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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 November 29, 2021. Posted in Blogs.

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.

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.”

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.

The action zone and the globe at the Hydro, one of the venues in Glasgow where COP26 took place. (Photo: Karwai Tang/UK Government)

Science, technology and farmers, the three pillars of CIMMYT at COP26

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 29, 2021. Posted in Features.

From October 31 to November 12, all eyes and cameras turned to Glasgow, where the 26^th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention against Climate Change (COP26) took place in a hybrid format. With temperatures rising around the world and extreme weather events becoming increasingly frequent, country leaders and climate experts came together in Scotland to discuss the next steps in the fight against climate change.

Together with other CGIAR Centers, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) took part in this crucial conversation, drawing attention to the impact of climate change on smallholder agriculture and echoing CGIAR’s call for increased funding for agricultural research and innovation.

Here’s a summary of the events in which CIMMYT researchers and scientists participated.

“Because farmers feed us all: using climate for a resilient food system”

November 6, 2021

Sponsored by the UK Met Office, this event focused on the effects of climate change on the resilience of food systems and how this impact is factored into decision-making. Speakers discussed the real-life application of climate risk information, highlighting the importance of global collaboration and multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing context-specific climate services.

Focusing on CIMMYT’s work in Ethiopia, research associate Yoseph Alemayehu and senior scientist Dave Hodson provided some insights on the wheat rust early warning system. This revolutionary mechanism developed by CIMMYT and partners helps farmers in developing countries predict this disease up to a week in advance.

“COP26 highlighted the vulnerability of different agriculture sectors to climate change, including increased threats from pests and pathogens. From the work in Ethiopia on wheat rust early warning systems, strong partnerships and the application of advanced climate science can play an important role in mitigating some of the effects.” – Dave Hodson

“Developing Climate Resilient Food Systems Pathways: Approaches From Sub-Saharan Africa”

November 8, 2021

Putting an emphasis on participatory governance and community-centered technologies, this event showcased innovative approaches to strengthen the resilience of African food systems, calling for increased investment in the scale-up of climate-smart agriculture practices to meet growing demand.

Joining from Zimbabwe, Christian Thierfelder, Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist gave an overview of CIMMYT’s work in southern Africa, explaining how the introduction of conservation agriculture back in 2004 helped farmers overcome low crop yields and boost their incomes.

“If one thing was made clear at COP26, it is the urgent need for a change in the way we do agriculture. The status quo is not an option and we, as CIMMYT and part of the One CGIAR, will continue to generate the scientific evidence and climate-smart solutions to accelerate this change and address the climate challenges ahead of us, with farmers at the core of our work.” – Christian Thierfelder

“4 per 1000” Initiative Day

November 10, 2021

The “4 per 1000” Initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership of more than 650 members on food security and climate change, held a day-long hybrid event to explore how healthy soils can help agriculture and forestry adapt to and mitigate climate change.

At the Partner Forum, Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, stressed the urgent need to fund soil science to achieve its carbon sequestration potential, reiterating CIMMYT’s commitment to supporting this science with results-oriented actions that scale out sustainable practices and technologies.

“For me, the main take-away of the summit is the growing consensus and understanding that we need to transform agriculture and food systems to achieve global emissions targets on time.” – Bram Govaerts

Cover photo: The action zone and the globe at the Hydro, one of the venues in Glasgow where COP26 took place. (Photo: Karwai Tang/UK Government)

Harnessing the power of science to reduce poverty and malnutrition

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 24, 2021. Posted in News.

Researchers at work at CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. (Credit: Chris de Bode/CGIAR)

A five-year partnership being launched by the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)—a non-profit founded by Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna—and CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership, will harness the power of science to help millions of people overcome poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

One in four people globally, and rising, are unable to afford a healthy diet. COVID-19 has exacerbated this trend by disrupting food production and distribution, driving up by 20 percent the number of people threatened by hunger in 2020. The pandemic is unfolding amidst an environmental and climate crisis which is undermining food production and our ability to nourish the world.

But global consensus is building for urgent action. At the COP26 meetings in November, 45 nations committed to shifting to more sustainable ways of farming and accelerate the deployment of green innovations. Similarly, in late September, many government representatives at the United Nations Food Systems Summit committed to accelerating the transformation of how we grow, transport, process, and consume food. Recognizing the centrality of science and innovation for driving that transformation, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the world to scale public and private investment in research for food.

According to Barbara Wells, Global Director for Genetic Innovation at CGIAR: “World-class science is vital for facilitating farmer adaptation and mitigating our food system’s contribution to climate change. Plant-breeding innovations can help ramp up food production while making farms more climate resilient, profitable and environmentally friendly”.

“Technologies such as gene editing, which enable scientists to make targeted changes to a crop’s DNA, can accelerate the development of more disease-resistant, water-efficient varieties that can improve food production and nutrition in areas that are especially vulnerable to climate change,” Dr. Wells explained.

CGIAR has produced and promoted innovations that are boosting the sustainable production of nutritious food in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Over the past five decades, CGIAR scientists and national partners have developed and disseminated robust and highly productive crop varieties and livestock breeds tailored to the needs of local men and women. Those innovations have helped hundreds of millions of people across the Global South overcome hunger and poverty.

The IGI is a collaboration of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco with a mission to develop revolutionary genome-editing tools that enable affordable and accessible solutions in human health, climate, and agriculture. The IGI’s Climate & Sustainable Agriculture program focuses on developing crops that are resistant to pests and diseases, resilient to a changing climate, and less dependent on farmer inputs. Whereas the IGI is a pioneer in applied genomic research, CGIAR focuses on translating discoveries into improved crop varieties and cropping systems. This partnership provides an accelerated pipeline from upstream innovation to real-world impact.

“The IGI is testing technologies with great potential to benefit people in the countries where CGIAR is active, such as a way of removing the cyanide found in cassava—a staple upon which nearly a billion people depend—and fighting diseases in economically important crops like wheat, rice and bananas,” said Brian Staskawicz, the IGI Director of Sustainable Agriculture.

“The IGI is also pioneering new ways to reduce methane emissions from rice farming, which accounts for 2.5 percent of humanity’s contribution to global warming, by using genomic approaches to reduce methane production by soil microbes,” he added.

“By partnering with CGIAR, the IGI can ensure that the products of its research will benefit farmers and consumers in some of the world’s poorest countries, where CGIAR has been working for 50 years and has extensive partner networks,” said Dr. Melinda Kliegman, Director of Public Impact at the IGI. “Together we can accelerate the development and delivery of more climate-resilient, productive and nutritious crops for resource-poor farmers and consumers.”

Over the next five years, the IGI and CGIAR will use the latest breakthroughs in genomic science to enhance the resilience and productivity of farmers in low- and middle-income countries and improve the wellbeing and livelihoods of women and men in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Authored by CGIAR and the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)

Cover photo: Researchers at work at CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. (Credit: Chris de Bode/CGIAR)

Throwing money at the problem won’t solve world hunger

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 22, 2021. Posted in In the media.

In this op-ed, Harvard Professor Gabriela Soto Laveaga stresses the importance of tackling hunger as more than a technical problem to be addressed through scientific advancement alone, praising CGIAR for its community-centered & inclusive approach to food systems amid the climate crisis.

A farmer pumps water in a field close to the Pusa site of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), in India’s Bihar state. (Credit: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT)

Less water for better crops

Written by Bea Ciordia on November 12, 2021. Posted in Features.

In India, nearly one-sixth of groundwater reserves has been overexploited and almost one-fifth of them is either in critical or semi-critical condition. For a country that relies heavily on groundwater for drinking and irrigation, these statistics are close to a death sentence.

India’s water crisis, however, is not unique in the region. Population growth, coupled with increasing urbanization and industrialization, has made South Asia, one of the most heavily irrigated areas on earth, highly vulnerable to water stress. Moreover, as the effects of climate change are increasingly felt in those countries, agricultural production, even at the current level, may not be sustainable.

Against this background, ensuring that water resources are used efficiently and sustainably is key to meet the world’s growing demand. Over the last decades, traditional systems of irrigation have given way to more efficient drip irrigation systems that deliver the right amount of water and nutrients to the plant’s root zone. But as farm labor shortages become more severe, investing in automated irrigation systems — which promise increased production rates and product quality — will be the only way to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems worldwide.

A new article co-authored by a team of researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology synthesizes the available information related to the automation of drip irrigation systems and explores recent advances in the science of wireless sensor networks (WSN), the internet of things (IoT) and other communication technologies that increase production capacity while reducing costs.

“Bundling both elements — drip irrigation and automation — in water application can lead to large savings in irrigation and boost water efficiency, especially in high water-consuming, cereal-based systems like the Indo-Gangetic Plains,” explained M.L. Jat, a principal scientist at CIMMYT and one of the authors of the review.

Investing in data and youth

Smart irrigation technologies, including sensors and the IoT, allow farmers to take informed decisions to improve the quality and quantity of their crops, providing them with site-specific data on factors like soil moisture, nutrient status, weed pressure or soil acidity.

However, this information is still limited to certain soil types and crops. “To upgrade drip irrigation systems elsewhere, especially in ‘water-stressed’ regions, we need additional agricultural background data in those areas,” Jat pointed out. “That’s the only way we can effectively customize innovations to each scenario, as one size does not fit all.”

Making this data available to and readable by farmers is also essential. Here, young people can become very good allies, as they tend to be more technologically savvy and used to working with large volumes of information. “Not only are they more skilled to integrate agricultural data into decision-making, but they can also help older farmers adopt and trust intelligent irrigation systems,” Jat concluded.

Long-term research platform in Karnal, India, by H.S. Jat, Principal Scientist at ICAR-CSSRI. (Photo: ICAR-CSSRI and CIMMYT)

Incentives against subsidies

With increasing water shortages worldwide, making the most out of every drop becomes an urgent priority. But in countries where irrigation systems are highly subsidized, farmers may struggle to see this urgency. India, for instance, subsidizes the cost of energy to pump water for farming, thus encouraging smallholders to extract more than they need.

How do we incentivize farmers in these countries to embrace water-efficient technologies?

According to Jat, using the “scientific card” can work with smallholders who, after having farmed for decades, may not change their minds automatically. “These people may be reluctant to accept incentives for water-efficient mechanisms at first, but they will surely be interested in more scientific approaches,” Jat explained, stressing that “the emphasis must be on the science, not on the technology.”

Designing profitable business models can also incentivize producers to embrace more efficient mechanisms. Farmers who have enjoyed irrigation subsidies for decades may not see any profit in trying out new technologies — but what if they are given the chance to become champions or ambassadors of these agricultural innovations? “That brings in a whole new perspective,” Jat said.

Apart from incentivizing farmers, good business models can also draw the attention of large companies, which would bring investment to boost research and innovation in drip irrigation. “More and more businesses are getting interested in smart agriculture and low emission farming, and their inputs can help conceptualize the future of this field,” he observed.

New CSISA Infographic highlights the impact of the CIMMYT’s Soil Intelligence System (SIS)

Written by Nima Chodon on November 9, 2021. Posted in News.

In agriculture, good soil management is a pillar of productive systems that can sustainably produce sufficient and healthy food for the world’s growing population.

Soil properties, however, vary widely across geography. To understand the productive capacity of our soils, we need high-quality data. Soil Intelligence System (SIS) is an initiative to develop comprehensive soil information at scale under the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project in India. SIS is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in collaboration with ISRIC – World Soil Information, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and numerous local partners on the ground.

Funded by the Gates Foundation, the initiative launched in 2019 helps rationalize the costs of generating high-quality soils data while building accessible geo-spatial information systems based on advanced geo-statistics. SIS is currently operational in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha where the project partners collaborate with state government and state agricultural universities help produce robust soil health information.

Farmers are the primary beneficiaries of this initiative, as they get reliable soil health management recommendations to increase yields and profits sustainably while state partners, extension and agricultural development institutions and private sector benefit primarily by expanding their understanding for agricultural interventions.

Modern Soil Intelligence System Impact

CIMMYT’s SIS Project lead Balwinder Singh said, “The Soil Intelligence Systems initiative under CSISA is an important step towards the sustainable intensification of agriculture in South Asia. SIS has helped create comprehensive soil information – digital soil maps – for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. The data generated through SIS is helping stakeholders to make precise agronomy decisions at scale that are sustainable.”

Since its launch in December 2019, a wider network and multi-institutional alliances have been built for soil health management and the application of big data in addressing agricultural challenges. In the three states the infrastructure and capacity of partners have been strengthened to leverage soil information for decision-making in agriculture by devising new soil health management recommendations. For example, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, based on SIS data and outreach, State Fertilizer and Micronutrient Policy (SFMP) recommendations were created. Similarly, soil health management zones have been established to strengthen the fertilizer distribution markets enabling farmers with access and informed choices.

“Soil Intelligence System delivers interoperable information services that are readily usable by emerging digital agricultural decision support systems in India”, noted Kempen Senior Soil Scientist at ISRIC.

The three-part infographic highlights the impact of SIS initiative in the select three States and emphasizes the importance of SIS in other parts of the country as well.

Shifting to quality protein maize diet can provide cost-benefit for the poultry feed industry in Nepal

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 8, 2021. Posted in News.

The demand for maize for poultry feed in Nepal has increased dramatically over the years. It constitutes about 60% of the poultry feed and is considered as the principal energy source used in poultry diets. About 70% of the total crop required by the feed industry is imported and such dependence on import could jeopardize its sustainability if any political, natural or health related crisis disrupts the supply chain. In addition to maize, the industry also imports synthetic amino acid to meet the requirements of poultry production since the regular maize grain used by the feed industry is deficient in essential amino acids that helps form proteins.

A recent assessment conducted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Nepal highlights the prospects of using Quality Protein Maize (QPM) to mitigate protein deficiency found in regular maize. The authors suggest that the poultry feed industry can minimize the average feed cost by 1.5% by substituting regular maize with QPM. This would translate to a daily cost-saving of about US$26,000 for the industry. If this cost saving is shared across the value chain actors including farmers for domestic production of QPM and other biofortified maize vis a vis regular maize, then the dependency on imported maize can be significantly reduced.

The article published in the journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, estimated least cost diet formulations for broilers and layers of different age groups, and the potential gains to be garnered by the maize seed and grain value chain actors in Nepal.

According to the study, a ton of feed produced using QPM reduces feed cost by at least US$7.1 for the broilers and by US$4.71 for layers. As a result, Nepal’s poultry feed industry can pay a maximum of 4% price premium with the cost saving for QPM.

“Considering the cost reduction potential QPM brings over regular maize, it can be a win-win situation for the poultry feed sector and maize value chain actors if they are strongly linked and operated in an integrated fashion,” explain the authors.

“By building awareness on the cost benefits, the feed industry exhibited a positive perception during the study period to use QPM for feed. Linking the seed companies with the feed mills is essential to leverage the benefits of the product.”

To promote and expand QPM production in Nepal, the authors also recommend provision of seed and fertilizer subsidies by the Government of Nepal to feed producers and cooperatives ensuring a continuous supply of the product to meet the demand.

The GoN has released two varieties of QPM maize but due to lack of effective seed production, extension and marketing programs, the potential of QPM maize remains unutilized. However, the authors firmly believe that appropriate policy focus on QPM seed production and grain marketing including premium price for QPM growers, can change the scenario where the demand for maize for feed industry can be gradually managed with domestic production.

Read the full study: Cost advantage of biofortified maize for the poultry feed industry and its implications for value chain actors in Nepal

Cover photo: Scientists have discovered that Quality Protein Maize (QPM) can mitigate the protein deficiency found in regular maize. (Credit: CIMMYT)

Wheat stalks grow in a in India. (Photo: Saad Akhtar)

CIMMYT, AGG wheat experts share latest discoveries at BGRI Technical Workshop

Written by Marcia MacNeil on November 5, 2021. Posted in News.

Dave Hodson, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) senior scientist delivered a large-scale overview of the current global wheat rust situation and the state of disease surveillance systems. He underscored the importance of comprehensive early warning systems and promising new detection tools that help to raise awareness and improve control. A new assessment of the early warning system for rust In Ethiopia showed a real impact on farmers’ interest, awareness, and farming practices to control the disease, as well as high-level policy changes.

Alison Bentley, CIMMYT Global Wheat Program director, described cutting-edge tools and methods by CIMMYT and, in particular, the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG) project to increase wheat productivity in the face of changing climates. In addition to the new approaches on the supply side, she argued, we also need increased research on the demand side to better understand why farmers will choose a new variety, the role of markets and gender, and how we can scale up these systems. Bentley emphasized the criticality of supporting public and private sector efforts to get more improved germplasm into farmers’ fields in less time.

Philomin Juliana, CIMMYT Global Wheat Program associate scientist highlighted the pivotal role that data plays in breeding decisions and line advancements in CIMMYT’s wheat breeding program. This has been facilitated by improvements in how data sets, like genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs), are shared with breeders. “CIMMYT has adopted a holistic, data-driven selection approach” that leverages phenotypic data, genomic-estimated breeding values (GEBVs) and selection indices, Juliana explained.

CIMMYT maize hybrids

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 26, 2021. Posted in Uncategorized.

CIMMYT’s maize breeding focuses on developing elite maize hybrids suited to various agro-ecological zones across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Public and private institutions may apply for permission to register and subsequently commercialize CIMMYT maize varieties in specific countries within the framework of the applicable laws, rules and regulations, and policies and procedures as described here: Acquisition and use of CIMMYT maize hybrids and OPVs for commercialization.

Please visit the CIMMYT Maize Product Catalog to browse the CIMMYT hybrids available for licensing. License applications may be submitted via the CIMMYT Maize Licensing Portal.

International Maize Improvement Consortium for Africa (IMIC-Africa)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 26, 2021. Posted in Uncategorized.

Launched in May 2018, the International Maize Improvement Consortium for Africa (IMIC‐Africa) is a public-private partnership designed to strengthen maize breeding programs in Africa, and thereby improve African farmers’ access to high-quality, affordable, high-yielding and locally-adapted maize seed.

Any organization engaged in maize breeding for the African market is welcome to join the consortium, including national agricultural research institutions; small, medium and large maize seed companies; and international agricultural research organizations. Consortium members will have access to early-generation maize breeding material, an expansive hybrid evaluation network for robust evaluation of their products on various traits and across diverse agroecologies, training and capacity-development opportunities, and value-added research services offered at preferential rates.

The Consortium’s goal is to enhance the capacity of African maize breeding programs from public and private sectors to develop elite maize hybrids with client-preferred traits — including abiotic stress resilience, disease and insect pest resistance, and high yield potential — for the ultimate benefit of farming communities across Africa.

Objectives:

Providing members with access to CIMMYT’s early- and advanced-generation maize lines (breeding materials under development) to strengthen and diversify the germplasm used in their own breeding programs;
Allowing members to test their own pre-commercial maize hybrids in CIMMYT-led multi-location trials;
Improving members’ access to research services that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their own breeding programs;
Facilitating participation by members’ staff in annual training courses.

International Maize Improvement Consortium for Latin America (IMIC-LatAm)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 26, 2021. Posted in Uncategorized.

The International Maize Improvement Consortium for Latin America (IMIC-LatAm) promotes the sustainable development of the Latin American maize seed industry.

The Consortium is a partnership formed by CIMMYT and member institutions — including seed companies and national research programs — to achieve enhanced maize yields in Latin America.

IMIC-LatAm formalizes the sharing of maize lines under development with public and private maize breeding programs. It supports a vibrant germplasm testing network, offering opportunities for training and cross-learning among members. It also grants access to other special services offered by CIMMYT in Latin America, including maize quality analysis, doubled haploid development and molecular quality assurance/quality control.

The provision of early generation or advanced maize lines enhances the Consortium members’ capacity for germplasm development in their own breeding programs, including the collaborative establishment of multi-location testing of elite pre-commercial maize hybrids throughout Mexico and other countries in Latin America to identify products that can advance to commercialization and deployment.

Objectives:

Diversification of the germplasm base of members’ maize breeding programs through distribution of CIMMYT-derived lines-under-development
Strengthen members’ capacity to develop maize hybrid products through a participatory, multi-location hybrid evaluation network
Build the capacity of members’ maize breeding programs by providing training to their staff on prioritized technical areas related to maize breeding, seed production and marketing
Support members’ maize breeding programs by improving their access to value-added services provided by CIMMYT

MLN-sensitive (right) and MLN-resistant equivalent line at the MLN screening facility in Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Maize Lethal Necrosis phenotyping

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 26, 2021. Posted in Uncategorized.

The Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) Screening Facility quarantine site in Naivasha, Kenya, is used to provide MLN phenotyping services at cost to national agricultural research systems and seed companies in Africa.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have been screening germplasm against MLN in Kenya since November 2012. The dedicated screening facility in Naivasha was established in 2013. This facility now represents a high-quality phenotyping platform, permitting large-scale screening of germplasm from regional public and private partners.

The facility has enabled CIMMYT and its partners to identify numerous materials that are resistant or tolerant to this devastating maize disease. Many of these products are featured in CIMMYT’s Maize Product Catalog.

Dryland Crops

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 25, 2021. Posted in Uncategorized.

Dryland Crops, formerly known as the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project, aims to improve the livelihoods of small-scale producers and consumers of sorghum, millet, groundnut, cowpea and bean. Project partners focus on improving the breeding and seed systems of these crops in their key geographies in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Other crops receiving growing attention in the project include finger millet, pigeon pea and chickpea.

Although significant adoption of improved seed of dryland cereals and legume crops in Africa has been reported, its overall use remains low. There is a growing interest in these crops, particularly because of their resilience to climate-change; however, the seed sector is constrained by lack of product information, dearth of knowledge of the size and scale of the business opportunity, and inadequate access to early generation seed.

Dryland Crops will address these constraints by contributing to the establishment of robust systems that:

Enable networks to work synergistically across countries with common challenges and opportunities.
Support national agricultural research systems to access research, professional development and infrastructure-building opportunities.
Increase the quantity and quality of data substantiating varietal superiority and the demand for seed and grain of improved varieties.
Boost the availability of early generation seed and strengthen links between the research system and private- and public-sector actors.

The aspiration is to codevelop, validate by co-implementation, and continuously improve with partners research-to-farm-to-consumer models that achieve positive impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and consumers’ wellbeing.

The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and IITA will lead initiatives for common bean and cowpea, respectively. For sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut breeding, CIMMYT will design programs that support crop improvement networks, including CGIAR and national agricultural research systems, and incorporate best approaches, principles, and tools, particularly those availed through the Excellence in Breeding (EiB) platform.

The project is committed to gender equity as a guiding principle, considering the critical role women play in choosing legume and cereal varieties and seed sources. Women seed entrepreneurs and women-led seed companies will garner special attention for capacity development. Partnerships with actors through the value chain, platforms and demonstrations will ensure women have equal access to improved technologies.

The previous phase of the AVISA project was led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

CIMMYT distinguished scientist Ravi Singh conducts research on a wheat field while. (Photo: BGRI)

Ravi Singh earns Lifetime Achievement award from BGRI

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 19, 2021. Posted in News.

World-renowned plant breeder Ravi Singh, whose elite wheat varieties reduced the risk of a global pandemic and now feed hundreds of millions of people around the world, has been announced as the 2021 Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Singh, distinguished scientist and head of Global Wheat Improvement at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), endowed hundreds of modern wheat varieties with durable resistance to fungal pathogens that cause leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust and other diseases during his career. His scientific efforts protect wheat from new races of some of agriculture’s oldest and most devastating diseases, safeguard the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the most vulnerable areas in the world, and enhance food security for the billions of people whose daily nutrition depends on wheat consumption.

“Ravi’s innovations as a scientific leader not only made the Cornell University-led Borlaug Global Rust Initiative possible, but his breeding innovations are chiefly responsible for the BGRI’s great success,” said Ronnie Coffman, vice chair of the BGRI and international professor of global development at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Perhaps more than any other individual, Ravi has furthered Norman Borlaug’s and the BGRI’s goal that we maintain the global wheat scientific community and continue the crucial task of working together across international borders for wheat security.”

In the early 2000s, when a highly virulent rust race discovered in East Africa threatened most of the world’s wheat, Singh took a key leadership role in the formation of a global scientific coalition to combat the threat. Along with Borlaug, Coffman and other scientists, he served as a panel member on the pivotal report alerting the international community to the Ug99 outbreak and its potential impacts to global food security. That sounding of the alarm spurred the creation of the BGRI and the collaborative international effort to stop Ug99 before it could take hold on a global scale.

As a scientific objective leader for the BGRI’s Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat and Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat projects, Singh led efforts to generate and share a series of elite wheat lines featuring durable resistance to all three rusts. The results since 2008 include resistance to the 12 races of the Ug99 lineage and new, high-temperature-tolerant races of stripe rust fungus that had been evolving and spreading worldwide since the beginning of the 21^st century.

“Thanks to Ravi Singh’s vision and applied science, the dire global threat of Ug99 and other rusts has been averted, fulfilling Dr. Borlaug’s fervent wishes to sustain wheat productivity growth, and contributing to the economic and environmental benefits from reduced fungicide use,” Coffman said. “Ravi’s innovative research team at CIMMYT offered crucial global resources to stop the spread of Ug99 and the avert the human catastrophe that would have resulted.”

An innovative wheat breeder known for his inexhaustible knowledge and attention to genetic detail, Singh helped establish the practice of “pyramiding” multiple rust-resistance genes into a single variety to confer immunity. This practice of adding complex resistance in a way that makes it difficult for evolving pathogens to overcome new varieties of wheat now forms the backbone of rust resistance breeding at CIMMYT and other national programs.

Ravi Singh (center) with Norman Borlaug (left) and Hans Braun in the wheat fields at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Ciudad Obregón, in Mexico’s Sonora state. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The global champion for durable resistance

Ravi joined CIMMYT in 1983 and was tasked by his supervisor, mentor and friend, the late World Food Prize Winner Sanjaya Rajaram, to develop wheat lines with durable resistance, said Hans Braun, former director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

“Ravi did this painstaking work — to combine recessive resistance genes — for two decades as a rust geneticist and, as leader of CIMMYT’s Global Spring Wheat Program, he transferred them at large scale into elite lines that are now grown worldwide,” Braun said. “Thanks to Ravi and his colleagues, there has been no major rust epidemic in the Global South for years, a cornerstone for global wheat security.”

Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, said that “Building on Ravi’s exceptional work throughout his career, deployment of durable rust resistance in widely adapted wheat germplasm continues to be a foundation of CIMMYT’s wheat breeding strategy.”

Revered for his determination and work ethic throughout his career, Singh has contributed to the development of 649 wheat varieties released in 48 countries, working closely with scientists at national wheat programs in the Global South. Those varieties today are sown on approximately 30 million hectares annually in nearly all wheat growing countries of southern and West Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of these varieties, 224 were developed directly under his leadership and are grown on an estimated 10 million hectares each year.

In his career Singh has authored 328 refereed journal articles and reviews, 32 book chapters and extension publications, and more than 80 symposia presentations. He is regularly ranked in the top 1% of cited researchers. The CIMMYT team that Singh leads identified and designated 22 genes in wheat for resistance or tolerance to stem rust, leaf rust, stripe rust, powdery mildew, barley yellow dwarf virus, spot blotch, and wheat blast, as well as characterizing various other important wheat genome locations contributing to durable resistance in wheat.

Singh’s impact as a plant breeder and steward of genetic resources over the past four decades has been extraordinary, according to Braun: “Ravi Singh can definitely be called the global champion for durable resistance.”

This piece by Matt Hayes was originally posted on the BGRI website.

World Food Day 2021: The future of food is in our hands

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 15, 2021. Posted in Features.

As the calendar turns to October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates World Food Day. This year’s theme is “Our actions are our future.”

Our lives depend on agri-food systems.

They cover the journey of food (for example, cereals, vegetables, fish, fruits and livestock) from farm to table — including when it is grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of. It also encompasses non-food products (for example forestry, animal rearing, use of feedstock, biomass to produce biofuels, and fibers) that constitute livelihoods, and all the people, as well as the activities, investments and choices that play a part in getting us these food and agricultural products.

The food we choose and the way we produce, prepare, cook and store it make us an integral and active part of the way in which an agri-food system works.

A sustainable agri-food system is one in which a variety of sufficient, nutritious and safe foods is available at an affordable price to everyone, and nobody is hungry or suffers from any form of malnutrition. The shelves are stocked at the local market or food store, but less food is wasted and the food supply chain is more resilient to shocks such as extreme weather, price spikes or pandemics, all while limiting, rather than worsening, environmental degradation or climate change. In fact, sustainable agri-food systems deliver food security and nutrition for all, without compromising the economic, social and environmental bases, for generations to come. They lead to better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.

Let’s fix the system

The contradictions could not be starker — millions of people are hungry or undernourished, while large numbers are chronically overweight due to a poor diet. Smallholder farmers produce more than one-third of the world’s food, yet are some of the worst affected by poverty, as agriculture continues to be an unpredictable sector. Agri-food systems are major contributors to climate change, which in turn threatens food production in some of the world’s poorest areas. Rampant food loss and waste, side by side with people relying on food banks or emergency food aid.

The evidence is there for all to see — there has never been a more urgent need to transform the way the world produces and consumes food.

This year, for World Food Day, we bring you four stories about CIMMYT’s work to support sustainable agri-food systems.

Better production

CGIAR centers present methodology for transforming resource-constrained, polluting and vulnerable farming into inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems that deliver healthy and affordable diets for all within planetary boundaries.

New integrated methodology supports inclusive and resilient global food systems transformation

Better nutrition

CIMMYT scientists expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets. Newly-developed high-zinc wheat is expected to make up at least 80% of varieties distributed worldwide over the next ten years, up from about 9% currently.

New zinc-fortified wheat set for global expansion to combat malnutrition

A woman makes roti, an unleavened flatbread made with wheat flour and eaten as a staple food, at her home in the Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. (Photo: S. Mojumder/Drik/CIMMYT)

Better environment

Understanding the relationship between climate change and plant health is key to conserving biodiversity and boosting food production today and for future generations.

Protecting plants will protect people and the planet

Durum wheat field landscape at CIMMYT's experimental station in Toluca, Mexico. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT) — Durum wheat field landscape at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Toluca, Mexico. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Better life

Assessing value chain development’s potential and limitations for strengthening the livelihoods of the rural poor, a new book draws conclusions applicable across the development field.

Taking stock of value chain development

A researcher from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) demonstrates the use of a farming app in the field. (Photo: C. De Bode/CGIAR)

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