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Plant health data is critical for effective policy change

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Learning to evaluate wheat stem rust, a significant cause of crop loss, in the field in Kenya. (Photo: Petr Kosina/CIMMYT)

With rising demand for food, it is more critical than ever to address the challenge of crop losses due to pests and diseases. Current limited understanding of the extent of the problem prevents the advancement and implementation of plant health solutions. Global scientific collaboration is integral to ensure policy recommendations are well-informed by robust evidence and therefore more likely to succeed in the long-term.

The issue of global burden of crop loss closely correlates with the objectives of the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, which aims to prevent and manage major pest and disease outbreaks through the development and deployment of inclusive innovations and by building effective national, regional, and global networks. The Initiative, which is being led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), will support low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to reduce crop losses due to pests and diseases, and improve food security and livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

Data-driven approaches

The Global Burden of Crop Loss project, which is run by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), is working to ensure that there is accurate data on the challenges posed by plant pests and diseases. Questions to understand include where crop losses are the highest, the causes behind these losses, and how best these they can be addressed.

Cambria Finegold, Global Director, Digital Development, CABI said, “If you are not measuring crop loss well, then you don’t know if the extraordinary $25.8 billion spent annually on agricultural research and development is working, or if we are spending it in the right ways.”

Research by the Plant Health Initiative will play a significant role in collecting and disseminating data on some major pests and diseases, which can guide scientists on which areas to prioritize, thereby contributing to an impactful research agenda.

Once data is gathered, CABI aims to inform decision-making for actors at the top levels of the plant health system and ensure that appropriate action is taken to safeguard global food security with the limited resources available.

Integrated pest management strategies have been key in dealing with fall armyworm in Africa and Asia. (Photo: B.M. Prasanna/CIMMYT)
Integrated pest management strategies have been key in dealing with fall armyworm in Africa and Asia. (Photo: B.M. Prasanna/CIMMYT)

Establishing global networks

The value of a data-driven approach was emphasized at a session organized by the Global Burden of Crop Loss on October 14 exploring evidence-based systems to tackle food security. This session was a side event of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Science and Innovation Forum, which this year focused on highlighting the centrality of science, technology and innovations for agrifood systems transformation.

Prasanna Boddupalli, One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead and Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, explained how the Initiative will bridge knowledge gaps, build risk assessment and rapid response capability, improve integrated pest and disease management, design and deploy tools to prevent contamination of food chains, and promote gender-equitable and socially inclusive innovations for plant health.

With six devastating plant epidemics in Africa alone during the last decade and an increased number of climate change-induced droughts and floods, Boddupalli proposed a revitalized strategy using the objectives of the Plant Health Initiative.

Built on a foundation of partnerships, there are more than 80 national, regional, and international organizations involved in the Initiative across 40 countries in the Global South, in addition to the CGIAR research centers. Through this rapidly expanding collaboration, the focus will be on establishing regional diagnostic and surveillance networks and implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and integrated mycotoxin management.

To address the need for evidence-based policy recommendations, Boddupalli explained the purpose of the Plant Health Innovation Platforms in Africa, Asia and Latin America, leveraging the partners’ research sites. Combining innovations from the CGIAR system, national partners and the private sector, these platforms will enable the co-creation and validation of pest and disease management packages, with the aim of significantly improving adoption of effective and affordable plant health innovations by smallholder farmers.

Removing the barriers for data sharing

The Plant Health Initiative team has recently collected and collated information from national partners and the private sector on actions needed to remove constraints on sharing pest and disease surveillance data. Potential solutions include improved training of national partners, joint research projects, pre-defined processes for data sharing, and focusing on work that meets national and regional priorities.

These approaches will inform the sharing of data collected through the Initiative. For example, researchers are gathering surveillance data on 15 crop pests affecting seven different plants in 25 countries, with the expectation of collecting more than 44,000 samples from 2,100 sites in 2022 alone, with plans for sharing the results with partner institutions.

Boddupalli also emphasized the importance of ramping up remote sensing and drone usage, wherever feasible, for diagnostics and surveillance. However, the current gaps in accessing data and computing facilities in the Global South need to be addressed to make this a reality.

“The OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative and the Global Burden of Crop Loss project have excellent complementarity,” said Boddupalli. Both have an opportunity to generate and share robust data on crop loss due to existing and emerging crop pests and diseases and use this data to drive effective policy change on plant health management.”

About the Global Burden of Crop Loss:

The Global Burden of Crop Loss initiative is modelled after the Global Burden of Disease initiative in human health, which has transformed health policy and research, over the last 25 years through better use of data. 

The initiative aims to have a similar impact in agriculture, providing evidence to enable the global plant health community to generate actionable information and lead to a dramatic reduction in crop loss, resulting in increased food security and trade.

About the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI):

CABI is an international, inter-governmental, not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

Their approach involves putting information, skills and tools into people’s hands. CABI’s 49 Member Countries guide and influence their work which is delivered by scientific staff based in their global network of centers.

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

CGIAR Initiative: Excellence in Agronomy

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Smallholdings represent over 80% of the world’s farms, mostly located in the Global South, and supply 50% of global food. Enhanced agronomy management has a great potential to increase productivity, sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness of these smallholdings, which is characterized by low and variable yields and profitability, smallholder farming challenges include water scarcity, climate change, low resource use efficiencies and declining soil health. These result in negative impacts on food and nutrition security, equitable livelihoods and ecosystem health.  

Smallholder farmers seasonally make critical agronomic decisions regarding crop choice, planting dates and pest, disease, weed, soil fertility and water management, often based on suboptimal practices and information. Traditional agronomic research enhances our understanding of basic processes, but with limited connection to stakeholder demand and often based on outdated approaches. The development, deployment and uptake of interventions is hampered by social, economic and institutional constraints, further confounded by adherence to conventional supply-driven innovation strategies.

Objective

This Initiative aims to deliver an increase in productivity and quality per unit of input (agronomic gain) for millions of smallholder farming households in prioritized farming systems by 2030, with an emphasis on women and young farmers, showing a measurable impact on food and nutrition security, income, resource use, soil health, climate resilience and climate change mitigation.  

Activities

This objective will be achieved through:

  • Facilitating the delivery of agronomy-at-scale solutions, including development and technical/user-experience validation and the co-creation and deployment of gender- and youth-responsive solutions to smallholder farmers via scaling partners. 
  • Enabling the creation of value from big data and advanced analytics through the assembly and governance of data and tools; application of existing analytics and solutions for specific use cases; supply of information on climate impacts, inclusivity and sustainability of agronomic solutions; and national agricultural research system capacity strengthening. 
  • Driving the next generation of agronomy-at-scale innovations by addressing key knowledge gaps and facilitating innovation in agronomy research through engagement with partners. 
  • Nurturing internal efficiencies for an agile and demand-driven agronomy research and development community through internal organization and external partnerships for prioritization, demand mapping and foresight. 

CGIAR Initiative: Plant Health

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Effective plant health management is critical for improving the productivity, profitability, sustainability and resilience of agrifood systems. Yet, farming communities, especially in low- and middle-income countries, struggle to contain existing and emerging plant pests and diseases. Each year, these threats cause on average 10–40% losses to major food crops, costing the global economy around US$220 billion. The highest losses are associated with food-deficit regions with fast-growing populations. 

Increasing international trade and travel, coupled with weak phytosanitary systems, are accelerating the global spread of pests and diseases. The situation is exacerbated by climate change, with agricultural intensification and diversification driving the emergence of new threats. These burdens fall disproportionately on poorly resourced communities, especially women and youth in rural areas. 

Diagnostic capacity, global-scale surveillance data, risk prediction/forecasting and rapid response and management systems for major pests and diseases are still lacking. Inadequate information and knowledge of and access to climate-smart control options leave smallholders and marginalized communities ill-equipped to respond to biotic threats. Environmental and health effects of toxic pesticides, exposure to mycotoxins and acute unintentional pesticide poisoning are major concerns.

Objective

This Initiative aims to protect agriculture-based economies of low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America from devastating crop pest incursions and disease outbreaks by developing, validating and deploying inclusive innovations, and by leveraging and building viable networks across an array of national, regional and global institutions.

Activities

This objective will be achieved by:

  • Bridging knowledge gaps and networks for plant health threat identification and characterization, focusing on strengthening the diagnostic and surveillance capacity of national plant protection organizations and national agricultural research and extension systems, and facilitating knowledge exchange on pests and diseases. 
  • Building capability of relevant national stakeholders for risk assessment, and data management and guiding preparedness for rapid response, focusing on controlling the introduction and spread of pests and diseases by developing and enhancing tools, standards and policies. 
  • Improving integrated pest and disease management, focusing on designing and deploying approaches against prioritized plant health threats in targeted crops and cropping systems. 
  • Designing and deploying tools and processes for protecting food chains from contamination, specifically, through innovations for reducing mycotoxin contamination to protect health, increase food/feed safety, enhance trade, diversify end-use and boost income. 
  • Promoting gender-equitable and socially inclusive scaling of plant health innovations to achieve impacts through multistakeholder partnerships, inter-disciplinary research, effective communications and capacity development.

Partnerships crucial for protecting plant health

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Prasanna Boddupalli presents at the International Plant Health Conference, September 2022. (Photo: International Plant Health Conference)

CGIAR research centers involved in the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative joined forces at the International Plant Health Conference in London on September 21-23, 2022 to highlight the importance of global partnerships in effectively preventing and managing devastating pest and disease outbreaks in the Global South.

In an interactive side event on Plant Health Management in the Global South through Partnerships on September 21, the Plant Health Initiative team presented on and discussed: global diagnostic and surveillance systems against plant pests and diseases; risk assessment and preparedness for proactive response; integrated pest and disease management; mycotoxin mitigation strategy; and gender and social inclusion.

The CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, launched in January 2022, aims to protect agriculture-based economies of low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America from pest and disease outbreaks in major crops by leveraging and building viable networks across an array of national, regional, and international institutions.

Building on a track record of more than 50 years of impactful research, the Plant Health Initiative aims to develop and deploy solutions through partnerships, and to achieve impacts that contribute towards several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Healthy crops for a healthy planet

Showing the strength of partnerships in action, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Alliance Bioversity-CIAT (ABC), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Potato Center (CIP), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) highlighted the Initiative’s activities and sought feedback from the plant health experts participating in the session.

Martin Kropff, CGIAR Science Director of Resilient Agrifood Systems, welcomed the participants to the session. Prasanna Boddupalli, CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead & Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, introduced the Initiative and its scope, emphasizing the inclusive partnerships. This was followed by presentations from Monica Carvajal (ABC), Lava Kumar (IITA), Alejandro Ortega-Beltran (IITA), Nozomi Kawarazuka (CIP), and Yanyan Liu (IFPRI).

Time was dedicated to engaging participants through Mentimeter polling on specific questions related to plant health management. Participants also shared their views on plant health research coordination, capacity strengthening, and knowledge exchange between the Global North and Global South, with a focus on improving food security and livelihoods of smallholders.

The event was successful not only in generating greater understanding of the Initiative amongst the participants, but also in developing significant interest from the participants to contribute to the Initiative’s goals with collective actions, all for the benefit of smallholders in the low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Establishing wider networks for plant health

The Plant Health Initiative team, together with Kropff, also had a productive discussion on September 22 with Osama El-Lissy, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretary, on opportunities for joint actions on plant health management in the Global South by IPPC and the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, together with national partners.

Boddupalli also participated in a workshop on September 20 organized by Euphresco, a network of organizations that fund research projects and coordinate national research in the phytosanitary area, at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the United Kingdom, on shaping global plant health research coordination. The workshop participants discussed and endorsed several actions for advancing global plant health research coordination.

Participants of a workshop by Euphresco endorsed actions to advance research coordination for global plant health. (Photo: Euphresco)

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.

Ecological farming a boon for staple crop farmers in Africa, new study finds

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Press releases.

Elufe Chipande (left), a farmer at Songani in Zomba District, Malawi, is rotating maize (background) and pigeonpea (foreground) under conservation agriculture practices to improve soil fertility and capture and retain more water. Christian Thierfelder (center), a cropping systems agronomist working out of the Zimbabwe office of CIMMYT, advises and supports southern African farmers and researchers to refine and spread diverse yield-enhancing, resource-conserving crop management practices. Photo: Mphatso Gama/CIMMYTSRUC

An international team of scientists has found that eco-friendly practices such as growing a range of crops, including legumes such as beans or pigeonpea, and adding plant residues or manure to soils can raise food crop yields in places such as rural Africa, where small-scale farmers cannot apply much nitrogen fertilizer.

Published in the science journal Nature Sustainability and examining data from 30 long-running field experiments involving staple crops (wheat, maize, oats, barley, sugar beet, or potato) in Europe and Africa, this major study is the first to compare farm practices that work with nature to increase yields and explore how they interact with fertilizer use and tillage.

“Agriculture is a leading cause of global environmental change but is also very vulnerable to that change,” said Chloe MacLaren, a plant ecologist at Rothamsted Research, UK, and lead author of the paper. “Using cutting-edge statistical methods to distill robust conclusions from divergent field experiment data, we found combinations of farming methods that boost harvests while reducing synthetic fertilizer overuse and other environmentally damaging practices.”

Recognizing that humanity must intensify production on current arable land to feed its rising numbers, the paper advances the concept of “ecological intensification,” meaning farming methods that enhance ecosystem services and complement or substitute for human-made inputs, like chemical fertilizer, to maintain or increase yields.

Boosting crop yields and food security for far-flung smallholders

The dataset included results from six long-term field experiments in southern Africa led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Africa’s farming systems receive on average only 17 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared to more than 180 kilograms per hectare in Europe or close to 600 in China, according to Christian Thierfelder, a CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist and study co-author.

“In places where farmers’ access to fertilizer is limited, such as sub-Saharan Africa or the Central American Highlands, ecological intensification can complement scarce fertilizer resources to increase crop yields, boosting households’ incomes and food security,” Thierfelder explained. “We believe these practices act to increase the supply of nitrogen to crops, which explains their value in low-input agriculture.”

The CIMMYT long-term experiments were carried out under “climate-smart” conservation agriculture practices, which include reduced or no tillage, keeping some crop residues on the soil, and (again) growing a range of crops.

“These maize-based cropping systems showed considerable resilience against climate effects that increasingly threaten smallholders in the Global South,” Thierfelder added.

Benefits beyond yield

Besides boosting crop yields, ecological intensification can cut the environmental and economic costs of productive farming, according to MacLaren.

“Diversifying cropping with legumes can increase profits and decrease nitrogen pollution by reducing the fertilizer requirements of an entire crop rotation, while providing additional high-value food, such as beans,” MacLaren explained. “Crop diversity can also confer resilience to weather variability, increase biodiversity, and suppress weeds, crop pests and pathogens; it’s essential, if farmers are to improve maize production in places like Africa.”

Thierfelder cautioned that widespread adoption of ecological intensification will require strong support from policymakers and society, including establishing functional markets for legume seed and for marketing farmers’ produce, among other policy improvements.

“Dire and worsening global challenges — climate change, soil degradation and fertility declines, and scarcening fresh water — threaten the very survival of humanity,” said Thierfelder. “It is of utmost importance to renovate farming systems and bring us back into a safe operating space.”

Click here to read the paper, Long-term evidence for ecological intensification as a pathway to sustainable agriculture.

For more information or interviews:

Rodrigo Ordoñez, Communications Manager

Email: r.ordonez@cgiar.org

Tel: +52 55 5804 2004, ext. 1167

 

CGIAR Plant Health Initiative formally launched on the International Day of Plant Health

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

National, regional, and international partners at the CGIAR Plant Health and Rapid Response to Protect Food Security and Livelihoods Initiative launch in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12, 2022. (Credit: Susan Otieno)

CGIAR together with national, regional, and international partners kicked off the Plant Health and Rapid Response to Protect Food Security and Livelihoods Initiative also known as the Plant Health Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12-13, 2022. The Initiative’s inception meeting was fittingly held on the first-ever International Day of Plant Health on May 12 and was attended by over 200 participants (both in-person and virtual), representing diverse institutions.

The Plant Health Initiative targets a broad range of pests and diseases affecting cereals (especially rice, wheat and maize) and legumes such as beans, faba bean, chickpea, lentil, and groundnut; potato; sweet potato; cassava; banana; and other vegetables.

Speaking at the meeting, CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead and Director of Global Maize Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) noted that climate change, together with human activities and market globalization, is aggravating challenges to plant health, including outbreaks of devastating insect-pests and diseases. In addition, according to data from the African Union Partnership on Aflatoxin Control in Africa (AUC-PACA), 40 percent of commodities in local African markets exceed allowable levels of mycotoxins in food, causing adverse effects on diverse sectors, including agriculture, human health, and international trade.

“The CGIAR Plant Health Initiative is, therefore, a timely program for strengthening inter-institutional linkages for effective plant health management especially in the low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, said Prasanna. “This calls for synergizing multi-stakeholder efforts to improve diagnostics, monitoring and surveillance, prediction and risk assessment of transboundary pests and pathogens, and implementing integrated pest and disease management in a gender-responsive and socially inclusive manner.”

Demand-driven multistakeholder approach

CGIAR Global Science Director for Resilient Agrifood Systems Martin Kropff reiterated the importance of the Initiative, and emphasized the need for a global plant health research-for-development consortium. He mentioned that all the CGIAR Initiatives, including the Plant Health Initiative, are demand-driven and will work closely with national, regional, and international partners for co-developing and deploying innovative solutions.

The chief guest at the event, Oscar Magenya, Secretary of Research and Innovation at Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, pointed out the need for a well-coordinated, multisectoral and multistakeholder approach to managing invasive pests and diseases. He recognized CGIAR’s contribution and partnership with the Government of Kenya through CIMMYT, especially in combating maize lethal necrosis and wheat rust in Kenya.

“As government, we invite the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative to partner with us in implementing the Migratory and Invasive Pests and Weeds Management Strategy that was launched recently [by the Kenya Government],” said Magenya.

Implications of Plant Health in Africa and globally

Zachary Kinuya, Director of Crop Health Program at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) spoke on the importance of plant health management to African stakeholders, and observed that in addition to improved crop production, food and feed safety must be given adequate priority in Africa.

Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Jingyuan Xia applauded CGIAR for launching the global Initiative. Through his virtual message, Xia stated that the goals of the two organizations are aligned towards supporting farmers and policy makers in making informed decisions and ultimately ending global hunger. He added that the CGIAR has strong research capacity in developing and disseminating new technologies.

CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts explained how negative impacts on plant health, combined with climate change effects, can lead to global production losses and food system shocks, including the potential to result in food riots and humanitarian crises. He challenged stakeholders in the meeting to resolve tomorrow’s problems today, through collective and decisive action at all levels.

Sarah M. Schmidt, Fund International Agriculture Research Advisor_GIZ Germany making a contribution during the Launch of the Plant Health Initiative. (credit Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

The German development agency (GIZ) Fund International Agricultural Research (FIA) Advisor Sarah Schmidt said that GIZ supports the Initiative because of its interest in transformative approaches in innovations for sustainable pest and disease management. Recognizing women’s major involvement in farming in Africa, Schmidt said there is a need to empower and equip women with knowledge on plant health as this will result to greater productivity on farms in Africa. “We welcome that the Plant Health Initiative dedicated an entire crosscutting work package to equitable and inclusive scaling of innovations,” she added.

Participants at the launch were also reminded by Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), that the Initiative is now at the critical phase of Implementation and requires diverse actors to tackle different issues in different geographies. Ravi added that biosecurity and plant health are important subjects for the Asia-Pacific region, in view of the emergence of new pests and diseases, and therefore the need to save the region from destructive pest incursions.

Other online speakers at the launch included Harold Roy Macauley, Director General of AfricaRice & CGIAR Regional Director, Eastern and Southern Africa; Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CGIAR Regional Director, West and Central Africa; and Joaquin Lozano, CGIAR Regional Director, Latin America & the Caribbean.

Reflecting on gender, social inclusion, and plant health

Panel discussions allowed for more in-depth discussion and recommendations for the Initiative to take forward. The panelists delved into the progress and challenges of managing plant health in the Global South, recommending a shift from a reactive to a more proactive approach, with strong public-private partnerships for sustainable outcomes and impacts.

Gender inequities in accessing the plant health innovations were also discussed. The discussion highlighted the need for participatory engagement of women and youth in developing, validating and deploying plant health innovations, a shift in attitudes and policies related to gender in agriculture, and recognition and deliberate actions for gender mainstreaming and social inclusion for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

B.M. Prasanna speaking at the launch. (credit: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Charting the course for the Initiative

The Plant Health Initiative Work Package Leads presented the Initiative’s five specific work packages and reiterated their priorities for the next three years.

“We are looking forward to taking bold action to bring all players together to make a difference in the fields of farmers all over the world,” said Prasanna.

The Initiative is poised to boost food security, especially in key locations through innovative and collaborative solutions.

For more information, visit the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative page or download a brief. 

Panel Discussion Presentations

“Plant Health Management in the Global South: Key Lessons Learnt So Far, and the Way Forward” moderated by Lava Kumar (IITA) with panelists: Florence Munguti [Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS)], Maryben Chiatoh Kuo (African Union-Inter-African Phytosanitary Council), Roger Day (CABI) and Mark Edge (Bayer).

 “Scaling Strategy, including Gender and Social Inclusiveness of Plant Health Innovations” moderated by Nozomi Kawarazuka (CIP), with panelists Jane Kamau (IITA), Alison Watson (Grow Asia), Sarah Schmidt (GIZ), Aman Bonaventure Omondi (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT) and Nicoline de Haan (CGIAR Gender Platform)

Work Package Title and Leads

Work Package 1: Bridging Knowledge Gaps and Networks: Plant Health Threat Identification and Characterization

Lead: Monica Carvajal, Alliance of Bioversity-CIAT

Work Package 2: Risk Assessment, data management and guiding preparedness for rapid response

Lead: Lava Kumar, IITA

Work Package 3: Integrated pest and disease management

Lead: Prasanna Boddupalli, CIMMYT

Work Package 4: Tools and processes for protecting food chains from mycotoxin contamination

Lead: Alejandro Ortega-Beltran, IITA

Work Package 5: Equitable and inclusive scaling of plant health innovations to achieve impacts Co-leads:Nozomi Kawarazuka, International Potato Center (CIP), Yanyan Liu, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Kate Dreher, Data Manager at CIMMYT, presents to scientists, technicians, data management and support teams during the training on the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Umazi Otieno/CIMMYT)

Researchers in East Africa add the Enterprise Breeding System to their work tools

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

Kate Dreher, Data Manager at CIMMYT, presents to scientists, technicians, data management and support teams during the training on the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Umazi Otieno/CIMMYT)
Kate Dreher, Data Manager at CIMMYT, presents to scientists, technicians, data management and support teams during the training on the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Umazi Otieno/CIMMYT)

Scientists overseeing breeding, principal technicians and data management and support staff from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) learned about the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) at a training in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 4–6, 2022. This was the first in-person training on this advanced tool held in Eastern Africa.

Kate Dreher, Data Manager at CIMMYT, was the primary trainer. Dreher sought to ensure that scientists and their teams are well equipped to confidently use the EBS for their programs, including the creation and management of trials and nurseries. During the training, participants had the opportunity to test, review and give feedback on the system.

“The EBS is an online comprehensive system that brings together different types of data, including field observations and genotypic data, to harmonize processes across all teams and enable optimized decision-making in the short term and continuous learning for the long term,” Dreher said.

She explained that the EBS is more efficient than the former approach of using the Excel-based Maize Fieldbook software, even though it managed several useful processes.

The EBS is currently available to registered breeding and support team members and data managers from CIMMYT, IITA, IRRI and AfricaRice, across all geographies where related programs are implemented. Currently, the EBS is used by programs in maize, rice and wheat crops.

A more streamlined approach

“Although teams sent germplasm and phenotypic data for centralized storage in two databases (IMIS-GMS and MaizeFinder) managed by the data management team in Mexico in the past, this required curation after the data had already been generated,” Dreher said. “The EBS will enable teams to manage their germplasm and trial nursery data directly within one system.”

The EBS stores information on germplasm and linked seed inventory items. It is also designed to house and perform analyses using phenotypic and genotypic data. Users can also capture metadata about their trials and nurseries, such as basic agronomic management information and the GPS coordinates of sites where experiments are conducted.

Yoseph Beyene, Regional Maize Breeding Coordinator for Africa and Maize Breeder for Eastern Africa at CIMMYT, observed that the training gave him firsthand information on the current capabilities and use of the live version to search germplasm and seed, and the capabilities to create nurseries and trials.

“In the AGG project, we have one primary objective which focuses on implementing improved data management, experimental designs and breeding methods to accelerate genetic gain and improved breeding efficiency. Therefore, implementing EBS is one of the top priorities for AGG project,” said Yoseph, who leads the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods Project (AGG).

Lourine Bii, an Assistant Research Associate who recently joined CIMMYT and the only female research technician on the Global Maize program based in Kenya, also found the training useful. “The EBS is a fantastic system that enables an individual to create experiments. The system links a team, for instance a product development team, to get live updates on the various stages of creating an experiment, reducing back and forth by email.”

The system’s software development is ongoing. The development team continues to add and enhance features based on feedback from users.

Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of biodiversity held in the world’s genebanks to develop new climate-smart crop varieties for millions of small-scale farmers worldwide. It aims to identify plant accessions in genebanks that contain alleles, or gene variations, responsible for characteristics such as heat, drought or salt tolerance, and to facilitate their use in breeding climate-resilient crop varieties.

Through this project, breeders will learn how to use genebank materials more effectively and efficiently to develop climate-smart versions of important food crops, including cassava, maize, sorghum cowpea, and rice.

Building on 10 years of support to CIMMYT from the Mexican government, CGIAR Trust Fund contributors, and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project combines the use of cutting-edge technologies and approaches, high-performance computing, GIS mapping, and new plant breeding methods to identify and use accessions with high value for climate-adaptive breeding of varieties needed by farmers and consumers.

This project works closely with the Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project.

Objectives

  • Support faster and more cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate -adaptive alleles from the world’s germplasm collections
  • Test integrated approaches for five major crops (i.e., cassava, maize, sorghum, cowpea, and rice), providing a scalable model for the rapid and cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles.
Sorghum field in Kiboko, Kenya. (Photo: E Manyasa/ICRISAT)

CIMMYT to lead CGIAR varietal improvement and seed delivery project in Africa

Written by Marcia MacNeil on . Posted in News.

Sorghum field in Kiboko, Kenya. (Photo: E Manyasa/ICRISAT)
Sorghum field in Kiboko, Kenya. (Photo: E Manyasa/ICRISAT)

As part of the One CGIAR reform, the Global Science Group on Genetic Innovation will implement a crop breeding and seed systems project for key crops including groundnut, sorghum and millet, across western and eastern African countries.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a leader in innovative partnerships, breeding and agronomic science for sustainable agri-food systems, will lead the project.

The Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA) project aims to improve the health and livelihoods of millions by increasing the productivity, profitability, resilience and marketability of nutritious grain, legumes and cereal crops. The project focuses on strengthening networks to modernize crop breeding by CGIAR and national program partners, and public-private partnerships to strengthen seed systems. The project currently works in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania.

“Sorghum, groundnut and millets are essential staples of nutritious diets for millions of farmers and consumers and are crucial for climate-change-resilient farming systems,” explained CIMMYT Deputy Director General and Head of Genetic Resources, Kevin Pixley. “The oversight of this project by CGIAR’s Genetic Innovation Science Group will ensure continued support for the improvement of these crops in partnership with the national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) that work with and for farmers,” he said.

“CIMMYT is delighted to lead this project on behalf of the Genetic Innovations Science Group and CGIAR,” confirms CIMMYT Director General, Bram Govaerts.

“We look forward to contributing to co-design and co-implement with partners and stakeholders the next generation of programs that leverage and build the strengths of NARES, CGIAR and others along with the research to farmers and consumers continuum to improve nutrition, livelihoods, and resilience to climate change through these crops and their cropping systems.”

MAIZE partners announce a new manual for effectively managing maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

For a decade, scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been at the forefront of a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional effort to contain and effectively manage maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in Africa.

When the disease was first reported in Kenya 2011 it spread panic among stakeholders. Scientists soon realized that almost all commercial maize varieties in Africa were susceptible. What followed was a superlative effort coordinated by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) to mobilize “stakeholders, resources and knowledge” that was recently highlighted in an external review of program.

The publication of Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN): A Technical Manual for Disease Management builds on the partnerships and expertise accrued over the course of this effort to provide a comprehensive “guide on best practices and protocols for sustainable management of the MLN.”

The manual is relevant to stakeholders in countries where MLN is already present, and also aims to offer technical tips to “‘high-risk’ countries globally for proactive implementation of practices that can possibly prevent the incursion and spread of the disease,” writes B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and MAIZE, in the foreword.

“While intensive multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional efforts over the past decade have helped in containing the spread and impact of MLN in sub-Saharan Africa, we cannot afford to be complacent. We need to continue our efforts to safeguard crops like maize from devastating diseases and insect-pests, and to protect the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholders,” says Prasanna, who is presently leading the OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative Design Team.

Mexico’s seed producers honor CIMMYT work to breed and spread high-yield maize

Written by Ricardo Curiel on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts (left) presents during the AMSAC award ceremony in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Photo: Ricardo Curiel/CIMMYT)
CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts (left) presents during the AMSAC award ceremony in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Photo: Ricardo Curiel/CIMMYT)

The Association of Mexican Seed Producers (Asociación Mexicana de Semilleros, A.C., or AMSAC) gave the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) its annual Cesár Garza Award for work by MasAgro (Crops for Mexico), a project that develops and spreads high-yielding, climate resilient maize and improved farming practices in Mexico. MasAgro is operated by CIMMYT and Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER).

“We unanimously selected CIMMYT for having established an effective and inclusive network of some 100 Mexican testing sites to generate and spread hybrid seed adapted to the country’s diverse agro-ecologies,” said José Luis Gastelum Careaga, president of the governing council of AMSAC, a group of more than 70 seed companies.

The award ceremony took place in Playa del Carmen, in Mexico’s Quintano Roo state, on November 4, 2021.

CIMMYT breeding research is behind the development of 70 new maize hybrids released in Mexico by dozens of small- and intermediate-scale seed companies, helping to double the maize yields of farmers who adopt them, according to Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT director general and leader of the Center’s work in MasAgro.

“AMSAC’s recognition comes at a crucial time, when public support for crop breeding, seed systems, and capacity building are more urgent than ever in the face of climate change and increased, pandemic-related food insecurity,” Govaerts said. “We’ll leverage this prestigious award and our strong partnership with AMSAC members to move toward an improved and more widespread version of MasAgro’s integrated approach for transforming Mexico’s cereal crop farming systems.”

Propelling public-private partnerships

CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts (right) collects the Cesár Garza Award given to the MasAgro (Crops for Mexico) project. (Photo: Ricardo Curiel/CIMMYT)
CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts (right) collects the Cesár Garza Award given to the MasAgro (Crops for Mexico) project. (Photo: Ricardo Curiel/CIMMYT)

Taking advantage of CIMMYT training and breeding lines, Mexican seed producers working with MasAgro have boosted their maize seed sales 33% — or 4.6% yearly — during 2011–20, Govaerts said.

This and the recent award illustrate CIMMYT’s success at sharing improved maize through powerful, decades-long partnerships with public and private entities. Small- and medium-scale seed companies have benefitted from access to CIMMYT breeding lines, technical support, business model training, and Center participation in efforts to foster competitive seed markets, according to a recently published book documenting 50 years of maize research by CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Both centers are members of CGIAR, the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network.

“The increased number and market share of [small- and medium-scale] maize seed companies in Mexico and sub-Saharan Africa in recent years are strongly linked to the availability of stable, stress tolerant inbreds from CGIAR programs,” the book’s executive summary states. “The annual production … of over 130,000 tons of seed of CGIAR-derived stress-tolerant hybrids in Africa by [small- and medium-scale enterprises] … has addressed an important gap in seed markets not being met by multi-national companies.”

In 2015 more than a third of the area in sub-Saharan Africa was sown to new varieties and hybrids derived from CIMMYT and IITA breeding research, and adoption has accelerated since then, generating from $0.66 to 1.05 billion each year in economic benefits, according to a 2021 study.

As part of CIMMYT partnerships with large, multi-national seed companies, the Center has obtained royalty-free licenses to use proprietary technology and maize hybrids in specific areas of Africa, focusing on small-scale farmers. These partnerships, as well as similar agreements with advanced public research institutes, have fostered more widespread application for tropical maize of tools such as genomic selection, database software, and doubled haploids.

In Asia, building on collaborations from as far back as the 1960s, CIMMYT launched a maize improvement consortium in 2010 involving 25 mostly small- and medium-scale seed companies. For a modest annual fee to fund consortium management, members have access to early- and advanced-generation CIMMYT inbred lines and trait donors, as well as support services for hybrid development. This model has subsequently been copied in Mexico and in eastern and southern Africa (17 companies).

“CIMMYT science and support for maize and wheat farming systems span more than six decades and have brought impressive, well documented impacts in improved harvests and food security for those who grow and consume these globally-critical staple crops,” Govaerts said. “On behalf of the Center, I would like to recognize and thank those who fund our work, and especially the hundreds of skilled and committed partners without whom our efforts would not be possible.”

A group of farmers involved in participatory rice breeding trials near Begnas Lake, Pokhara, Nepal. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT/CCAFS)

From diagnosis to action on social equity

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Blogs.

A group of farmers involved in participatory rice breeding trials near Begnas Lake, Pokhara, Nepal. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT/CCAFS)
A group of farmers involved in participatory rice breeding trials near Begnas Lake, Pokhara, Nepal. (Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT/CCAFS)

As CGIAR develops 33 exciting new research Initiatives, it is essential for its new research portfolio to move beyond “diagnosing gender issues” and to supporting real change for greater social equity. Gender-transformative research and methodologies are needed, co-developed between scientists and a wide range of partners.

To advance this vision, gender scientists from ten CGIAR centers and key partner institutions came together from October 25 to 27, 2021, in a hybrid workshop. Some participants were in Amsterdam, hosted by KIT, and others joined online from Canada, the Philippines and everywhere in between.

The workshop emerged from gender scientists’ desire to create a supportive innovation space for CGIAR researchers to integrate gender-transformative research and methodologies into the new CGIAR Initiatives.

The organizing team calls this effort GENNOVATE 2, as it builds on GENNOVATE, the trailblazing gender research project which ran across the CGIAR between 2014 and 2018.

GENNOVATE 2 promises to help CGIAR Initiatives achieve progress in the Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Impact Area. It will also advance change towards Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10 on gender and other forms of inequality.

In the workshop, participants sought to:

  • Share and develop ideas, methods and approaches to operationalize gender-transformative research and methodologies. Working groups focused on an initial selection of CGIAR Initiatives, representing all the Action Areas of CGIAR:
    • ClimBeR: Building Systemic Resilience against Climate Variability and Extremes; (Systems Transformation)
    • Securing the Asian Mega-Deltas from Sea-level Rise, Flooding, Salinization and Water Insecurity (Resilient Agrifood Systems)
    • Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (Resilient Agrifood Systems)
    • Market Intelligence and Product Profiling (Genetic Innovation)
  • Build on the significant investments, methods, data, and results from the original GENNOVATE.
  • Conceive a community of practice for continued sharing, learning and collaboration, across and within Initiatives, to accelerate progress on gender and social equity.
Participants at the GENNOVATE 2 workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in October 2021.
Participants at the GENNOVATE 2 workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in October 2021.

Joining a vibrant community

GENNOVATE 2 is envisioned to complement the CGIAR GENDER Platform and the proposed new CGIAR gender-focused research Initiative, HER+.

“We have several gender methodology assets in CGIAR, and GENNOVATE is one of them,” said Nicoline de Haan, Director of the CGIAR GENDER Platform, opening the workshop. “We want to make sure we cultivate and grow the efforts started during GENNOVATE and move forward important lessons and practices in the new CGIAR portfolio.”

The team of scientists behind GENNOVATE 2 wants to support a vibrant community of researchers who “work out loud.” They will document and share their research methodologies, experiences and insights, in order to accelerate learning on gender issues and scale out successes more quickly.

The ultimate objectives of GENNOVATE 2 are to:

  • Develop and deepen a set of methodologies expected to directly empower women, youth, and marginalized groups in the targeted agri-food systems
  • Contribute to normative change towards increased gender equality across different scales, ranging from households to countries.
  • Generate and build an evidence base on the relationship between empowering women, youth and marginalized people, and moving towards climate-resilient and sustainable agri-food systems — and vice versa.

“An example of the added value GENNOVATE 2 can bring to CGIAR Initiatives is understanding what maintains prevailing gender norms in research sites, and also at relevant institutional and political levels,” said Anne Rietveld, gender scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and co-organizer of the workshop. “This will enable CGIAR scientists, partners and policymakers to design locally relevant gender-transformative approaches and policies for more impact. We can do this by building on our GENNOVATE 1 evidence base, adapting methods from GENNOVATE 1 and co-developing new methods in GENNOVATE 2.”

Participants at the GENNOVATE 2 workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in October 2021.
Participants at the GENNOVATE 2 workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in October 2021.

What’s next?

The workshop showed that many scientists from CGIAR and partner institutes are motivated to invest in the vision of GENNOVATE 2. Achieving impact in the Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Impact Area will require concerted efforts and inputs from scientists on the ground.

“There is a groundswell of experience and enthusiasm that you, we, this group brings. We need answers and we can and should work together to make this a reality,” remarked Jon Hellin, Platform Leader – Sustainable Impact in Rice-based Systems at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and co-lead of the ClimBeR Initiative.

The organizing team listed concrete actions to follow the workshop:

  • Developing processes and spaces for discussing methodological advancements among the gender scientists in these four Initiatives which other Initiatives can tap into, contribute to and become part of.
  • To develop these shared and integrated methodologies and approaches into a GENNOVATE 2 conceptual and methodological roadmap — to contribute to the CGIAR Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion Impact Area and guide other Initiatives, as well as bilateral research
  • To develop a position paper articulating what can be achieved through concerted efforts to integrate gender and social equity more effectively into the Initiatives, to showcase gender-transformative research methods for further development and implementation. The aim of the position paper is to influence global science leaders and CGIAR leadership in how they include issues of social equity in the Initiatives.
  • To support these conversations, learnings and harmonization processes through setting up a community of practice, where the “practice” to be improved is the practice of advancing gender research methodologies to go from diagnosis to action. This will start with a core group of enthusiastic researchers and then will expand as it gains momentum, so that all researchers in the various Initiatives interested in social equity can contribute
  • To seek funding opportunities to support the activities outlined above.

The GENNOVATE 2 organizing team welcomes the participation of interested CGIAR Initiatives as they move forward. The organizing team will also help strengthen interactions with external resource people and research networks, in to cross-pollinate new knowledge and innovations.

If you would like to know more about GENNOVATE 2, please contact Anne Rietveld, Gender Scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and Hom Gartaula, Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The GENNOVATE 2 workshop was supported with funds from the CGIAR Research Programs on Roots Tubers and Bananas, Maize, and Wheat.

Workshop organizers Anne Rietveld (Alliance), Cathy Rozel Farnworth (Pandia Consulting, an independent gender researcher), Diana Lopez (WUR) and Hom Gartaula (CIMMYT) guided participants. Arwen Bailey (Alliance) served as facilitator.

Participants were: Renee Bullock (ILRI); Afrina Choudhury (WorldFish); Marlene Elias (Alliance); Gundula Fischer (IITA); Eleanor Fisher (The Nordic Africa Institute/ClimBeR); Alessandra Galie (ILRI); Elisabeth Garner (Cornell University/Market Intelligence); Nadia Guettou (Alliance); Jon Hellin (IRRI); Deepa Joshi (IWMI); Berber Kramer (IFPRI); Els Lecoutere (CGIAR GENDER Platform); Angela Meentzen (CIMMYT); Gaudiose Mujawamariya (AfricaRice); Surendran Rajaratnam (WorldFish); Bela Teeken (IITA), among others.

External experts who provided methodological inputs were: Nick Vandenbroucke of Trias talking about institutional change; Shreya Agarwal of Digital Green talking about transformative data; Katja Koegler of Oxfam Novib talking about Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) for community-led empowerment; and Phil Otieno of Advocates for Social Change (ADSOCK) talking about masculinities and working with men.