The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Director General, Bram Govaerts, participated in a panel discussion on applied maize science to sustainably feed the world as part of the International Maize Congress on October 19-20, 2022 in Argentina.Â
The congress was organized by the governments of CĂłrdoba and of the Central Region provinces of Argentina, together with the Argentine Maize and Sorghum Association (MAIZAR) and the CĂłrdoba Grain Exchange.Â
Other panelists for the session included representatives from Argentina’s National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), and the National University of Mar del Plata.Â
In his presentation, Govaerts highlighted CIMMYTâs scientific efforts to improve the resilience of grain-based systems and produce sufficient, nutritious, and sustainable diets. He also shared CIMMYTâs determination to adopt a collaborative and future-proof approach to research, factoring in climate change to support effective decision-making processes for food producers and to meet demand for innovations and technologies.Â
The origins of the CGIAR, the worldâs largest publicly funded agricultural research consortium for the poor, are closely related to the Green Revolution; a revolution mostly told as the work of one Northern hero with a superior technology that saved the world from starvation. Only recently has the notion that the introduction of that superior technology was one of many investments and innovations that kicked off as the Revolution started to gain ground â and that these investments and innovations came from both the North and South. Scaling of innovation happens in a larger system, often one that feels resistant to whatever we try to scale or, like in the case of the Green Revolution, aligned with what was being scaled and thus led to a tipping point and a completely new way agriculture is produced. The Revolution changed our relation to food, from which there was no going back.
In my ten years at the CGIAR â from 2005 to 2010 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and then from 2017 to now at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) â major shifts can be observed in how scaling is approached.
First, scaling equals large adoption during the project, stemming from strong confidence that âif we build it, they will comeâ, or we just show how good our innovation is and others will scale it. From my own experience developing scale-appropriate drip irrigation in the Sahel, North Africa, I can say that approach hardly worked. When I re-joined the CGIAR in 2017, there was much more attention to the context in which the intervention is being scaled â we need to âcreate an enabling environmentâ for the innovation, and multiple innovations need to scale alongside âourâ, mostly technical, innovation. It was very interesting to see up close how more and more colleagues have started to question whether scaling is âgoodâ in the first place and whether it should be about âourâ innovations.
COVID-19 and the major energy transitions that are going on in Europe and some states in the United States of America (USA) seem to have awoken a much stronger systems view, the realization that change takes decades, and that there are winners and losers in that process. I think we did a great job in questioning the âsilver bulletâ and âtransfer of technologyâ mindset and see the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a transition process that requires radically different approaches and addresses multiple leverage points.
Scaling at One CGIAR
The major reform from 15 CGIAR centers to One CGIAR was the perfect opportunity to take scaling seriously as a science and an art. A range of methodologies have been developed, and informal networks of like-minded people have worked together a lot to push for a new paradigm on scaling. It is great that scaling is now well embedded in the One CGIAR strategy for the future. The big One CGIAR Initiatives have all reserved about 5 percent of their budgets to integrate scaling expertise. Also, scaling is very much recognized as a topic that requires a culture and mindset change within the organization to be much more effective.
Not surprisingly, the Call to Action from the Global South and its eight action points resonated a lot with me, especially since the following principles match really well:
It is not about reaching a target as fast as possible but about the whole environment for sustainability â more is not always better. Scaling can help us understand whether project outputs have contributed to something good (Action 1).
We need to reflect better on the viability of some innovations to go to scale â rather than promoting or selling our own solutions, supporting Southern solutions could increase viability (Action 7).
Problem owners should be in charge of scaling â scaling should be a locally owned process where those on the ground negotiate what is good and enough, and we, the research and development organizations, facilitate and support (Action 2).
The way projects are designed and implement set us up for failure. We create fake, highly controlled environments designed to prove that our innovation works â the gap with the reality on the ground could not be larger. The development community, with donors, need to rethink our approach (Action 5).
We need to invest in learning and the science of scaling. Organizations in the Global North need modesty in understanding that our role is not neutral and realize that there is so much we donât know (Action 8).
Within organizations, scaling is a cultural issue tightly connected to change management. We need to shift mindsets and behaviors to allow better scaling to happen.
That this Call comes from researchers in the Global South is so powerful. It shows us that the current ways of working are not delivering and paints a picture of a better way of doing things, but at the moment, we are in uncertain limbo between the two. The guidance in the Call can help to incite momentum and change. I believe we are coming to a critical mass of people that can tip the scale and that the actions in the Call can become the new normal â so that the stories we tell in the future focus not just on external (Northern) innovations that lead to big change, but on the interplay between what is going in the South and how external “solutions” fit in.
Cover photo: Lead farmer Santa Bhandari harvests green maize for her buffaloes
Neulapur, Bardiya, Nepal. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
How does CIMMYTâs improved maize get to the farmer?
CIMMYT is happy to announce four new, improved tropical maize hybrids that are now available for uptake by public and private sector partners, especially those interested in marketing or disseminating hybrid maize seed across Latin America and similar agro-ecological zones. Public- and private-sector organizations are hereby invited to apply for licenses to pursue national release and /or scale-up seed production and deliver these maize hybrids to farming communities.
The deadline to submit applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is 25 November 2022. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during subsequent rounds of product allocations.
The newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids, CIM20LAPP1C-9, CIM20LAPP1C-10, CIM20LAPP1A-11 and CIM20LAPP1A-12, were identified through rigorous trialing and a stage-gate advancement process which culminated in the 2020 and 2021 CIMMYT Latin America Stage 4 and Stage 5 Trials. The products were found to meet the stringent performance criteria for CIMMYTâs LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C breeding pipelines. While there is variation between different products coming from the same pipeline, the LA-PP1A and LA-PP1C pipelines are designed around the target product profiles described below:
Product Profile
Basic traits
Nice-to-have / Emerging traits
Target agroecologies
LatAM-PP1A
(Tropical Lowland White)
Intermediate maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to TSC, MLB, and ear rots
GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot
Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
LatAM-PP1C
(Tropical Lowland Yellow)
Intermediate maturing, yellow, high yielding, drought tolerant, and resistant to MLB and ear rots
GLS, Fusarium Stalk Rot
Latin-American lowland tropics and similar agroecologies.
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
Banner for the refresher webinar on fall armyworm management in South Asia. (Photo: CIMMYT)
The fall armyworm is a destructive polyphagous pest that feeds on more than 300 crop species, with a particular appetite for maize. The pest was first reported in Asia in 2018 and has been spreading in the region since then, especially in maize-producing countries of South Asia.
Several campaigns on identifying and managing fall armyworm have been conducted in South Asia, yet the challenge to control the pest remains. The damage caused by fall armyworm to farmersâ fields was reported widely during the 2022 spring maize season in Pakistan and Nepalâs Terai region. Many maize farmers complained about the current economic downturn, price hike of agricultural commodities and the unavailability of safe pesticides to reduce crop losses.
On 21 July 2022, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) initiated a refresher webinar to share the latest scientific advances and best practices for identifying and managing fall armyworm in South Asia. The platform extended an opportunity for the participants to understand and learn about effective integrated pest management (IPM) approaches being practiced in the region. It also addressed the importance of enabling policies that are crucial to foster innovations to reduce crop yield loss and save the environment from hazardous effects of toxic pesticides.
The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project (NSAF) team, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by CIMMYT, organized the virtual event in collaboration with Nepalâs Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepalâs National Maize Research Program, the Maize and Millet Research Institute in Pakistan, the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and CGIARâs Plant Health Initiative.
Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepalâs Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal, delivered their opening remarks during the inaugural session. The Secretary emphasized the use of safer methods, including but not limited to mass rearing and releasing of natural enemies of fall armyworm and the deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties.
âUSAID will continue working with partners to advocate and promote IPM practices till the pest becomes of non-economic importance,â said Seuc.
BM Prasanna, director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative lead emphasized the importance of IPM practices to manage the pest. Prasanna discussed the global efforts to control the pest and shared the progress of fall armyworm tolerant maize seeds which are being released and deployed by CIMMYT partners to help resource poor farmers, especially in Africa.
AbduRahman Beshir, NSAFâs seed systems lead, emphasized the importance of the event and acknowledged the participation of approximately 525 attendees from public and private research institutions, academicians, civil society, private sector, policy decision-makers, CGIAR centers and USAID Nepal. The webinar gathered attendees from 15 countries, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and China.
Experts from South Asia presented on a range of topics including the status of fall armyworm and its management in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Pacific Region, IPM practices and experience of using safe pesticides, breeding for native genetic resistance to fall armyworm, and biological control and push-pull strategies. The experts emphasized on the need for collective efforts to strengthen national and international coordination, favorable policies, deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties, and best response interventions to help farmers battle the fall armyworm and limit its spread.
Efforts to mitigate the impact of fall armyworm attacks are still ongoing. CIMMYT is continuously working to alert farmers and stakeholders on the IPM practices of fall armyworm in the region.
CIMMYT was the ninth depositor in the Seed Vault in 2022, with a contribution of 263 accessions of maize and 3,548 accession of wheat.
âProfessionally, I am pleased to carry out this activity that contributes to the conservation of genetic resources and guarantees food security of two of the major crops that feed the world,â said Rocio Quiroz, assistant research associate at CIMMYT. âWhen we prepare a shipment as a team, it is extraordinary because we contribute to the perpetuity of each accession deposited in the vault. Very few people have the privilege of doing so.â
Maize and wheat seeds begin their journey to the Seed Vault from CIMMYT Headquarters in Texcoco, near Mexico City, on September 22. (Photo: Francisco AlarcĂłn/CIMMYT)
What is the Seed Vault?
The Seed Vault is a genebank collection that holds duplicates of seeds from more than 1,700 genebanks around the world, playing the role of a backup collection. By protecting these varieties from catastrophic loss, the Seed Vault contributes towards food security for future generations.
Owned by Norway and managed in partnership between the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen, and the Crop Trust, the Seed Vault currently holds 1,165,041 seed varieties, with capacity for millions more.
In 2020, CIMMYT was the largest contributor, providing 173,779 maize and wheat accessions from 131 countries.
Colleagues from CIMMYTâs germplasm bank prepare a delivery of 263 accessions of maize and 3,548 accession of wheat. (Photo: Francisco AlarcĂłn/CIMMYT)
How is germplasm stored at CIMMYT?
CIMMYTâs own germplasm bank contains approximately 150,000 unique collections of wheat seed and its ancestors and is the largest unified collection in the world for a single crop.
For maize, the germplasm bank contains more than 28,000 samples, including the worldâs largest collection of maize landraces, representing nearly 90% of maize diversity in the Americas.
Carolina Sansaloni, manager of the wheat genebank at CIMMYT, said, âI am proud of all CIMMYT germplasm bank staff that made a great effort to send an additional 3,800 accessions to the Svalbard as safety duplications. This contribution is for the food security of humanity.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?
Smallholdings represent over 80% of the worldâs 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.âŻÂ
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.âŻÂ
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.Â
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.Â
Driving the next generation of agronomy-at-scale innovationsâŻby addressing key knowledge gaps and facilitating innovation in agronomy research through engagement with partners.Â
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.Â
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 10â40% 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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Improving integrated pest and disease management, focusing on designing and deploying approaches against prioritized plant health threats in targeted crops and cropping systems.Â
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.Â
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.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Aligned with, and building upon the Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this project aims to identify common bean 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. Additionally, within the maize work, the project focuses on transferring valuable novel genetic variation identified from landraces under the aligned project into breeding materials suitable for variety development in the Northern Triangle.
Through this project, breeders will learn how to use genebank materials more effectively and efficiently to develop climate-smart versions of important food crops.
Building on ten years of support to CIMMYT from the Mexican government, CGIAR Trust Fund contributors, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the ongoing Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this 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.
Objectives:
Support faster and more cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles from the worldâs germplasm collections.
Test integrated approaches for the rapid and cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles.
Today, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is excited to share with you the Annual Report 2021: From Discovery to Scaling Up.
Our latest Annual Report captures the three ways in which CIMMYT science makes a difference:
The scientific pathway from discovery and validation: In 2021, we embarked on an ambitious initiative to apply environmental genome-wide association methods to predict how today’s maize, rice, sorghum, cassava, groundnut, and bean varieties will perform in the future under climate scenarios, and help them succeed in three or four decades from now.
Translating science to innovation: Last year, we made important strides in boosting the resilience of maize and wheat to a hotter and drier world â and to the threats of ever-evolving and invasive pests and diseases.
Scaling up innovation for farmers and society: In collaboration with dozens of public- and private-sector partners in the countries where we work, in 2021 we scaled up sustainable technologies and farming practices for hundreds of thousands of farmers.
CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts presented the current challenges: âA global food crisis fueled by conflict, trade disruptions, soaring commodity prices and climate change.â He also expressed CIMMYT is ready to respond to the immediate and long-term threats facing humanity. âWe have solid, science-informed solutions, policy recommendations and proven methodologies that will help avert the global food security crisis that looms,â he said.
We want to thank all our funders and partners for their collaboration and support, year after year.
Women play an integral role in all stages of agrifood systems, yet their unpaid labor is often culturally and economically devalued and ignored. As agriculture becomes more female-oriented, women are left with a double workload of caring in the home and laboring in the fields, leaving no time for leisure. Training programs are often developed with only male farmers in mind, and women can be completely excluded when it comes to mechanization.
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), established by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is empowering women to become active participants in farming, improving their abilities and confidence through training, expanded access to machinery and better crop management practices. To celebrate International Day of Rural Women, here are stories from three of the women CIMMYT has helped.
Equality in agricultural opportunities
Nisha Chaudhary and her husband Kamal were engaged in agriculture, poultry and pig farming in Nepal, but struggled to provide for their family of seven; their combined income was never sufficient for them to make ends meet.
Through the CSISA COVID-19 Response and Resilience Activity, CIMMYT introduced Chaudhary to mechanization’s advantages and supported her to connect with banks, cooperatives, and machinery dealers to access financial support to introduce agriculture machinery into the family business. She became the first farmer in her village to acquire a mini combine rice mill and offer milling services. The following month, Chaudhary received additional tutoring from the Activity, this time in business management and mill repair and maintenance.
Learning about mechanization was eye-opening for Chaudhary, particularly as the Bankatti community that she comes from uses traditional methods or travels great distances to process grains using machines hired out by other communities.
Chaudhary’s primary income is now from her milling services, offering post-harvest processing services to 100 households and earning more than $150 USD each month; after deducting expenses, she is still able to save around $50 USD every month. She has bought four more cows, increasing the number of cattle she owns from 12 to 16, and is able to make her own for her livestock, saving an additional $20 USD per month.
Giving rural women the credit they deserve
As part of its response to the pandemic, CSISA launched a COVID-19 Response Activity aimed at supporting farmers and service providers to access subsidies and collateral-free loans via the Government of Nepal Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, designed to support agriculture-related businesses. Through this scheme, farmers received hands-on training in providing after-sales support to customers, as well as mentoring to learn how to operate machinery and use it to generate sales and income.
Smallholder female farmers have been subject to many hardships due to lack of access to finance. They are forced to sell produce at low prices and buy inputs at high prices, which makes them suffer financially and physically. Now, loans through appropriate intermediaries can foster rural entrepreneurship and the service delivery business model.
The KCC scheme gave Chaudhary financial security just when she needed it. Her next step, with her newfound confidence, respect of her community, and the support of a collateral-free loan from KCC, will be to launch her own poultry farm agri-business.
Eradicating discrimination in mechanization
The CSISA Mechanization and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA) enables smallholder female farmers to discover the advantages of scale-appropriate mechanization and its benefits: increased productivity, reduced labor costs, improved financial stability and greater food security.
Rokeya Begum was a stay-at-home mother to three children in Bangladesh and aspired to give her daughter a good education. However, her husband found it difficult to sustain the family as a factory worker due to the high cost of their daughter’s education.
As a result, Begum opted to work in an agriculture machinery manufacturing workshop like her husband. She was initially hesitant to work in a male-dominated workplace but on the other hand realized that this job would mean she could pursue the dream she had for her daughter. She immediately began using her earnings to fund her daughter’s education, who is currently in high school.
Begum was part of the grinding and painting departments at M/S Uttara Metal Industries in Bogura, Bangladesh, for five years. Her weekly wage was equivalent to $12 USD â insufficient to support her family or sustain a decent quality of life.
CSISA-MEA included Begum in skills training, which proved to be a gamechanger. She participated in CIMMYT’s training on spray gun painting, as well as in fettling and grinding skills. As part of both training programs, she learnt how to handle an air compressor paint gun and painting materials, as well as different painting methods. She has also learnt more about keeping herself safe at work using personal protective equipment. “Before the training, I did not know about the health risks â now I don’t work without PPE,” she said.
Begum used to paint the traditional way with a brush, but now the owner permits her to paint with a spray gun with her increased expertise. As a result, she has been promoted from day laborer to contractual employee in painting and grinding, with a new weekly salary of $50 USD. Her confidence has grown to the extent that she is comfortable in an engineering workshop among male coworkers.
Farmer Malti Devi in her field, where she grew wheat through zero-till. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)
Harvesting the benefits of improved practices
Farmer and mother of six, Malti Devi has an infectious smile that hardly reveals the toil and labor of her everyday farm work in India.
She grows wheat on nearly 0.45 acres of leased land. Her husband, a barber, earns an ordinary income that is insufficient for a family of eight. Despite the challenges, Devi has managed to earn income through her efforts in the field and by working as a daily wager in nearby fields.
To support women farmers like Devi, CSISA made efforts to build relationships via on-the-ground partnerships with civil society, women’s cooperatives like JEEViKa in Bihar and Mission Shakti in Odisha, or self-help groups. The team provides in-field demonstrations, training, workshops on best practices and support with access to better seed varieties and extension services. CSISA’s integrated approaches reach these women with information and associated technology that best serves them, while being climate-smart and sustainable.
Devi expressed that due to zero-till practice encouraged by the CSISA team, she saved time in the planting season, which she devoted to working on other’s fields for extra income. “The traditional method would have left me struggling for time, on the field or at home. Practices like zero-till ensured our crop was harvested on time with reduced input costs and resources and enabled a good harvest for consumption, and we could also sell some produce.”
Devi has ensured self-sufficiency for her family through her efforts and hopes to make use of the support in better crop management on offer from CSISA for wheat and other crops.
Cover photo: Rokeya Begum has increased her workshop salary through support from CSISA. (Photo: Abdul Mumin)
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 Initiativeâs 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 CIMMYTâs 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 Initiativeâs 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)
Using data from 2,279 farm households in Ethiopia, the results show a significant gap due to the observable and unobservable different characteristics of households headed by men and women. For example, women are less likely to adopt climate change adaptation measures due to their workload in household chores. However, evidence suggests that when the gender gap shrinks, climate change adaptation can be improved in female-headed households by almost 19%.
The study determined that policies must tackle unobservable characteristics in order to address the gender gap. Short-term projects and long-term gender-informed policies are essential in creating equitable opportunities for all.
This crucial work will support developing countries to achieve targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and farming householdsâ susceptibility to the risks of climate change.
Cover photo: Female farmer harvests green maize in Ethiopia. Women are essential to the agricultural sector, but the gender gap prevents them from embracing climate change adaptation measures. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
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 projectâs 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 projectâs major achievements in the opening session.
âOne 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 â 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. âIt 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 CIMMYTâs 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 meetingâs 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.
âCIMMYT 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. Itâs about synergies across crops and teams.”
Collaborative research commended
The meetingâs Chief Guest, Felister Makini, Deputy Director General â 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 â 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.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
