funder_partner: CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT)
Joining advanced science with field-level research and extension in lower- and middle-income countries, the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) works with public and private organizations worldwide to raise the productivity, production and affordable availability of wheat for 2.5 billion resource-poor producers and consumers who depend on the crop as a staple food.
WHEAT is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) as a primary research partner.
Funding for WHEAT comes from CGIAR and national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies, in particular the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In plant breeding, efforts to increase the rate of genetic gains and enhance crop resilience to the effects of climate change are often limited by the inaccessibility and costs of phenotyping methods. The recent rapid development of sensors, image-processing technology and data analysis has provided new opportunities for multiple scales phenotyping methods and systems. Among these, satellite imagery may represent one of the best ways to remotely monitor trials and nurseries planted in multiple locations, while standardizing protocols and reducing costs.
This is because relevant data collected as part of crop phenotyping can be generated from satellite images. For instance, the sensors onboard the SkySat satellite constellation of Planet Labs have four spectral bandsâblue, green, red, and infraredâwhich can be used to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is a measure of vegetation and its greenness, and various canopy traits like ground cover, leaf area index and chlorosis. It can also be used to monitor plot establishment and phenological parameters.
High-resolution RGB orthomosaic of wheat experiments, assessing the effect of plot size and spacing in the spectral signature, collected from SkySat satellite images. (Photo: Gilberto Thompson)
The use of satellite-based phenotyping in breeding trials has typically been restricted by low resolution, high cost and long intervals between fly-overs. However, the advent of a new generation of high-resolution satellitesâsuch as the SkySat constellationânow offers multispectral images at a 0.5m resolution with close to daily acquisition attempts on any place on Earth. This could be a game changer in terms of the scale at which yield trials can be conducted, enabling more precise variety placement and thereby increasing genetic diversity across farmerâs fields and reducing the probability of disease epidemics. It could also revolutionize the capacity for research in realistic field conditions, since traits can be measured throughout the cycle in a highly standardized way, over multiple sites at low cost. For example, an image which covers 25 km2 can monitor an entire research station at a cost of about US$300.
To test the suitability of this technology, a team of researchers from CIMMYT set out to evaluate the reliability of SkySat NDVI estimates for maize and wheat breeding plots of different sizes and spacing, as well as testing its capacity for detecting seasonal changes and genotypic differences.
Both their initial findings, recently published in Frontiers in Plant Science, and more recently acquired data, show that the SkySat satellites can be used to monitor plots commonly used in wheat and maize nurseries. While wheat yield plots usually are 1.2m wide, maize plots tend to consist of at least two rows, resulting in a width of 1.5m. Plot length ranges from 2-4m. The authors also discuss on other factors to be considered when extracting and interpreting satellite data from yield trials, such as plot spacing.
Through the successful collection of six satellite images in Central Mexico during the rainy season and parallel monitoring of a maize trial in Zimbabwe, the researchers demonstrate the flexibility of this tool. Beyond the improvement of spatial resolution, the researchers suggest that the next challenge will be the development and fine-tuning of operational procedures that ensure high quality, standardized data, allowing them to harness the benefits of the modern breeding triangle, which calls for the integration of phenomics, enviromics and genomics, to accelerate breeding gains.
This research was supported by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the CGIAR Research Program on Maize, the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, and the One CGIAR Initiatives on Digital Innovation, F2R-CWANA, and Accelerated Breeding.
Leading crop simulation models used by a global team of agricultural scientists to simulate wheat production up to 2050 showed large wheat yield reductions due to climate change for Africa and South Asia, where food security is already a problem.
The model predicted average declines in wheat yields of 15% in African countries and 16% in South Asian countries by mid-century, as described in the 2021 paper âClimate impact and adaptation to heat and drought stress of regional and global wheat production,â published in the science journal Environmental Research Letters. Climate change will lower global wheat production by 1.9% by mid-century, with the most negative impacts occurring in Africa and South Asia, according to the research.
âStudies have already shown that wheat yields fell by 5.5% during 1980-2010, due to rising global temperatures,â said Diego N.L. Pequeno, wheat crop modeler at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and lead author of the paper. âWe chose several models to simulate climate change impacts and also simulated wheat varieties that featured increased heat tolerance, early vigor against late season drought, and late flowering to ensure normal biomass accumulation. Finally, we simulated use of additional nitrogen fertilizer to maximize the expression of these adaptive traits.â
Wheat fields in Ankara, Turkey, where data was used for crop model simulation (Photo: Marta Lopes/CIMMYT)
The wheat simulation models employed â CROPSIM-CERES, CROPSIM, and Nwheat within the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer, DSSAT v.4.6 â have been widely used to study diverse cropping systems around the world, according to Pequeno.
âThe DSSAT models simulated the elevated CO2 stimulus on wheat growth, when N is not limiting,â he said. âOur study is the first to include combined genetic traits for early vigor, heat tolerance, and late flowering in the wheat simulation.â
Several factors, including temperature, water deficit, and water access, have been identified as major causes in recent wheat yield variability worldwide. The DSSAT wheat models simulate the impact of temperature, including heat stress, water balance, drought stress, or nitrogen leaching from heavy rainfall.
âGenerally, small and low-volume wheat producers suffered large negative impacts due to future climate changes, indicating that less developed countries may be the most affected,â Pequeno added.
Climate change at high latitudes (France, Germany, and northern China, all large wheat-producing countries/region) positively impacted wheat grain yield, as warming temperatures benefit wheat growth through an extended early spring growing season. But warmer temperatures and insufficient rainfall by mid-century, as projected at the same latitude in Russia and the northwestern United States, will reduce rainfed wheat yields â a finding that contradicts outcomes of some previous studies.
At lower latitudes that are close to the tropics, already warm, and experiencing insufficient rainfall for food crops and therefore depending on irrigation (North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), rising heat will damage wheat crops and seriously reduce yields. China, the largest wheat producer in the world, is projected to have mixed impacts from climate change but, at a nation-wide scale, the study showed a 1.2% increase in wheat yields.
âOur results showed that the adaptive traits could help alleviate climate change impacts on wheat, but responses would vary widely, depending on the growing environment and management practices used,â according to Pequeno. This implies that wheat breeding for traits associated with climate resilience is a promising climate change adaptation option, but its effect will vary among regions. Its positive impact could be limited by agronomical aspects, particularly under rainfed and low soil N conditions, where water and nitrogen stress limit the benefits from improved cultivars.
Extreme weather events could also become more frequent. Those were possibly underestimated in this study, as projections of heat damage effects considered only changes in daily absolute temperatures but not possible changes in the frequency of occurrence. Another limitation is that most crop models lack functions for simulating excess water (e.g., flooding), an important cause of global wheat yield variability.
This study was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat agri-food systems (CRP WHEAT; 2012-2021), the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture, the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP115 Project), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the Mexican government through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project, and the International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Benefit-sharing Fund for co-funding the project, with financial support from the European Union.
Breeding is a vital part of the global agrifood system, enabling scientists to adapt crops to developing environmental factors, support improved crop management, and inform policy interventions on global food production. The challenge to crop breeding increases every year, as farmers experience more of the effects of climate change, while the population and food demand continue to rise.
The study found that climate change necessitates a faster breeding cycle and must drive changes in breeding objectives by putting climate resilience as the top priority.
âThe risk of multiple crop failure due to climate change is very real. Breeding must become more deterministic in terms of adaption if we are to avert food price-hikes, hunger, and social unrest,â said Matthew Reynolds, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Wheat Physiology at CIMMYT.
Challenges in developing climate-ready crops originate from the paradox between urgent breeding requirements prompted by climate change and the limited understanding of how different genotypes interact with the climates. Integrating multiple disciplines and technologies including genotyping, phenotyping, and envirotyping can contribute to the development and delivery of climate-adapted crops in a shorter timeframe.
âTo meet expected wheat demand for 2050, production will need to double, which means increasing harvests nearly 70 kilograms per hectare each year,â said Leonardo Crespo-Herrera, CIMMYT wheat scientist and 2022 Japan Award recipient. âBreeding will be a major contributor, but better agronomic practices and policies will also be critical.â (Photo: CIMMYT)
International science to save wheat â a crucial food grain for 2.5 billion of the worldâs poor â from a rising tide of insect pests known as aphids was lauded on November 22 with the 2022 Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers (the Japan Award).
The 2022 Japan Award recognized novel breeding approaches to identify and select for genetic resistance in wheat to two species of aphids that cause wheat grain losses reaching 20% and whose rapid spread is propelled by rising temperatures.
Aphid resistant wheat can contribute to more sustainable food production, protecting farmersâ harvests and profits, while reducing the need to use costly and harmful insecticides, said Leonardo Crespo-Herrera, bread wheat improvement specialist for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and one of the three 2022 Japan Award recipients.
âIn addition to genetic yield potential, CIMMYT wheat breeding focuses on yield stability, disease resistance, and nutritional and end-use quality,â Crespo-Herrera explained. âAdding another target trait â aphid resistance â makes wheat breeding much more challenging.â
Efficient and effective field testing to confirm the genetics
Crespo-Herrera and his CIMMYT colleagues managed to identify and characterize genome segments responsible for aphid resistance in wheat and its near relatives, as well as running innovative field tests for a set of elite wheat breeding lines that were predicted to carry that resistance.
âWith the aphid species called the greenbug, its feeding causes yellowing and necrotic spots on wheat, so we could actually measure and score wheat plants in plots that we deliberately infested with the aphids, keeping the resistant lines and throwing out the susceptible ones,â said Crespo-Herrera.
For the other species, the bird cherry-oat aphid, the only visible feeding damage is when the plants become stunted and die, so Crespo-Herrera and colleagues instead measured biomass loss and reduced growth in 1,000 artificially infested wheat lines, identifying a number of lines that had low scores for those measurements. Given that the lines tested came from a set that had already shown resistance to the greenbug, some of the successful lines feature resistance to both aphid species.
For the bird cherry-oat aphid, in two years of additional field tests, Crespo-Herrera and his team found that aphid populations were lower in plots sown with resistant wheat lines. âThe experiments included remote sensing measurements that identified certain spectral signatures correlated with aphid populations; this may help us to assess resistance in future field trials.â
The researchers also found that a cutting-edge approach known as âgenomic predictionâ provided good estimations regarding promising, aphid-resistant wheat breeding lines.
Motivating young researchers in research and development
Established in 2007, the Japan Award is an annual prize organized by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council (AFFRC) of Japanâs Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and supported by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). Awardees receive a $5,000 cash prize.
In an excerpt of an official note regarding Crespo-Herreraâs research, those agencies said  ââŠThis study has been highly evaluated for developing (wheat) lines that have been distributed worldwide for use in wheat breeding, and the methods of this study have been applied to develop varieties with resistance mechanisms against various kinds of insects, not only aphids.â
Crespo-Herrera thanked JIRCAS and MAFF for the award. âI feel honored to have been selected.â
Mustafa Alisarli, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University rector, is awarded for hosting this symposium by the representative of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR), Dr Suat Kaymak.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) coordinated the VIII International Cereal Nematode Symposium between September 26-29, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies and Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University.
As many as 828 million people struggle with hunger due to food shortages worldwide, while 345 million are facing acute food insecurity â a crisis underpinning discussions at this symposium in Turkey focused on controlling nematodes and soil-borne pathogens causing reduced wheat yields in semi-arid regions.
A major staple, healthy wheat crops are vital for food security because the grain provides about a fifth of calories and proteins in the human diet worldwide.
Seeking resources to feed a rapidly increasing world population is a key part of tackling global hunger, said Mustafa Alisarli, the rector of Turkeyâs Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University in his address to the 150 delegates attending the VIII International Cereal Nematode Symposium in the countryâs province of Bolu.
Suat Kaymak, Head of the Plant Protection Department, on behalf of the director general of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GDAR), delivered an opening speech, emphasizing the urgent need to support the CIMMYT Soil-borne Pathogens (SBP) research. He stated that the SBP plays a crucial role in reducing the negative impact of nematodes and pathogens on wheat yield and ultimately improves food security. Therefore, the GDAR is supporting the SBP program by building a central soil-borne pathogens headquarters and a genebank in Ankara.
Discussions during the five-day conference were focused on strategies to improve resilience to the Cereal Cyst Nematodes (Heterodera spp.) and Root Lesion Nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.), which cause root-health degradation, and reduce moisture uptake needed for proper development of wheat.
Richard Smiley, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, summarized his research on nematode diseases. He has studied nematodes and pathogenic fungi that invade wheat and barley roots in the Pacific Northwest of the United States for 40 years. âThe grain yield gap â actual versus potential yield â in semiarid rainfed agriculture cannot be significantly reduced until water and nutrient uptake constraints caused by nematodes and Fusarium crown rot are overcome,â he said.
Experts also assessed patterns of global distribution, exchanging ideas on ways to boost international collaboration on research to curtail economic losses related to nematode and pathogen infestations.
A special session on soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi drew attention to the broad spectrum of diseases causing root rot, stem rot, crown rot and vascular wilts of wheat.
Soil-borne fungal and nematode parasites co-exist in the same ecological niche in cereal-crop field ecosystems, simultaneously attacking root systems and plant crowns thereby reducing the uptake of nutrients, especially under conditions of soil moisture stress.
Limited genetic and chemical control options exist to curtail the damage and spread of these soil-borne problems which is a challenge exacerbated by both synergistic and antagonistic interactions between nematodes and fungi.
Nematodes, by direct alteration of plant cells and consequent biochemical changes, can predispose wheat to invasion by soil borne pathogens. Some root rotting fungi can increase damage due to nematode parasites.
Integrated managementFor a holistic approach to addressing the challenge, the entire biotic community in the soil must be considered, said Hans Braun, former director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT.
Braun presented efficient cereal breeding as a method for better soil-borne pathogen management. His insights highlighted the complexity of root-health problems across the region, throughout Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa (CWANA).
Richard A. Sikora, Professor emeritus and former Chairman of the Institute of Plant Protection at the University of Bonn, stated that the broad spectrum of nematode and pathogen species causing root-health problems in CWANA requires site-specific approaches for effective crop health management. Sikora added that no single technology will solve the complex root-health problems affecting wheat in the semi-arid regions. To solve all nematode and pathogen problems, all components of integrated management will be needed to improve wheat yields in the climate stressed semi-arid regions of CWANA.
Building on this theme, Timothy Paulitz, research plant pathologist at the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), presented on the relationship between soil biodiversity and wheat health and attempts to identify the bacterial and fungal drivers of wheat yield loss. Paulitz, who has researched soil-borne pathogens of wheat for more than 20 years stated that, âWe need to understand how the complex soil biotic ecosystem impacts pathogens, nutrient uptake and efficiency and tolerance to abiotic stresses.â
Julie Nicol, former soil-borne pathologist at CIMMYT, who now coordinates the Germplasm Exchange (CAIGE) project between CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at the University of Sydneyâs Plant Breeding Institute, pointed out the power of collaboration and interdisciplinary expertise in both breeding and plant pathology. The CAIGE project clearly demonstrates how valuable sources of multiple soil-borne pathogen resistance in high-yielding adapted wheat backgrounds have been identified by the CIMMYT Turkey program, she said. Validated by Australian pathologists, related information is stored in a database and is available for use by Australian and international breeding communities.
Economic losses
Root-rotting fungi and cereal nematodes are particularly problematic in rainfed systems where post-anthesis drought stress is common. Other disruptive diseases in the same family include dryland crown and the foot rot complex, which are caused mainly by the pathogens Fusarium culmorum and F. pseudograminearum.
The root lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei can cause yield losses in wheat from 38 to 85 percent in Australia and from 12 to 37 percent in Mexico. In southern Australia, grain losses caused by Pratylenchus neglectus ranged from 16 to 23 percent and from 56 to 74 percent in some areas.
The cereal cyst nematodes (Heterodera spp.) with serious economic consequences for wheat include Heterodera avenae, H. filipjevi and H. latipons. Yield losses due to H. avenae range from 15 to 20 percent in Pakistan, 40 to 92 percent in Saudi Arabia, and 23 to 50 percent in Australia.
In Turkey, Heterodera filipjevi has caused up to 50 percent crop losses in the Central Anatolia Plateau and Heterodera avenae has caused up to 24 percent crop losses in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The genus Fusarium which includes more than a hundred species, is a globally recognized plant pathogenic fungal complex that causes significant damage to wheat on a global scale.
In wheat, Fusarium spp. cause crown-, foot-, and root- rot as well as head blight. Yield losses from Fusarium crown-rot have been as high as 35 percent in the Pacific Northwest of America and 25 to 58 percent in Australia, adding up losses annually of $13 million and $400 million respectively, due to reduced grain yield and quality. The true extent of damage in CWANA needs to be determined.
Abdelfattah Dababat, CIMMYTâs Turkey representative and leader of the soil-borne pathogens research team said, âThere are examples internationally, where plant pathologists, plant breeders and agronomists have worked collaboratively and successfully developed control strategies to limit the impact of soil borne pathogens on wheat.â He mentioned the example of the development and widespread deployment of cereal cyst nematode resistant cereals in Australia that has led to innovative approaches and long-term control of this devastating pathogen.
Dababat, who coordinated the symposium for CIMMYT, explained that, âThrough this symposium, scientists had the opportunity to present their research results and to develop collaborations to facilitate the development of on-farm strategies for control of these intractable soil borne pathogens in their countries.â
Paulitz stated further that soil-borne diseases have world-wide impacts even in higher input wheat systems of the United States. âThe germplasm provided by CIMMYT and other international collaborators is critical for breeding programs in the Pacific Northwest, as these diseases cannot be managed by chemical or cultural techniques,â he added.
Closing ceremony of the International Cereal Nematode Symposium. From left to right; Hans Braun, Brigitte Slaats, Richard Sikora, Grant Hollaway, Mesut Keser, Zahra Maafi, Richard Smiley, Mustafa Imren, Fatih Ozdemir, Amer Dababat. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Road ahead
Delegates gained a greater understanding of the scale of distribution of cereal cyst nematodes and soil borne pathogens in wheat production systems throughout West Asia, North Africa, parts of Central Asia, Northern India, and China.
After more than 20 years of study, researchers have recognized the benefits of planting wheat varieties that are more resistant. This means placing major emphasis on host resistance through validation and integration of resistant sources using traditional and molecular methods by incorporating them into wheat germplasm for global wheat production systems, particularly those dependent on rainfed or supplementary irrigation systems.
Sikora stated that more has to be done to improve Integrated Pest Management (IPM), taking into consideration all tools wherever resistant is not available. Crop rotations for example have shown some promise in helping to mitigate the spread and impact of these diseases.
âIn order to develop new disease-resistant products featuring resilience to changing environmental stress factors and higher nutritional values, modern biotechnology interventions have also been explored,â Alisarli said.
Brigitte Slaats and Matthias Gaberthueel, who represent Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta, introduced TYMIRIUMÂź technology, a new solution for nematode and crown rot management in cereals. âSyngenta is committed to developing novel seed-applied solutions to effectively control early soil borne diseases and pests,â Slaats said.
It was widely recognized at the event that providing training for scientists from the Global North and South is critical. Turkey, Austria, China, Morocco, and India have all hosted workshops, which were effective in identifying the global status of the problem of cereal nematodes and forming networks and partnerships to continue working on these challenges.
Faced with climate change and having to keep pace in the race to feed the worldâs growing population, farmers of staple crops like wheat are under pressure to constantly increase yield per hectare.
Increasing yield gains is especially important in Afghanistan, where per capita consumption of wheat is nearly three times more than the global average and wheat accounts for up to 60% of daily caloric intake of the average Afghan citizen.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) develops and distributes improved seed targeted toward diverse wheat growing regions in the developing world, including Afghanistan, a net importer of wheat. A study by CIMMYT scientists, published in CropScience, measured yield gain and improvement in a variety of traits of CIMMYT developed varieties compared against local wheat, over a 14-year period. The results showed the CIMMYT varieties confer yield gains, contributing to an increase in Afghanistanâs wheat productivity.
In terms of yield, the CIMMYT varieties showed an increase of 123 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) over the time interval studied, compared to 107 kg/ha for local varieties.
âThis study shows continual increases in yield from CIMMYT varieties across Afghanistan,â said lead author Rajiv Sharma. âThis shows the potential of genetically improved germplasm to increase yields, strengthen resistance to diseases and improve other important traits.â
Researchers also examined specific traits, like days to heading and overall plant height. Days to heading refers to the number of days from planting to when the plant is ready to be harvested and overall plant height is the highest measurement a plant reaches. This is important because if a wheat plant grows too high, it will lodge (fall over) under its own weight, rendering it non-harvestable.
Across the CIMMYT varieties there was a 1.8 day per year reduction in days to heading. This is a positive sign for Afghan wheat production as research has shown that crop durations will be reduced because of climate-associated stresses. Shorter crop duration also reduces the cost of crop production, since shorter crop duration reduces the requirements for water, labor, fertilizer, and other resources.
In terms of plant height, the CIMMTY varieties showed a gain of 0.77 cm per year. Although a negative correlation between plant height and grain yield has been reported in other studies, this is not the case in Afghanistan. Increased plant height is often an indicator of higher biomass (the amount of aboveground volume including leaves and stems which might fall to the ground) which drives higher yield, provided the plant does not lodge. Higher biomass is also required in many developing countries, including Afghanistan, to produce straw that is used dry fodder feed for livestock. This appears to result from selections to increase overall production, mitigate negative impacts and fulfil the changing preference of farmers.
âThis kind of evaluation is important in determining the efficacy of CIMMYTâs efforts to provide  improved wheat varieties tailored to diverse production environments around the world,â said Alison Bentley, co-author of the study and director of CIMMYTâs Global Wheat Program. âIt also makes a strong case for continued investment in plant breeding and for the collaboration between Afghanistan and CIMMYT.â
Agrifood systems contribute to at least 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To advance these goals, agrifood systems need to deliver more nutritious food to more people and simultaneously be environmentally sustainable and resilient. Changes are required at multiple levels to include more sustainable farming, reduce food losses in distribution and retail, and increase the intake of healthier foods by consumers.
Recent studies show that piecemeal interventions focusing on only one aspect or area are insufficient to make the required transformation. Issues related to food security and improved nutrition are complex, and their solutions must transcend traditional disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
Agrifood systems research looks to understand how systems work and actions by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector that can positively influence outcomes at scale. Researchers and development professionals use this approach to assess how different actors, practices and policies share the production, marketing, availability, and consumption of food. Agriculture, trade, policy, health, environment, transport, infrastructure, gender norms and education all have a role to play in achieving resilient agrifood systems that deliver greater benefits to farmers and consumers.
CIMMYT combines the expertise of economists, agronomists, crop breeders, nutritionists, and gender specialist to create more sustainable, nutritious, and profitable agrifood systems in multiple ways. It works to ensure that cereal crops are grown in the most sustainable way, that the public and private sectors are informed about consumer preferences, and that quality improved seed is available to farmers when they need it. CIMMYT also aims to better understand how cereal based foods are processed and sold to consumers and develop options for promoting the consumption of more nutritious cereal-based foods.
Pasta and other supplies on display in a supermarket, Mexico.
Consumer demand in Mexico
Recently, CIMMYT partnered with the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico (INSP), to compare access to healthy processed cereal-based food in supermarkets, convenience stores, and corner stores for consumers from low- and high-income neighborhoods in Mexico City. Discussions continue to rage about how policies can support more nutritious and healthier diets in Mexico, including the new requirement for food warning labels on the front of packaging.
The study showed that availability of healthy products was scarce in most stores, particularly in convenience stores. Compared to supermarkets in the low-income areas, those in high-income areas exhibited a greater variety of healthy products across all categories. A follow up study is underway that examines the outcomes of the new food label warnings on product availability and health claims.
Other CIMMYT studies have explored the demand by lower- and middle-income consumers in central Mexico for healthy cereal-based foods, including their demand for blue maize tortillas and whole grain bread. These studies help policy makers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) design strategies on how to increase access and consumption of healthier processed wheat and maize products in fast-evolving food systems.
Farmer Gladys Kurgat prepare wheat chapatti with help from her nephew Emmanuel Kirui for her five sons at home near Belbur, Nakuru, Kenya. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Blending wheat products in Kenya
In many parts of the world, the Ukraine-Russia war has intensified the need to change how wheat-based products are formulated. For example, Kenya is a country where wheat consumption has been growing rapidly for a decade, yet imports have comprised 90% of its wheat supplies, which up until recently came from Ukraine and Russia. Wheat flour blending in Kenya is a promising option for reducing wheat imports, generating demand for other, lesser-utilized cereals, such as sorghum, and increasing the nutrient profile of bread products. But wheat blending, despite having been discussed for many years in Kenya, has yet to gain traction.
In response, CIMMYT and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) are exploring the feasibility of reducing wheat imports in Kenya by replacing between 5-20% of wheat flour with flour derived from other cereals, including sorghum and millet. While existing evidence suggests that consumers may except up to 10% blending in cereal flours, the stakes are high for both the wheat industry and government. Robust and context specific evidence is needed on consumersâ willingness to accept blended products in urban Kenya and the economic feasibility of blending from the perspective of millers and processors.
Among the critical questions to be explored by CIMMYT and JKUAT: What flour blends will consumers most likely to accept? What are the potential health benefits from blending with sorghum and millet? Is there enough sorghum and millet readily available to replace the wheat removed from flour? And finally, what is the business case for wheat flour blending?
Agriculture is central to South Asian economies, lives and livelihoods. However, the challenges of an increasing population and brisk economic growth are straining the agriculture sector as it struggles to meet the present and future demand for food, nutritional security, and economic development. Not only this, the three Cs â COVID, climate change and conflict â are fueling the growing fragility in food systems across the world.
To address these issues and find potential solutions, the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) organized a high-level meeting with top agriculture ministry officials from its neighboring countries â Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Pakistan â to collaborate and learn from each other.
BISAâs outreach to Indiaâs neighbors in South Asia has already produced results. Data from the BISA farm in Ludhiana, India, on resistance to yellow rust that affects wheat crop has been used in Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Genomic prediction evaluation for grain yield and other traits worked on at BISA through the help of the Global Wheat Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been extended to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal since 2020. Regular training is organized for students, scientists and farmers in India on breeding and climate resistant technologies, and BISA scientists organize courses in Nepal on climate-smart technologies.
Cover photo: Tara Miah (50) is a farmer from Rajguru in Rahamanbari union, Barisal, Bangladesh. He used seeder fertilizer drills to plant wheat on his fields. Previously, this was done manually. SFD has resulted in a better harvest for Miah. (Credit: Ranak Martin)
The award recognizes the teamâs 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 CIMMYTâs wheat breeding program. (Credit: CIMMYT)
BGRI Technical Workshop
Receiving the prize at the 2022 BGRI Technical Workshop on September 9, Huerta said, âThe 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.â
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.
Ravi Singh delivers a lecture during the 61st All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet celebrating the fruitful partnership of CIMMYT and ICAR. (Credit: SAWBAR)
Ravi Singh, head of wheat improvement and rust research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), received the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award 2022 for outstanding contribution in the field of wheat crop improvement from the Society for Advancement of Wheat and Barley Research (SAWBAR).
As recipient of the award, Singh delivered a lecture during the 61st All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet in Gwalior, India, on August 29. He highlighted and praised the partnership between India and CIMMYT as essential for accelerating gains in wheat yield despite the stresses of climate change thanks to improved resilience in new varieties and earlier sowing.
âThe ICAR-CIMMYT wheat improvement partnership remains crucial for delivering new varieties with higher rates of genetic gain in farmersâ fields to enhance productivity, climate resilience, disease resistance and nutrition while meeting market needs,â he said.
Successes of the partnership include integrated breeding with a common agenda, commercialized varieties that are adapted to flexible sowing dates including early sowing, diverse and durable resistance to rust diseases, adoption of wheat blast resistant varieties in large areas, biofortified and high-quality varieties, and the move towards mainstreaming of zinc (Zn) biofortification.
Singh also paid homage to the awardâs namesake, as VS Mathurâs âwheat varieties once occupied fields of many millions of farmers and provided food and nutrition to many more millions throughout India and beyondâ.
Singh, a CIMMYT scientist, receives the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of wheat crop improvement. (Credit: SAWBAR)
About SAWBAR:
SAWBAR was founded in 2007 and is housed at ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research Karnal (Haryana) India. The Society presently has 300 life members and more than 320 annual and student members. SAWBAR is playing a significant role in bringing wheat and barley researchers on one platform for the exchange of innovative research and dissemination of knowledge related to the latest research happenings in the area of wheat and barley improvement. Annually, SAWBAR gives awards to pioneer cereal workers in various award categories.Â
About the Sh. VS Mathur Mathur Memorial Award:
The Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Awardwas constituted in year 2018 in the memory of eminent wheat worker Sh. VS Mathur. Mathur was one of the pioneer wheat workers who worked tirelessly with MS Swaminathan and HK Jain and developed a large number of high-yielding wheat varieties viz. Heera, Moti, Janak (HD 1982), Arjun (HD 2009), HD 2177, HD 2182, HD 2204, HD 2236, HD 2278, HD 2281, HD 2285, HD 2329, HD 2307 and HD 2327 for various regions of India.
Md. Sayedul Islam inaugurated the greenhouse complex along with Golam Faruq and Md. Benojir Alam. (Credit: Timothy J. Krupnik/CIMMYT)
A new greenhouse complex, built with financial support from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), at the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) was inaugurated on 13 August 2022. The greenhouse was built at BWMRIâs headquarters in Dinajpur, Bangladesh.
This complex has a room for generator, a sample preparation room and space for a small laboratory. These upgrades will add new momentum for greenhouse activities and BWMRI and CIMMYT scientists designed the facility to accommodate wheat scientists from Bangladesh and other countries.
The BWMRI has been working to combat wheat blast disease since 2016, with financial and technical support from CIMMYT and other investors. CIMMYT has also assisted the Government of Bangladesh in developing an early warning system for wheat blast.
Because of the challenging phenology of synthetic wheat and introductions from winter and facultative wheat zones, field condition evaluation of these germplasm is difficult and the greenhouse will help ease this hurdle. Additionally, several pathological experiments investigating the biology of wheat blast will now be able to be performed in the new greenhouse facility.
Supplementary activities at the greenhouse include disease screening and research into unlocking the genetics of host resistance. The installation of a diesel generator will keep the greenhouse running in case of power outages.
Visitors to the newly constructed greenhouse at the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute. (Credit: Rezaul Kabir/BWMRI)
Md. Sayedul Islam, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, inaugurated the greenhouse complex. Additional attendees at the opening included Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Golam Faruq, Director General of BWMRI, Mirza Mofazzal Islam, Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Debasish Sarker, Director General of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Md. Benojir Alam, Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), and Md. Abdul Wadud, Executive Director and Additional Secretary at the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN). Timothy J. Krupnik, country representative of CIMMYT in Bangladesh, was also present.
We report with great sadness the death of Ephrame Havazvidi, who passed away on May 14, 2022.
Havazvidi was one of the worldâs pioneering wheat breeders. He served on the Independent Steering Committee of the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) from 2015 to 2021. He was a renowned seed and crop scientist of the wheat industry in Zimbabwe and the wider region and a frequent expert contributor to projects of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in the region.
WHEAT Independent Steering Committee chair John Porter said, âEphrame will no longer be gracing us with his big beaming smile, bright eyes and gorgeous laughter. Ephrame was a unique person and did so much to promote food security in Zimbabwe. He always supported the WHEAT Independent Steering Committee and shared his pan-African perspective on wheat-based food security. It was a great pleasure to have had him on our team.â
âEphrame was not only an outstanding partner of both CIMMYTâs maize and wheat programs, especially when it came to promoting drought-tolerant varieties, but first and foremost a lovely human being,â said Prasanna Boddupalli, director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program.
Born in Masvingo District on 22 September 1954, Havazvidi held Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Philosophy and Bachelorâs degrees, all obtained from the University of Zimbabwe.
Before joining the University of Zimbabwe (then University of Rhodesia) in 1974 to 1976, he was among the top academic achievers at Berejena Mission in Chibi and Goromonzi High School for his Cambridge GCE âOâ and âAâ level studies respectively. Havazvidi also completed a year-long Executive Development program at the University of Zimbabwe and attended several management developments programs that include SMI.
Havazvidi began his career as a cotton agronomist at the Cotton Research Institute under the Zimbabwe Department of Research and Specialist Services in the then Ministry of Agriculture in Kadoma in 1977. He then joined Seed Co Limited, then Seed Coop, as a seed production research agronomist in 1980, where he pioneered research on maize seed production. Shortly thereafter, he became Seed Coâs principal wheat breeder between 1982 and 2011; as Seed Co breeder, Ephrame released 28 high-yielding wheat varieties that improved farmer productivity in Southern African countries. The varieties for irrigated areas helped to reduce Zimbabweâs import burden at the time.
He also developed several high high-yielding maize inbred lines for Seed Co. Havazvidi has written several journal articles and presented at several high-level symposia and conferences locally and globally including for the CIMMYT-led Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA), Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS), and HarvestPlus Pro Vitamin A projects.
In 2020, he was recognized as one of 20 most influential plant breeders by the Southern African Plant Breeding Association (SAPBA).
Hazvidi is survived by his wife Elizabeth, four children â Charles, Happines, Kennedy and Rumbi â and grandchildren.
Our planet is facing a massive biodiversity crisis. Deeply entwined with our concurrent climate crisis, this crisis may well constitute the sixth mass extinction in Earthâs history. Increasing agricultural production, whether by intensification of extensification, is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Beyond humanityâs moral obligation to not drive other species to extinction, biodiversity loss is also associated with the erosion of critical processes that maintain the Earth system in the only state that can support life as we know it. It is also associated with the emergence of novel, zoonotic pathogens like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is responsible for the current COVID-19 global pandemic.
Conservation ecologists have proposed two solutions to this challenge: sparing or sharing land. The former implies practicing a highly intensive form of agriculture on a smaller land area, thereby âsparingâ a greater proportion of land for biodiversity. The latter implies a multifunctional approach that boosts the density of wild flora and fauna on agricultural land. Both have their weaknesses though: sparing often leads to agrochemical pollution of adjacent ecosystems, while sharing implies using more land for any production target.
In an article in Biological Conservation, agricultural scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), argue that, while both land sharing and sparing are part of the solution, the current debate is too focused on trade-offs and tends to use crop yield as the sole metric of agricultural performance. By overlooking potential synergies between agriculture and biodiversity and ignoring metrics that may matter more to farmers than yield âfor example, income, labor productivity, or resilience â the authors argue that the two approaches have had limited impact on the adoption by farmers of practices with proven benefits on both biodiversity and agricultural production.
Beyond the zero-sum game
At the heart of the debate around land sparing versus land sharing is a common assumption: there is a zero-sum relationship between wild species density and agricultural productivity per unit of land. Hence, the answer to the challenge of balancing biodiversity conservation with feeding a growing human population appears to entail some unpalatable trade-offs, no matter which side of the debate you side with. As the debate has largely been driven by conservation ecologists, proposed solutions often approach conserving biodiversity in ways that offer limited benefits, and often losses, to farmers.
On the land sparing side, the vision is to carve up rural landscapes almost as a planner would zone urban space: some areas would be zoned for highly intensive forms of agricultural production, largely devoid of wild species, while others would be zoned as biodiversity-rich areas. As the authors point out, however, such a strictly segregated view of land use is challenged by the natural migratory patterns of species, their need for diverse types of ecosystems over the course of the seasons or their lifecycles, and the high risk of pollution associated with intensive agriculture, such as run-off and leaching of agrochemicals, and pesticide drift.
Proponents of the land sharing view argue for a multifunctional approach to agricultural production that introduces a greater density of wild species onto agricultural land, thus integrating production and conservation into the same land units. This, however, inevitably diminishes agricultural productivity, as measured by yield.
This view, the article argues, overlooks the synergies between agriculture and biodiversity. Not only can biodiversity support agriculture through ecosystem services, but farmlands also support many species. For example, the patchiness created in the landscape by swidden agriculture or by grazing livestock supports more biodiversity than closed-canopy ecosystems, benefiting open-habitat species in particular. And except for rare forms of âcontrolled environment agricultureâ such as hydroponics, all agricultural systems depend on the ecosystem services rendered by a multitude of organisms, from soil fertility maintenance to pollination and pest control.
Tzeltal farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. (Photo: Peter Lowe for CIMMYT)
Similarly, an exclusive focus on yield as a measure of agricultural performance obscures ways in which greater biodiversity on agricultural land can support farmers’ livelihoods and economic wellbeing. The authors show, for example, that simplified landscapes in southern Ethiopia tend to have higher crop productivity. But more diverse landscape in the same area, while hosting more biodiversity, produce more fuelwood, support a higher livestock productivity, provide a greater dietary diversity, and are more resilient to environmental stresses and external economic shocks, all of which being highly valued by local people.
Imagining landscapes where biodiversity and people win
The land sharing versus sparing debate deserves enormous credit for bringing attention to the role of agriculture in biodiversity loss and for pushing the scientific community and policymakers to address the problem and think about how to balance agriculture and conservation. As the authors of this paper show, as researchers from a more diverse range of scientific disciplines join the debate, there is tremendous potential to move the conversation from a vision that pits agriculture against biodiversity and towards solutions that highlight the potential synergies between these activities.
âIt is our hope that this paper will stimulate other agricultural scientists to contribute to the debate on how to feed a growing population while safeguarding biodiversity. This is possibly one of the biggest challenges of our rapidly changing agri-food systems. But we have the technologies and the analytics to face this challenge,â Baudron said.
Cover photo: Pilot farm in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo: Axel Fassio/CIFOR)
CIMMYT scientists are using biodiversity, testing forgotten wheat varieties from across the world, to find those with heat- and drought-tolerant traits. The aim is to outpace human-made global heating and breed climate-resilient varieties so yields do not collapse, as worst-case scenarios predict.
Reporter Nina Lakhanivisited CIMMYT’s experimental station in Ciudad Obregon, in Mexico’s Sonora state, and witnessed CIMMYT’s unique role in fighting climate change through the development of resilient varieties as “international public goods”.
A climate change hotspot region that features both small-scale and intensive farming, South Asia epitomizes the crushing pressure on land and water resources from global agriculture to feed a populous, warming world. Continuous irrigated rice and wheat cropping across northern India, for example, is depleting and degrading soils, draining a major aquifer, and producing a steady draft of greenhouse gases.
Through decades-long Asian and global partnerships, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has helped to study and promote resource-conserving, climate-smart solutions for South Asian agriculture. Innovations include more precise and efficient use of water and fertilizer, as well as conservation agriculture, which blends reduced or zero-tillage, use of crop residues or mulches as soil covers, and more diverse intercrops and rotations. Partners are recently exploring regenerative agriculture approaches â a suite of integrated farming and grazing practices to rebuild the organic matter and biodiversity of soils.
Along with their environmental benefits, these practices can significantly reduce farm expenses and maintain or boost crop yields. Their widespread adoption depends in part on enlightened policies and dedicated promotion and testing that directly involves farmers. We highlight below promising findings and policy directions from a collection of recent scientific studies by CIMMYT and partners.
Getting down in the dirt
A recent scientific review examines the potential of a suite of improved practices â reduced or zero-tillage with residue management, use of organic manure, the balanced and integrated application of plant nutrients, land levelling, and precise water and pest control â to capture and hold carbon in soils on smallholder farms in South Asia. Results show a potential 36% increase in organic carbon in upper soil layers, amounting to some 18 tons of carbon per hectare of land and, across crops and environments, potentially cutting methane emissions by 12%. Policies and programs are needed to encourage farmers to adopt such practices.
Another study on soil quality in Indiaâs extensive breadbasket region found that conservation agriculture practices raised per-hectare wheat yields by nearly half a ton and soil quality indexes nearly a third, over those for conventional practices, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60%.
Ten years of research in the Indo-Gangetic Plains involving rice-wheat-mungbean or maize-wheat-mungbean rotations with flooded versus subsoil drip irrigation showed an absence of earthworms â major contributors to soil health â in soils under farmersâ typical practices. However, large earthworm populations were present and active under climate-smart practices, leading to improved soil carbon sequestration, soil quality, and the availability of nutrients for plants.
The field of farmer Ram Shubagh Chaudhary, Pokhar Binda village, Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh, India, who has been testing zero tillage to sow wheat directly into the unplowed paddies and leaving crop residues, after rice harvest. Chaudhary is one of many farmer-partners in the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), led by CIMMYT. (Photo: P. Kosina/CIMMYT)
Rebooting marginal farms by design
Using the FarmDESIGN model to assess the realities of small-scale, marginal farmers in northwestern India (about 67% of the population) and redesign their current practices to boost farm profits, soil organic matter, and nutritional yields while reducing pesticide use, an international team of agricultural scientists demonstrated that integrating innovative cropping systems could help to improve farm performance and household livelihoods.
More than 19 gigatons of groundwater is extracted each year in northern India, much of this to flood the regionâs puddled, transplanted rice crops. A recent experiment calibrated and validated the HYDRUS-2D model to simulate water dynamics for puddled rice and for rice sown in non-flooded soil using zero-tillage and watered with sub-surface drip irrigation. It was found that the yield of rice grown using the conservation agriculture practices and sub-surface drip irrigation was comparable to that of puddled, transplanted rice but required only half the irrigation water. Sub-surface drip irrigation also curtailed water losses from evapotranspiration and deep drainage, meaning this innovation coupled with conservation agriculture offers an ecologically viable alternative for sustainable rice production.
Given that yield gains through use of conservation agriculture in northern India are widespread but generally low, a nine-year study of rice-wheat cropping in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains applying the Environmental Policy Climate (EPIC) model, in this case combining data from long-term experiments with regionally gridded crop modeling, documented the need to tailor conservation agriculture flexibly to local circumstances, while building farmersâ capacity to test and adapt suitable conservation agriculture practices. The study found that rice-wheat productivity could increase as much as 38% under conservation agriculture, with optimal management.
Key partner organizations in this research include the following: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR), Agriculture University, Kota; CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar; Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan; the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA); the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, Cornell University; Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt; UM6P, Ben Guerir, Morocco; the University of Aberdeen; the University of California, Davis; Wageningen University & Research; and IFDC.
Generous funding for the work cited comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), supported by CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements), The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and USAID.
Cover photo: A shortage of farm workers is driving the serious consideration by farmers and policymakers to replace traditional, labor-intensive puddled rice cropping (shown here), which leads to sizable methane emissions and profligate use of irrigation water, with the practice of growing rice in non-flooded soils, using conservation agriculture and drip irrigation practices. (Photo: P. Wall/CIMMYT)
