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Plant Health Innovation Platform at Kiboko, Kenya: integrating and testing eco-friendly solutions against fall armyworm

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

Smallholder farmers and agricultural extension officers assessing Integrated Pest Management Packages (IPMs) treatments against fall armyworm at the Plant Health Innovation Platform at the KALRO Kiboko Research Station in Kenya. (Photo: Peter Kinyumu/CIMMYT)

CGIAR’s Plant Health Initiative (PHI) is testing integrated pest management (IPM) packages against fall armyworm (FAW) in partnership with smallholder farmers and agricultural extension officers at the Plant Health Innovation Platform at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Kiboko Research Station in Kenya.

The IPM packages comprise 18 combinations of treatments, including maize varieties with native genetic resistance to FAW, biopesticides, biological control agents, push-pull system, and bean varieties.

“This is a unique opportunity to identify eco-friendly and cost-effective IPM packages against a major pest like FAW through participatory engagement of smallholder farmers and extension personnel,” said BM Prasanna, Global Maize Program Director at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead. “Also In our efforts against FAW, three FAW-tolerant maize hybrids have been recommended for release after national performance trials in Kenya.”

CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director and CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead, BM Prasanna explaining to smallholder farmers and agricultural extension officers; CGIAR’s Plant Health Initiative (PHI) testing of integrated pest management (IPM) packages against fall armyworm (FAW) at KALRO Kiboko, Kenya. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Participatory assessment

Participating farmers and extension personnel made their first assessment of the IPM combinations at the vegetative stage on November 8, 2022.

“With this second assessment on February 7, 2023, farmers and extension personnel are evaluating the same IPM combinations for their yield potential, which means the plants need to be not only healthy but also productive. The farmers are also looking at the quality of the maize ears, and the level of ear and kernel damage by the pest, if any. These assessments both at the vegetative and reproductive stages are critical for us to conclude this experiment and draw appropriate inferences,” Prasanna said.

Researchers will analyze the efficacy of the scoring of different IPM treatments by the farmers and from the vegetative/foliar and reproductive/harvest stages. In addition, scientists will conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each IPM treatment to identify relevant IPM packages that can be potentially scaled. Prasanna noted the initial scoring by the scientists and farmers were highly comparable.

The trials engaged farmers and extension workers from five different counties in Kenya. “The Plant Health Initiative is keen on co-creation and co-validation and taking an inclusive, participatory approach to innovations,” said Prasanna. He added that such an approach is vital for buy-in by the farmers, who need to be active partners in effectively scaling the selected IPM packages.

Farmers participating in the Field Day at the Innovation Platform applauded the initiative to involve them in validating solutions to manage FAW and expressed their eagerness to have the innovations in their hands. The farmers also had opportunities to ask questions, provide preliminary verbal feedback, and receive immediate clarification from the scientists to their queries.

”I know a farmer who has trained his two sons to go to every plant and kill the armyworm physically. You can imagine the time and energy that takes,” said Justice Kimeu, a farmer from Makueni County, Kenya. “Let the innovative methods we have seen here reach every farmer across the country.”

A participant giving his preliminary observations on the Integrated Pest Management Packages (IPMs) treatments against fall armyworm at the Plant Health Innovation Platform at the KALRO Kiboko Research Station in Kenya. (Photo by Peter Kinyumu/CIMMYT)

Plant Health Innovation Platform catalyzes collaboration

The Plant Health Innovation Platform at Kiboko brings together different innovations developed by the collaborating institutions: CIMMYT, KALRO, International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), AgBiTECH, Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), and Farmfix Africa.

“Robust data is being generated on the efficacy and cost-benefit of various IPM combinations. After data analysis, 2-3 few specific IPM packages will be identified based on efficacy against FAW, cost effectiveness, affordability to smallholder farmers, and potential for rapid scale up,” Prasanna said.

Besides the FAW Innovation Platform at Kiboko, Kenya, the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative is operating eight other Innovation Platforms in Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda, Lebanon, Philippines, Ecuador, and Colombia. Each of these platforms bring together diverse institutions engaged in developing game-changing solutions in managing key pests and diseases in the Initiative’s primary crops that include maize, banana, cassava, potato, sweet potato, rice, yam, sorghum, wheat, millets, legumes, and vegetables.

CGIAR Initiative: Seed Equal

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Inadequate seed supply and delivery systems, sometimes also misaligned with user and market demand, mean that smallholders often recycle seed or use older varieties, leaving them more vulnerable to pests and diseases.  Small-scale farmers, especially women and other disadvantaged groups, are particularly vulnerable to climate-related challenges, such as more frequent and severe droughts and erratic rainfall. Additionally, farmers may not be well informed about varietal options available to them or may be reluctant to experiment with new varieties. These challenges threaten agricultural production and can compromise their ability to meet their own food, nutrition and income needs.  

Improved varieties, innovations and approaches developed and promoted by CGIAR and partners could transform agrifood systems and reduce yield gaps, “hunger months” and other disparities. However, limited access to and use of affordable, quality seed of well-adapted varieties with desired traits, means these bottlenecks remain. 

This Initiative aims to support the delivery of seed of improved, climate-resilient, market-preferred and nutritious varieties of priority crops, embodying a high rate of genetic gain to farmers, ensuring equitable access for women and other disadvantaged groups.

This objective will be achieved through:

  • Supporting demand-driven cereal seed systems for more effective delivery of genetic gains from One CGIAR cereal breeding, as well as improving government, private sector and farmer-based capacity to deliver productive, resilient and preferred varieties to smallholders. 
  • Boosting legume seed through a demand-led approach that builds on growing demand for grain legumes. This multistakeholder approach will strengthen partnerships to provide efficient, more predictable and demand-led access to quality seed of new varieties. 
  • Scaling and delivering vegetatively propagated crop seed through sustainable enhanced delivery pathways that efficiently target different market segments and farmer preferences. 
  • Supporting partnerships (including with smallholders), capacity building and coordination to ensure uptake of public-bred varieties and other innovations by providing technical assistance for national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) and foundation seed organizations in early-generation seed production and on-farm demonstrations. 
  • Developing and implementing policies for varietal turnover, seed quality assurance and trade in seeds by leveraging global expertise and experience to generate both the evidence and engagement necessary to advance efficient, sustainable, and inclusive seed markets that promote varietal turnover and wider adoption. 
  • Scaling equitable access to quality seed and traits in order to reach the unreached and provide inclusive access while addressing gender and social constraints and the digital divide. 

Engagement

This Initiative will work in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania as a priority, followed by other countries in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Outcomes

Proposed 3-year outcomes include:

  1. Robust tools developed and used by funders, developers, researchers and extension staff to sustainably measure and monitor key seed system metrics. 
  2. Increase of 10% in the quantity of quality seed of improved “best-fit” and farmer-preferred varieties available to farmers in representative crops and geographies due to increased capacity of seed companies and other seed multipliers (including farm-based seed actors).  
  3. Public and private seed enterprises adopting innovative and transformative models for accessing, disseminating and multiplying quality early-generation seed, reducing cost and increasing output. 
  4. Reduction of 5% in weighted average varietal age for priority crops in selected countries.     
  5. Government partners in policy design and implementation actively promote policy solutions to accelerate varietal turnover, adoption and quality seed use. 

CGIAR Initiative: Accelerated Breeding

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Resource-poor farmers in low-income and middle-income countries will hugely benefit from improved crop varieties that perform better in terms of nutritional quality, income generation, water and nutrient use, stability of yields under climate change, and the needs of both women and men as farmers and as consumers.  

However, many smallholder farmers still grow old varieties, in part because they derive inadequate benefits from recent breeding efforts. To trigger timely adoption, new varieties must be widely available and affordable to farmers, and offer a step-change in performance through higher rates of genetic gain. A faster pace of varietal turnover is critical – to enable farmers to adapt and advance rapidly as climatic and market conditions change. 

Breeding programs also need a greater focus on developing farmer- and consumer- preferred varieties adapted to distinct production environments, markets and end uses. This can be facilitated by smarter design of breeding programs; stronger partnerships between CGIAR, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and strengthened organizational capacity.

This Initiative aims to develop better-performing, farmer-preferred crop varieties and to decrease the average age of varieties in farmers’ fields, providing real-time adaptation to climate change, evolving markets and production systems. 

The objective will be achieved through:

  • Re-focusing breeding teams and objectives on farmers’ needs, in particular the needs of women, through achievable product profiles and breeding pipelines targeting prioritized regions and market segments. 
  • Reorganizing breeding teams to drive efficiency gains through the coordinated engagement of specialists and processes using a common organizational framework, stage gates, key performance indicators and handover criteria. 
  • Transforming towards inclusive, impactful CGIAR-NARES-SME breeding networks with empowered partners, along with customized capacity building, standardized key performance indicators, and by dividing labor and resources across partners according to comparative advantage and aligned with national priorities. 
  • Discovering optimum traits and deployments through agile, demand-driven and effective trait discovery and deployment pipelines, and development of elite donor lines with novel and highly valuable traits. 
  • Accelerating population improvement and variety identification through optimizing breeding pipelines (trailing, parent selection, cycle time, use of Breeding Resources tools and services, etc.), with the goal of assuring all programs deliver market-demanded varieties that deliver greater rates of genetic gain per dollar invested. 

Engagement

This Initiative will work with breeding programs serving countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia, along with Asia and Latin America. Priority countries for the Initiative include Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa, and Bangladesh and India in South Asia. 

Outcomes

Proposed 3-year outcomes include:

  1. At least 75% of breeding pipelines are oriented towards specific market segments, enabling greater focus on farmers’ needs, drivers of adoption, distinct impact areas and the strategic allocation of resources. 
  2. At least 70% of breeding pipelines use a revised organizational framework that provides operational clarity and effectiveness for specialized teams pursuing breeding outputs. 
  3. At least 80% of the breeding networks have implemented documented steps toward stronger partnership models where NARES and SMEs have increased breeding capacity, and make greater scientific, operational and decision-making contributions to the breeding process. 
  4. At least 50% of breeding pipelines are supported by a dedicated trait discovery and deployment program that delivers high-impact traits in the form of elite parental lines. 
  5. At least 70% of breeding pipelines have increased the rate of genetic gain in the form of farmer-preferred varieties, with at least 50% providing significantly improved varieties delivered to seed system recipients.    

KALRO research station at Kiboko revamped to accelerate crop breeding

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director and CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead, BM Prasanna cutting a ribbon at the entrance of a new shed housing, marking the commissioning of five new seed drying machines courtesy of the of the Accelerating Genetic Gains (AGG) Project. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)’s research station at Kiboko, Kenya, where several partner institutions including the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), conduct significant research activities on crop breeding and seed systems, is now equipped with five new seed drying machines along with a dedicated shed to house these units, a cold room for storing breeding materials, and an additional irrigation dam/reservoir. These infrastructural upgrades are worth approximately US $0.5 million.

During the commissioning of the new facilities on February 7, 2023, CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director, BM Prasanna thanked the donors, Crops to End Hunger (CtEH) Initiative and Accelerated Genetic Gains (AGG) project, that supported the upgrade of the research station, and recognized the strong partnership with KALRO.

“Today is a major milestone for CIMMYT, together with KALRO, hosting this center of excellence for crop breeding. This facility is one of the largest public sector crop breeding facilities in the world, with hundreds of hectares dedicated to crop breeding. These new facilities will enable CIMMYT and KALRO crop breeders to optimize their breeding and seed systems’ work and provide better varieties to the farming communities,” said Prasanna.

Kenya suffered one of its worst droughts ever in 2022, and the newly commissioned facilities will support expedited development of climate-resilient and nutritious crop varieties, including resistance to major diseases and pests.

Visitors at the KALRO research station in Kiboko, Kenya, looking at the newly commissioned cold room storage. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Improvements and enhancements

The efficiency of the seed driers capabilities to quickly reduce moisture content in seed from above 30% to 12% in two to three days, reducing the time taken for seed drying and allowing for more than two crop seasons per year in a crop like maize.

The additional water reservoir with a capacity of 16,500 cubic meters will eliminate irrigation emergencies and will also enhance the field research capacity at Kiboko. Reliable irrigation is essential for accelerating breeding cycles.

At the same time, the new cold room can preserve the seeds up to two years, preventing the loss of valuable genetic materials and saving costs associated with frequent regeneration of seeds.

KALRO Director General Eliud Kireger officiating the opening of the cold room storage facility at KALRO research station at Kiboko, Kenya. Looking on is CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director, BM Prasanna. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

World-class research center

“The Kiboko Research Center is indeed growing into an elite research facility that can serve communities in entire sub-Saharan Africa through a pipeline of improved varieties, not only for maize but in other important crops. This will not only improve climate resilience and nutrition, but will contribute to enhanced food and income security for several million smallholder farmers,” said Prasanna.

KALRO Director General Eliud Kireger appreciated the establishment of the new facilities and thanked CIMMYT and its partners for their support.

“Today is a very important day for us because we are launching new and improved facilities for research to support breeding work and quality seed production. This research station is in Makueni County, a very dry area yet important place for research because there is adequate space, especially for breeding,” said Kireger. “We are significantly improving the infrastructure at Kiboko to produce and deliver better seed to our farmers.”

For more than three decades, CIMMYT has conducted research trials at the Kiboko Research Station, focusing on drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, and resistance to pests and diseases, such as fall armyworm and stem borer. The maize Double Haploid (DH) facility established in 2013 at Kiboko, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, offers DH line production service for organizations throughout Africa, and is key to increasing genetic gains in maize breeding.

Building towards a climate-smart agriculture future through harnessing crop modeling

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Participants of the crop modeling simulation workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

Anticipating appropriate and timely responses to climate variability and change from an agricultural perspective requires forecasting and predictive capabilities. In Africa, climate-related risks and hazards continue to threaten food and nutrition security.

Crop simulation models are tools developed to assist farmers, agronomists and agro-meteorologists with insights on impacts to possible management decisions. Such tools are enablers for taking an appropriate course of action where complexity exists relating to both crop and livestock production. For example, a new variety can be introduced to Zimbabwe, but its performance will differ depending on the agroecological zones of the country and the respective treatments a farmer may apply. Applying modeling tools to assess its performance can predict yield differences and facilitate the generation of recommendations for which region is most suited to the variety, water use efficiency, and crop combinations.

Earlier this month, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) hosted a crop modeling simulation workshop with delegates from various African countries in Harare, Zimbabwe.

“The CGIAR Initiatives of Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) and Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS) have recognized the need to enhance modeling capacity in Africa to allow African scientists to lead in solving challenges within agricultural systems,” said CIMMYT crop scientist and coordinator of the workshop, Vimbayi Grace Petrova Chimonyo.

The workshop was facilitated by renowned global crop modeling experts to provide critical coaching support to upcoming modelers. These experts included Sue Walker, a professor at the University of the Free State, Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi, a professor at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), KPC Rao, a lead scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Dirk Raes (KU Leuven), Diego Peqeuno (CIMMYT)  and Siyabusa Mukuhlani from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Crop models are scientific presentations of statistical knowledge about how a crop will grow in interaction with its environment. They use mathematical equations representing processes within a predefined plant system and the interactions between crops and the environment. The discipline is based on the premise that agricultural system environments are complex and not homogenous. Crop models enable decision-makers to make data-driven decisions by simulating possible outcomes to changes in a system and the configuration of production systems.

“It is quite apparent that modeling skills are scarce on the African continent. This workshop is a step toward consolidating existing capacities on the continent. If we are going to be able to close the already existing food deficit gap on the continent and meet the food requirements needed by 2050, with an estimated global population of nine billion, then we need to take modeling seriously,” said Chimonyo in her opening address at the workshop.

Due to the lack of crop modeling expertise in African states, there is a gap in capacity to build relevant crop advisory tools for farmers at a local level. This leads to poor policy formulation as decisions are based on a high degree of generalizations.

“In this modern era, we need advisories that are context specific. For example, just because a maize variety achieved a certain yield in one context doesn’t mean the same variety will achieve the same yields even if the rainfall patterns are the same. Other factors come into play, such as the soil type, temperature and other related aspects affecting the yield. Crop modeling affords advisory managers some specifications necessary to achieve high yields in different environments,” said Walker.

Vimbayi Chimonyo from CIMMYT making opening remarks at the workshop. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

Speakers at the workshop focused on three models, APSIM, AquaCrop and DSSAT, and participants had the opportunity to take part in activities and ask questions face-to-face. The workshop also covered key modeling aspects such as the minimum data requirements needed to run a model, calibration and validation of models, confidence testing of results, the science involved in simulating phenological development and growth processes, water and nitrogen cycles, and the use of multi-modeling approaches.

The workshop was particularly useful for young scientists, according to Rao, allowing more experienced modelers to share their expertise. “With such an interactive platform, experienced modelers like me can demonstrate multi-modeling approaches.”

Rao presented on two main approaches. The first involved the application of different simulation models to simulate one component of a system such as crops. The second simulated the complete system by integrating various models, such as crops, livestock, and economic models, providing an opportunity to understand the synergies and trade-offs between different components of the whole farm.

Participants at the workshop expressed their satisfaction with the training provided and left with practical knowledge that they could apply in their work both in the field and in the lab.

“When I first arrived, I knew very little about modeling, but as the workshop progressed, my confidence in applying models increased. I intend to immediately apply this knowledge for the forthcoming season such that we can start making impactful contributions to the country’s food and nutrition security status,” said Birhan Abdulkadir Indris, a research officer at CIMMYT.

“I am leaving this workshop with the confidence that I will advise farmers in my circle of influence with services tailored to their needs. I have learned that crop modeling can be used for many purposes and that different models address different issues,” said Connie Madembo, a research technician at CIMMYT. “I intend to teach other fellow PhD students at the University of Zimbabwe the same things I have learnt here. As a country, we need to be at the forefront of using these models, considering Zimbabwe’s high weather variability.”

As a way forward, the trained scientists were encouraged to apply the modeling skills they had gained to address short-term problems such as yield gaps and water use efficiency and long-term challenges such as the local impacts of climate change.

“While more capacity training is required, starting somewhere is better than never starting,” said Mabhaudi.

Farmers in Buhera gear up for climate-smart agriculture

Written by Tawanda Hove on . Posted in News.

Isaiah Nyagumbo engages extension officers and host farmers on the water harvesting technologies under trial in Buhera district, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

As climate change effects intensify, new innovations that enable smallholder farmers to adapt are no longer an option but a necessity. Significant parts of Zimbabwe are semi-arid, receiving less than 600mm of rainfall per year. Smallholder farming communities in districts such as Buhera have embraced feed production and water conservation innovations deployed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) as part of the Livestock Production Systems in Zimbabwe project (LIPS-Zim). The project, funded by the European Union and led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and CIMMYT, champions the crop-related aspects of interventions and aims to increase livestock productivity in Zimbabwe’s semi-arid regions. The project specifically aims to promote increased adoption of climate-relevant innovations in livestock-based production systems and improved surveillance and control of livestock diseases. While focused on livestock, the project is based on the premise that the performance of the livestock sector depends heavily on crop husbandry. By the same token, the livestock sector has bi-products that directly impact the productivity of crops.

Zimbabwe is a country that is well suited to mixed farming systems. Most smallholder farmers have treated livestock and crop production as mutually exclusive, but the two enterprises can have a significant complementary effect on each other.

CIMMYT Cropping Systems Agronomist Isaiah Nyagumbo is leading the development of crop husbandry innovations aimed at increasing feed production that are poised to benefit smallholder farmers’ crop productivity and enhance the conditioning of livestock, especially cattle.

Despite extension recommendations for farmers not to grow maize in these regions, studies show that 60% of the arable land is still occupied by maize. This is due to maize’s popularity among farmers thanks to its diverse uses.

One solution is to support farmers with the most appropriate cultivars and most effective production technologies to help them be more resilient to climate change induced challenges. To contribute towards LIPS-Zim’s objective for increased feed production, CIMMYT scientists are testing and demonstrating the use of drought tolerant and nutritious maize varieties along with a wide range of leguminous species such as mucuna, dolichos lab-lab and cowpea, which are grown mostly as intercrops. Efforts are also being made to develop innovative water conservation options through reduced or no-till planting basins and tied ridging systems reinforced with different mulching options including conventional organic and synthetic artificial mulches. These are then being compared to traditional conventional mouldboard ploughing systems.

The Nyeketes, proud hosts of the CIMMYT water harvesting technology trial, in Buhera, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

So far, the results are exciting and helping farmers to see the productivity gains from applying different technologies. Mr. and Mrs. Nyekete, smallholder farmers who volunteered to work with CIMMYT on these innovations, are optimistic about widespread adoption once the trials are concluded as the technologies can suit different levels of investment by farmers.

“We have a lot of farmers visiting us as they observe a diversity of technologies on our plot. The artificial mulch concept is one which is very new, and farmers are curious as to how it works. They can observe for themselves that, especially when used with tied ridges, it is very effective in retaining moisture,” said Mr and Mrs Nyekete.

“The same applies to organic mulch. Government extension workers have, over the years, been encouraging us to plant our maize under the Pfumvudza conservation agriculture model, and in it is the use of organic materials as mulch. The level of compliance in areas such as Buhera has been low, where people practice Pfumvudza without fully applying all the principles, especially soil cover. The water conservation trials are providing evidence that when one dedicates themselves to mulching their crop, whether using organic or synthetic mulches, the maize productivity is comparatively higher. As you can see, the maize plots with these water harvesting technologies are showing high vegetative growth in comparison to conventionally planted maize.”

Over the years, there has been a slow adoption of new innovations emanating from scientific research usually conducted on research stations. The use of on-farm research trials and demonstrations helps smallholder farmers to participate in the research process and co-create technologies, which shortens the adoption period and stimulates adoption at scale. This approach enables more farmers, who are not hosts, to benefit from the technologies showcased in the trials and to observe and learn from the trials. As the saying goes, “seeing is believing” and farmers can choose the options most relevant to their own circumstances.  As such, farmers can conclude for themselves which technologies bear results compelling enough for them to adopt.

Despite the artificial mulching technology demonstrating impressive results so far, Nyagumbo cautions that before the technology can be promoted at scale, more research, as well as proof of concept for these systems are needed.

“Firstly, we see that the quality of the material used has a big bearing on the ability to reduce evaporation from the soil. Secondly, some farmers have observed germination challenges due to the synthetic materials creating an attractive habitat for rodents that eat the maize seed before it germinates. Thirdly, the returns from such investments need to be justified by highly attractive economic returns arising from high yields that will also enable farmers to intensify their production systems by producing their food needs from much smaller areas. Further studies and analyses therefore need to be conducted,” said Nyagumbo.

“Furthermore, so far the idea of tied ridging combined with organic mulches also seems to offer a highly attractive option for farmers that will contribute to increased feed productivity from the enhanced grain and crop residues, since increased biomass output also means increased livestock feed availability.”

While breeding excellence is proving to be an effective method for responding to climate change through improved seed varieties and high-performance livestock breeds, new crop and livestock production technologies are required to complement the genetic gains from breeding. The crop production technologies being showcased in in Buhera along with drought tolerant and nutritious maize varieties and legumes, promise to be transformative for semi-arid regions for both crop and livestock systems.

A deceptively simple hack boosts wheat yields in Bihar

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

As a warming planet desiccates crops around the world, threatening livelihoods and nutrition, farmers in Bihar, India, are boosting their wheat yields with a deceptively simple adaptation.

“Farmers can plant their wheat crop several weeks earlier, so that their wheat matures earlier and they are able to harvest their wheat before the heat gets bad,” said Amit Kumar Srivastava, a scientist with the International Rice Research Institute in India. “Traditionally, farmers in Bihar planted their wheat in mid-December. This put their crop at risk of what’s called ‘terminal heat’ – high heat during a critical growth stage that impacts the yields. We’ve advised them to begin planting by November 20.”

Bihar is blessed with good soil and adequate water resources. But its yields have been lagging below India’s average. Today, the average hectare of Bihar farmland produces 2.9 tons of wheat – significantly below the average yield in India of 3.4 tons.

Rising heat threatened to reduce this harvest even further. Wheat, like people, can suffer from heat stress. Researchers have found that an increase of just one-degree Celsius cuts wheat yields by 6%. In high heat conditions, wheat produces fewer, smaller grains, potentially impacting nutrition and livelihoods. Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, is considered a climate change hotspot and temperatures are expected to rise by up to 1 degree Celsius by 2050. India can ill afford declining farm yields. In fact, it needs to increase its wheat yields from around 110 million tons to 140 million tons by 2050 just to keep pace with domestic demand.

This seemingly simple adaptation was actually quite complicated to develop, explained Sonam Sherpa, a spatial agronomist with the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. “It required researchers to look at the agricultural system as a whole. We had to understand why farmers were planting so late. And we learned it was because they were waiting for their rice crop to mature. And they couldn’t plant their rice crop earlier because they were waiting for the monsoon rains, which are unpredictable in Bihar. Understanding the system as a whole, led us to recommend a rice variety that matures earlier and to develop weather forecasting tools and systems that can communicate with farmers when the monsoon rains are expected. That will help farmers move forward with planting their rice earlier, allowing for an earlier harvest. And then planting and harvesting their wheat earlier.”

To demonstrate the potential of this shift, researchers established demonstration fields throughout the state and brought government officials and farmers to see the difference.

It was striking. Across the state, farmers who adopted early rice harvesting and early wheat planting grew nearly one ton more of wheat on each hectare than those who planted late – a 36% increase in yield. At the most extreme ends of the planting spectrum the difference in yield is hard to overstate; the difference in yields between the wheat planted in early November versus the wheat planted in late December was 69%. That’s enough of a boost to turn Bihar from a net wheat importer to a breadbasket for the region.

“Seeing is believing,” said Srivastava. As of the 2020-21 wheat growing season, an estimated 22% of farmers in the target districts – about half a million farmers with an estimated 0.83 million hectares of land – have shifted to different varieties of rice that allow them to plant their wheat earlier. Similar gains could be seen elsewhere in Eastern India, research indicates, if the rice-wheat system is managed as a system.

Researchers also established relationships with private sector seed distributors who often advise farmers and help them identify and adopt different varieties of rice that allow for earlier harvesting. “The lesson here is that even with climate change, we can increase production by optimizing agricultural systems,” said Srivastava.

Read the original article: A deceptively simple hack boosts wheat yields in Bihar

Cover photo: A deceptively simple hack boosts wheat yields in Bihar. (Photo: Reuters)

The IDB and CGIAR discuss the importance of strengthening agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Participants at the roundtable discussion on the IDB report Competing in Agribusiness: Corporate Strategies and Public Policies for the Challenges of the 21st Century. (Photo: CIMMYT)

CGIAR’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), organized an important roundtable discussion at the beginning of February on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report entitled Competing in Agribusiness: Corporate Strategies and Public Policies for the Challenges of the 21st Century. The main objective of this event was to advance the search for shared strategies to strengthen agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to representatives from both institutions, strengthening Latin America’s agrifood systems would allow the region to consolidate its position as a leader in agricultural exports and make a significant contribution to the development and prosperity of its societies.

In his opening address to more than 130 event participants who followed the roundtable webcasting from CIMMYT HQ in Mexico, the CGIAR’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Joaquín Lozano, praised the quality of the report and highlighted that it provides new perspectives on issues  very closely related to the CGIAR’s mandate and work, such as innovation in agriculture, the importance of public goods, and the climate challenges affecting agrifood systems.

Lozano emphasized that, although agrifood systems have not traditionally been considered a suitable area for investment in innovation, this perception is changing thanks to science-based and precision agriculture. He further affirmed that the work of institutions dedicated to agricultural innovation and research, such as the CGIAR, make critical contributions to developing these areas.

“These forms of agriculture not only contribute to the development of agribusiness, but they could also be key to closing the technological, economic and social gap between modern and traditional agriculture,” he asserted. “For this to happen, there must be strong partnerships between scientific institutions, public authorities and development banks such as the IDB.”

Ernesto Stein, IDB Group representative in Mexico and coordinator of the team that prepared the report, also emphasized the key role that agriculture can play in the development and economic well-being of Latin American and Caribbean societies.

Ernesto Stein explaining the report’s main conclusions. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“Historically, it was thought that industrialization was the quickest path to development. However, this model has its limits. Moreover, agriculture has demonstrated that it can be not only a subsistence economic activity, but also an advanced production method,” he affirmed.

Stein warned that the success of this “alternative development strategy” is not automatic. The agrifood market requires higher and higher quality, sustainability and information standards, and meeting these requirements “depends on the development of new capacities.”

In this context, the IDB report describes 30 cases of agrifood companies, located in 12 Latin American countries, that have become successfully inserted into the market, and it analyzes the factors that have contributed to building these success stories.

These factors are related to value-addition strategies for agricultural products (meeting requirements of external markets; obtaining certifications; processing products with qualities that are especially valued by consumers; taking advantage of low-supply periods thanks to genetic innovation; developing by-products to optimize fresh produce that cannot reach markets; or creating a differentiated brand identity) and also to the model of productive organization (which the report divides into three: vertical integration companies [large-scale production companies with total control of all factors in the production process]; tractor companies [medium- or large-scale companies that contract production from small-scale producers]; and horizontal associative companies [such as cooperatives]).

The objective of the report is both descriptive and prospective, as the identification of these factors aims to inspire other companies and actors involved in defining rural development policies—especially governments—to help create conditions that will facilitate the replication or scaling-up of the models featured in the report.

The global presentation of the report was followed by the analysis of more specific questions. Speaking of the need for innovation in agriculture, Gustavo Crespi, from the IDB’s Competitiveness, Technology and Innovation Division, highlighted that “the innovation economy has always considered agriculture to be a sector of limited innovation. However, throughout the decades, agriculture has undertaken very significant productive and organizational transformations that have been underestimated.”

In fact, according to Crespi, agriculture is currently undergoing a complex transformation process, especially in the pre-cultivation, pre-harvest and post-harvest stages, that is successfully reducing the uncertainty associated with agriculture and greatly improving its efficiency.

Romina Ordoñez, from the IDB’s Rural Development, Environment and Disaster Risk Management Division, examined the environmental challenges affecting agricultural value chains and highlighted that these challenges also present opportunities, such as the fact that the environmental certification of an agricultural product allows it to generate additional income.

However, she warned that “the transition to more sustainable agriculture has an up-front cost that not everyone can afford.” Therefore, this transition requires the support of strong institutions —mainly public authorities, international organizations and development banks.

Subsequently, CGIAR commentators offered their perspectives from different angles. Valeria Piñeiro, from the Office for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Food Policies Research Institute (IFPRI), also underscored the “key role that public goods must play in optimizing agricultural production systems.” According to Piñeiro, technological transformations must be accompanied by institutional and policy transformations.

Hugo Campos, Deputy Director General of Research at the International Potato Center (CIP, for its Spanish acronym), asserted that the event “could be a watershed in the way that we use innovation to generate value in agriculture.”

Deissy MartĂ­nez, Leader of the AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Likewise, Deissy Martinez, Leader of the CGIAR’s AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative, emphasized that “in agriculture, it is possible to generate value from sustainability,” and that this fact, “which today is exceptional, should be the norm.”

After a thought-provoking session of questions and answers moderated by JesĂșs Quintana, Managing Director for the Americas at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Bram Govaerts, Director General a.i. of CIMMYT, concluded the event.

Govaerts highlighted that the challenge is to “connect innovation systems with agricultural value-addition models, ensuring that they have an impact in the fight against poverty and that they foster inclusion.” He also underscored that Latin America needs to think about where it would like to be in 2100 and work together to meet its objectives and determine “the when, the how and the where of its efforts” to transform its agrifood systems.

The roundtable discussion sparked discussions throughout and after the event. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The presenters’ and public’s diverse interventions confirmed the validity and relevance of the initial intuition that guided the IDB report and the event: strengthening agrifoods systems in Latin America and the Caribbean can make a decisive contribution to the development of the region and its societies. It was also clear that this objective can only be achieved through broad alliances that include the private and public sectors, large- and small-scale producers, investors, and national and international actors.

Access and download the report here.

Watch the video of the event here.

Read the original article: The IDB and CGIAR discuss the importance of strengthening agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mini-tillers bolster Nepal maize farmers’ food supplies and profits, new study shows

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Publications.

Use of lightweight, 5-9-horsepower mini-tillers by smallholder farmers in Nepal’s mid-hills cut tillage costs and boosted maize yields by facilitating timely maize cultivation, thus enhancing food self-sufficiency and farm profits and reducing rural poverty, a new study by an international team of scientists shows.

Published in the Journal of Economics and Development, the study reports findings of an on-farm survey involving more than 1,000 representative households from 6 districts of the mid-hills, a region of steep and broken terrain where rainfed maize is a staple crop, outmigration of working-age inhabitants makes farm labor scarce and costly, and farmers on small, fragmented landholdings typically till plots by hand or using ox-drawn plows.

“Conventional two- or four-wheel tractors are difficult to operate in the mid-hills’ rugged topography,” said Gokul P. Paudel, researcher working together with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany, and lead author of the study. “Farms are small and the mini-tillers are a good fit. Very small farms — those comprising less than 0.4 hectares of land and normally not served by hired farm labor or larger machinery — benefited the most from mini-tiller adoption.”

The paper is the first to provide empirical linkages between small-scale farm mechanization and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly No Poverty (SDG-1) and Zero Hunger (SDG-2).

“Given its rural poverty and the resulting outmigration from farm areas to cities and to other countries, Nepal has increasingly become a labor-exporting country,” explained Paudel, who partnered in this study with researchers from the Asian Development Bank Institute and Cornell University. “Our research can help guide investments by Nepal and other developing countries in scale-appropriate farm mechanization, supporting those who wish to remain on rural homesteads and make a go of it.”

Machine operators starting the mini-tiller in the Kavrepalanchok district in the mid-hills of Nepal. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The science team found that farm size, labor shortages, draft animal scarcity, and market proximity were major factors that facilitate the adoption of appropriate mechanization in Nepal, according to Tim Krupnik, CIMMYT systems agronomist and study co-author.

“Smallholder farms dominate more than two-thirds of agricultural systems globally,” Krupnik said. “Interest in scale-appropriate farm mechanization is growing rapidly, particularly among donors and governments, and practical empirical measures of its impact are crucial.” The findings of the latest study fill this knowledge gap and provide sufficient evidence to prioritize the spread of appropriate technologies among smallholder farmers.

Krupnik noted that, through its office in Nepal and strong shared research and capacity-building activities, CIMMYT has worked for almost four decades with Nepali scientists and development partners, including the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), to raise the productivity and sustainability of the country’s maize- and wheat-based farming systems.

In addition to strong government partnerships, CIMMYT works closely in Nepal with a range of non-government organizations, and importantly, hand-in-hand with private farm machinery manufacturers, retailers, and mechanics.

The study described was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Academy for International Agricultural Research (ACINAR) commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by ATSAF e.V. on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the One CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), and generous funders who contribute to the CGIAR Trust Fund.

Read the study: The contributions of scale-appropriate farm mechanization to hunger and poverty reduction: Evidence from smallholder systems in Nepal

Cover photo: In the Palpa district in the mid-hills of Nepal, a woman farmer tills the soil for maize seeding. (Photo: Gokul Paudel/CIMMYT)

Supporting the careers of women in science

Written by Susan Otieno on . Posted in Features.

Happy Makuru Daudi, Head of Groundnut Research Program at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) based at Naliendele Research Center in Mtwara, is a plant breeder specializing in groundnut. For the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science, she shares with us her passion for what she does and why more women should venture into plant breeding.

What inspired you to get into your career?

I was in love with science and my intention was to be a doctor but later I changed my mind. I loved biology a lot and that set my focus on my academic path. At university I had good mentors who influenced my career direction as well.

When I achieved my first degree, I was recruited by the Government of Tanzania as an agricultural officer. My then boss, Omar Mponda, inspired me to be a plant breeder. He encouraged me and I went ahead to study plant breeding for both my Masters and PhD. My first degree was in Agronomy, I then did a Masters in Crop Science, specializing in Plant Breeding, and eventually completed a PhD in Plant Breeding as well.

What did you love about plant breeding?

I realized breeders are very active people. Always trying to improve and change things. Always looking for ways to make a difference. This desire to make a change makes us active lifelong learners.

The other thing I learnt from breeders is that they can change the life of farmers. Most smallholder farmers are women. I love my crop (groundnut) because it is a ‘woman’s crop’. If the breeder develops a product such as groundnut with high impact, it means they have changed the life of women. I realized I work a lot with women in my field and even if I only change the smallest of things, it means I get to change their lives and boost them from one step to the next.

Please elaborate on why you refer to groundnut as a woman’s crop.

Groundnut is a nutritious crop and is used a lot in processing and preparing children’s food, hence most women value it and engage in farming the crop, even though in small plots of land, in order to have nutritious food for their families’ health.

Most women especially in Tanzania view groundnut as their ATM, in that when they need money for use at home, they only need to sell some of their harvested groundnut and get cash to meet their home’s needs, such as buying schoolbooks for their children.

Women are involved in the entire groundnut value chain, that is from farming the crop in the field up to the processing stages, unlike men who mostly only come in at the market stage to sell the produce. Therefore, groundnut is source of income for many women in Tanzania.

Happy Makuru Daudi presents at the Drylands Legumes and Cereals Crop Improvement Review and Planning meeting in Ghana in January 2023. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Has the International Maize and Wheat Center (CIMMYT) and the CGIAR at large contributed in any way to your career growth?

Yes! They have contributed a lot. First in building my capacity and, as I work with them in the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project. My PhD was sponsored by the Tropical Legumes III Project. I remember when interacting with scientists from these organizations, I observed how they carried themselves with confidence, both the women and men; it motivated me and built my confidence.

What was the focus of your PhD?

My PhD was on breeding for groundnut resistance for rust and high yield in Tanzania.

What is your message for young women and girls interested in getting into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers?

First, they need to trust themselves. They can do anything in this world. They should not be fearful. For instance, those interested in breeding might observe that most breeders are men, and they may tell themselves that it is a difficult career and run away from it. But I would like them to tell themselves they can be and do even better than men. They only need to trust themselves and build their confidence.

Tell me about the formation of your team – are you intentional in working with women in your team?

Yes, I’m usually intentional about this. I always give equal chance to both genders but when I get an opportunity to hire for my team, it makes me happier if a woman lands the job. I realized women are good workers and ready to learn. Most of my casual laborers on my team are also women. They work meticulously. The main work for breeders entails crossing. The best people for crossing are women! I have observed that the success rate of the crosses is higher with women! Crossing is intensive work, physically as well, and needs utmost concentration. So, I trust them in this.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I want to encourage women not to run away from sciences, and especially agricultural sciences such as breeding. We want more women breeders. They can change this world and help more people put food on the table. The agricultural sector, especially the farms, are dominated by women, and it is easier for them when they interact with other women. When we go meet them in the fields, it is easier for us to understand their needs and change their lives. So, I call girls and women to come on board in this sector and change the lives of many.

Cover photo: Happy Makuru Daudi (center) discussing groundnut varieties with colleagues from TARI and CIMMYT in Mtwara, Tanzania, in 2022. (Photo: Susan Otieno/CIMMYT)

Staple commodities: Country can save $1.3bn annually by developing efficient storage system

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

Farmers in Pakistan could save up to $1.3 billion each year in post-harvest losses with the development of an efficient storage system.

Research shows that inefficient storage is the main cause of staple commodity losses in the country. Despite producing 27 million tons of wheat annually worth $7.4 billion, there is less than 6 million tons of storage capacity available; around 10% of the surplus wheat is lost at a value of $740 million due to the use of unregulated conditions.

With the ability to store their commodity for an extra two or three months, farmers can increase their income by between 20 to 40 percent. Preserving the crops that have already been produced will also pass on a saving of between 15 to 20 percent to end consumers.

Hermetic technology developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the University of Hohenheim offers a potential storage solution by protecting the commodity from the ambient environment.

Read the original article: Staple commodities: Country can save $1.3bn annually by developing efficient storage system

On Africa’s farms, the forecast calls for adaptation and innovation

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

On a visit to Kenya, Bill Gates had the opportunity to learn how smallholder farmers like Mary Mathuli are adapting their practices to account for the impacts of climate change.

Mathuli drew attention to the innovations that are making her life easier, such as drought-tolerant maize seed varieties developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). She also cited her mobile phone as a vital tool, allowing her access essential information, such as weather forecasts, market prices, and technical farming support.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the population works in agriculture,” explains Gates. “Together, they produce about 80 percent of the continent’s food supply. And most of the people doing the backbreaking farm work—like the chores I performed—are women.”

In addition to managing her farm, Mathuli is a model farmer and Village Based Advisor with the Cereal Growers Association, encouraging other farmers to adopt new practices that will improve their productivity. “She is clearly doing a good job in this role because more than 90 percent of farmers in her area have embraced one of the new adaptation practices,” said Gates.

Read the original article: On Africa’s farms, the forecast calls for adaptation and innovation

Five strides forward for CGIAR crop breeding resources and services

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Sitting at the cutting edge of science, the crop breeding domain has been improving and refining tools, technologies and techniques. But adoption by public breeding programs focusing on Africa, Asia, and Latin America has often been slow. This has hindered progress on developing the new varieties needed for farmers to overcome climate impacts, build livelihoods, and feed their communities.

But One CGIAR’s new integrated approach is changing that. Building on the work of CGIAR Excellence in Breeding, the Breeding Resource Initiative can point to major progress in 2022, moving forward on an array of shared services, capacity development programs and technical support. Here are five significant milestones helping CGIAR and its national partners deliver better results:

1. Regional hubs are on their way: CGIAR’s vision is to have regional hubs coordinating and delivering services across crops. AfricaRice is set to grow into a regional service provider and coordinator for multiple crops in West Africa. After discussions, planning and site visits with BRI, AfricaRice leadership committed to working with the BRI team to start by providing regional nutritional analysis services, aimed to launch for selected partners in 2023. The plan is to then expand AfricaRice’s role as a coordinator of other competitive services like genotyping and capacity building. This is a major step toward CGIAR’s vision of not just improving breeding stations, but serving  all CGIAR/National Agricultural Research and Extension Services (NARES) partners regionally. The aim is collaboration, efficiency and results in farmers’ fields.

2. Operations teams are amping up skills and knowledge: Breeding success hinges on good operational practices leading to accurate data. To ensure the heritability of breeding trials, BRI has offered resources, trainings and on-the-ground support for operational teams. Through its Breeding Operation Network for Development (BOND), BRI/EiB, along with IITA, ran three weeklong workshops for partners across Africa (watch all 22 sessions on plotmanship, gender, seed processing, irrigation and more), regular webinars exploring private and public sector best practices, and a series focusing on continuous improvement approaches. BRI also trained dozens of operational staff across Africa on how to use and maintain new USAID-supplied equipment. And CGIAR continued its push to harmonize rice breeding processes between IRRI, AfricaRice and CIAT through a week-long rice breeding operations training at IRRI. As well, new tools such as a gender inclusion checklist are now available to support operational excellence.

3. EBS is settling in as a universal data platform: The data management platform Enterprise Breeding System has made real strides in the past year, with an updated version with new features (Milestone 5) rolling out across three Centers (CIMMYT, IITA, IRRI), with over 500 users. Other Centers, such as AfricaRice are starting to deploy the system too. On their visit to AfricaRice’s Ivory Coast station, the BRI team noted barcode deployment across the upland rice nurseries – an inspiration to spur other CGIAR Centers to accelerate their own adoption. EBS is a single, powerful, shared, multi-crop platform and its deployment will mean major time and money savings for breeders – and better breeding decisions.

4. Lab services are expanding: As breeders strive for higher-yielding, climate-resilient and nutritious crops, BRI/EiB have been improving breeding speed and accuracy through streamlined, reliable and cost-effective genotyping services. Services include Low Density SNP Genotyping Services (LDSG), Mid-density SNP Genotyping (MDSG), along with training. BRI also launched a Lab Services Process Team to connect Genetic Innovation departments and teams and ensure delivery of high quality services through standardized processes. And launching in 2023, partners will be able to access biochemical testing for nutritional traits and quality. These improved services mean CGIAR and national partners are becoming more effective and competitive as they use this data to make better decisions.

5. Regional approaches set to drive change: BRI drives change at both local and regional levels. For example, team members visited Kiboko and Njoro stations in Kenya, and ran planning sessions in Nairobi with East African breeding teams. This helped clarify challenges and priorities in the region, helping define how services could best be established. Kenya’s key outcomes included: a commitment with CIMMYT leadership to establish services in Kiboko as a pilot, an action plan to improve EBS development and adoption in the region, and endorsement by CGIAR Breeding Research Services leadership of major Crops to End Hunger grants in the region – these fill key gaps in the drive to modernization. The team plans to organize similar sessions to support CGIAR/NARES breeding networks in other regions.

These five strides forward represent but a glimpse into Breeding Resources’ progress. And these are much more than just separate achievements. They represent a shift in breeding culture across the CGIAR-NARES networks – one that will help deliver better varieties, faster. With major plans for 2023, CGIAR-NARES can look forward to the tools and services they need to deliver first-class programs.

Read the original article: Five strides forward for CGIAR crop breeding resources and services

Story and feature photo by Adam Hunt, EiB/BRI/ABI Communications Lead. We would like to thank all funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund. And thank you to the supporters and partners of CGIAR Excellence in Breeding, particularly the funding from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Digital Press Briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security Dr. Cary Fowler, and USAID Global Food Crisis Coordinator Dina Esposito

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

Cary Fowler, Special Envoy for Global Food Security, and Dina Esposito, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Food Crisis Coordinator, discussed the US strategy for addressing the global food security crisis and their ongoing visit to Malawi and Zambia at a digital press briefing on January 19.

“We’ve recently supported a new project which will be operating in a number of countries, including Zambia and Malawi, that will be coordinated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,” said Fowler.

“They’ll be establishing innovation hubs where they’ll bring together the best and most appropriate technologies and information to help small-scale farmers with a whole variety of issues that they confront. This will give the farmers access, for example in Zambia, to drought-tolerant maize, which they’re really clamoring for. This is maize which, on a year-in and year-out basis, on average will yield about 30 percent more, rotated with legumes, which provide protein and also enrich the soil and reduce the need for fertilizer. But also other technologies and assistance in establishing markets for those products and lengthening out the value chain so that farmers are not just – and small businesses are not just dealing with raw commodities but are taking those commodities and making something more valuable and more useful to a broader population.”

Read the original article: Digital Press Briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security Dr. Cary Fowler, and USAID Global Food Crisis Coordinator Dina Esposito

‘Farmers now more aware about climate resilient agri’

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

A workshop in New Delhi on the Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) programme explored solar harvesting, carbon credit, crop residue management, climate resilient cultivars, millets and pulses in cropping systems, and maize drying and processing.

Arun Kumar Joshi from the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) highlighted the potential of the programme if more farmers embrace CRA technology.

New technologies and innovations are essential in helping farmers adapt to changing climate conditions and reduce reliance on greenhouse gases (GHG).

Read the original article: ‘Farmers now more aware about climate resilient agri’