change and gender equality

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science this year, researcher Tripti Agarwal shared her research on the impact of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) on women and farming households in Bihar, India. The region is at risk of natural disasters, causing agricultural production loss and food insecurity – with women’s food security more severely affected.

Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) could offer a solution by acknowledging the gender gap and promoting gender-equitable approaches in enhancing knowledge, developing capacity and improving practices. Through the adoption of climate-resilient practices and technologies, CSV reduces the risk of crop loss and ensures there is enough food for the household.

Agarwal also highlights the work that men must do to level the playing field. “When we talk about women, especially in rural/agricultural contexts, we see that support from the family is critical for them,” said Agarwal. “Creating plans and roadmaps for women would help achieve a gender-empowered agricultural domain, but we must also bring behavior change among men towards a more accepting role of women in farming and decision making.”

During field day, women farmers use a mini tiller for direct seed. Training women in new technologies improves their opportunities and income. (Credit: P. Lowe/CIMMYT)

Careers for women in science

CIMMYT’s global presence provides opportunities for women to launch and grow their careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Madhulika Singh, an agricultural scientist with CIMMYT’s Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project, made what was seen as a radical choice to study a STEM subject. She was inspired by seeing other women in her family build successful careers, showing the power of role models in inspiring the next generation. “I grew up thinking ‘there is so much that a woman is capable of,’ whether at home or her workplace,” said Singh.

Initiatives such as CIMMYT’s Women in Crop Science group also help to highlight role models, create mentorship opportunities, and identify areas for change. The group recently received the Inclusive Team award at the inaugural CGIAR Inclusive Workplace Awards.

“When I see women achieving their dreams in science, or as businesswomen, and supporting other women, that keeps me hopeful,” said French Gates.

Read the article: Melinda French Gates on her foundation’s shocking findings that gender equality won’t happen for 100 years: ‘Money is power’

Cover photo: A girl in India harvests good quality hybrid green maize cobs. Women and girls play an essential role in global agriculture. (Credit: CSISA/Wasim Iftikar.)

Drought-tolerant maize and use of forecasting in agriculture praised by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

The work of maize and wheat scientists at CGIAR and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been featured in the latest Goalkeepers report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which launches with the Global Goals Awards on September 20 and an open-to-all live-streamed event on September 21. 

In analysis of why the Ukraine crisis is heavily impacting Africa, the report’s introduction from Bill Gates delves into reasons behind reliance on crop imports. Most farmers in Africa are smallholders with small plots of land and have limited capacity to use fertilizers or have access to irrigation. This means that any shock to the food system, such as the disruption to the global supply chain caused by the Ukraine conflict, hugely impacts the yield levels, threatening food and nutritional security.

Conflict is not the only risk to food systems in Africa. Climate change is the most prominent challenge that the continent’s smallholder farmers continue to face.

Developed through support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, DroughtTego, a CIMMYT-derived hybrid maize with increased resistance to hotter, drier climates, produces an average of 66% more grain per acre in Kenya. Scaled through public-private partnerships, DroughtTego seeds can increase farmer income by providing more than enough to feed a family of six for an entire year, enabling them to invest the additional money in sending their children to school or building new homes.

CIMMYT and CGIAR scientists have also been using predictive modeling to speed up plant breeding and develop new varieties that can perform well even in drought stress-prone environments of Africa. Artificial intelligence helps in processing the genomic information of crops alongside the environmental data, such as soil samples and satellite imagery. The results create a vision of what farms will need to look like in the future, enabling scientists to determine which type of crop varieties can better succeed in specific locations.

Predictive epidemiological modeling can highlight where plant diseases, such as wheat rust, may possibly spread. An early warning system, developed by a partnership between CIMMYT, the University of Cambridge, the UK Met Office, the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute (EIAR), the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, successfully alerted farmers in Ethiopia to an outbreak of the disease so that they could take preventive measures. The resulting outcome was the country’s largest wheat harvest ever recorded, instead of a devastating rust epidemic.

A LinkedIn post from Bill Gates also emphasized CIMMYT’s research, asking which crop accounts for around 30% of calorie intake for people in sub-Saharan Africa — the answer being “maize”.

Inclusion in this report highlights the global impact of CIMMYT’s work on farmers and world food systems, which is only possible through successful partnerships with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cover photo: A farmer in Zaka District, Zimbabwe, experiences a drought that could affect crop yields. (Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT) 

Tracking improved crop varieties

Written by Enawgaw Sisay on . Posted in News.

Participants of the IMAGE National Advisory Committee launch event in Ethiopia. (Credit: EIAR)

Coordinating the development and deployment of improved seed varieties is a complex task involving many stakeholders, including government agencies, public and private seed sector organizations, and ultimately, farmers and farmer groups. Cooperation among these groups is vital to assess and measure the impact of improved varieties and to guide decision making for future crop breeding efforts.

The Institutionalizing Monitoring of Crop Variety Adoption using Genotyping (IMAGE) project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and managed by Context Global Development, is a five-year program operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia designed to increase the efficacy of variety deployment by establishing, institutionalizing, and scaling up routine monitoring of improved variety adoption and turnover using genotyping technologies, focusing on wheat, maize, teff, and the common bean.

The International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), launched Ethiopia’s IMAGE National Advisory Committee (NAC) February 25, 2022, in Addis Ababa.

Feto Esemo, the Director General of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) officially opened the workshop.

Esemo underscored in his opening remarks the NAC’s mission to promote the application of DNA fingerprinting for an accurate assessment and understanding of the adoption of improved maize and wheat varieties by small-holder farmers in Ethiopia and resolve data discrepancy among researchers.

The NAC is the highest advisory body for IMAGE’s implementation in Ethiopia and comprises seven institutions: Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD), Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), EIAR, Central Statistical Agency (CSA), Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (BI), and the Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute (EBI).

Kindie Tesfaye, CIMMYT senior scientist, emphasized the application of DNA fingerprint data on maize and wheat in Ethiopia and summarized the IMAGE Project.

“IMAGE supports inclusive agricultural transformation by providing insights and evidence for seed sector actors to enhance government agency capacity, improve stakeholder coordination, and lead to better resource allocation for varietal development and commercialization,” said Tesfaye.

He added the IMAGE Project provides the opportunity to leverage past monitoring pilots and cross-country lessons while advancing genetic reference libraries, establishing protocol adoption, and building towards institutionalization over five years.

National maize and wheat genotyping studies in Ethiopia proved the feasibility of using DNA fingerprinting for variety monitoring at scale and CIMMYT and EIAR presented the findings to seed system and policy stakeholders with an emphasis on demonstrating how varietal identity based on genotyping compares with farmers’ elicitation, the area-weighted average age of varieties, germplasm attribution, and varietal performance.

Chilot Yirga, Deputy Director-General, Capacity Building and Administration of EIAR, emphasized the functional and structural roles of the National Advisory Committee (NAC), Country Team (CT), and Technical Working Group (TWG) of the project in the country.

EIAR, the Holetta National Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, CSA, and CIMMYT comprise the Country Team.

Yirga also briefed the participants on the details of the Committee’s mandate and indicated the roles of all stakeholders and policymakers, specifically in DNA fingerprinting.

The workshop concluded by electing a chairperson and vice-chairperson of the committee among its members and co-project leaders from CIMMYT and EIAR.

K.M. Zasim Uddin

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

K.M. Zasim Uddin is an agricultural development officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. He has a masters in agronomy from Rajshahi University

He is part of projects including the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), Fall Armyworm R4D and Management (FAW), Big data analytics for climate-smart agricultural practices in South Asia (Big DataÂČ CSA), and Climate Services for Resilient Development in South Asia (CSRD). His main responsibilities are research and development on agricultural mechanization for the CSISA Mechanization and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA). He has participated in versatile training, workshops and conference programs across Asia.

Uddin has worked in different national and international non-government organizations and companies for more than 13 years, including in research and development at Syngenta Bangladesh Limited and on the Borga Chasi Unnayan Program at BRAC. He also worked as an agriculture officer under the Char Livelihood Program, funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development.

Winner of BGRI Gene Stewardship Award announced

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

This year’s Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Gene Stewardship Award recipients have been recognized for their innovative research tackling the global problem of wheat leaf rust.Led by Julio Huerta from the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), members of the award-winning team include:

  • HĂ©ctor Eduardo Villaseñor Mir (cereal breeder)
  • RenĂ© Hortelano Santa Rosa (cereal breeder)
  • Eliel MartĂ­nez Cruz, (cereal chemist)
  • MarĂ­a Florencia RodrĂ­guez GarcĂ­a (cereal pathologist)
  • Ernesto SolĂ­s Moya (wheat breeder)
  • Jorge IvĂĄn Alvarado Padilla (wheat breeder)

The award recognizes the team’s long-term contribution to Mexican wheat cultivation and their efforts to expand impacts worldwide. They have released many varieties with resistance to leaf rust, which has led to the stabilization of the disease in bread wheat.

Presented annually, the award is bestowed upon a team of researchers serving a national breeding program or other nationally based institution. Winners receive an inscribed bronze statue of Norman Borlaug.

Huerta has been hosted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico since the late 1990s.

Julio Huerta, wheat pathologist and recipient of the BGRI Gene Stewardship Award 2022, giving a talk to students introducing CIMMYT’s wheat breeding program. (Credit: CIMMYT)

BGRI Technical Workshop

Receiving the prize at the 2022 BGRI Technical Workshop on September 9, Huerta said, “The award means a recognition from the global rust scientific community for the hard work (flesh, mind, soul and spirit) over the years, carried with many colleagues around the world to keep rust disease under control.”

Alison Bentley, director of the Global Wheat Program, also participated in the event with a presentation on the connection between conflict and vulnerability in global food systems. She explored reasons why wheat has been dramatically impacted by the conflict in Ukraine and summarized the proposed response agenda by CIMMYT.

Gene Editing for Reducing Aflatoxin in Groundnuts

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Gene Editing for Reducing Aflatoxin in Groundnuts project seeks to advance safer and nutritious groundnut varieties with durable genetic resistance to Aspergilli infection and aflatoxin contamination via gene editing. These new technologies will help address associated health and disease burdens, malnutrition, and trade and economic losses for smallholder farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa and globally. The main output of this project will be gene-edited varieties with reduced levels of aflatoxins.

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