funder_partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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A Grain a Day

Written by on May 28, 2015. Posted in News.

“A Grain a Day” is an opportunity to shed light on the important role maize and wheat play in global nutrition and to celebrate the dietary value of these food staples. Globally, an estimated 800 million people do not get enough food to eat and more than 2 billion suffer from micronutrient deficiency, or “hidden hunger,” according to U.N. food agencies. Measures to ensure an adequate supply of vital micronutrients include: diet diversification, nutritional education, supplementation and biofortification. Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are using biofortification to boost pro-vitamin A and zinc levels in maize and iron and zinc concentrations in wheat.

Recipes

You can join in the campaign by sending us your favorite wheat or maize-based recipe. All original recipes will be featured below and in our “A Grain a Day” cookbook to be published this summer.
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#grainaday

Vitamin A Orange Maize: A partnership between Agriculture and Nutrition Bears Fruit

By Yassir Islam, Guest blogger from HarvestPlus
One of the fruits of the partnership between agricultural scientists and nutritionists were the world’s first “orange” maize varieties rich in vitamin A. This ‘orange’ vitamin A maize has been conventionally bred to provide higher levels of provitamin A carotenoids, a naturally occurring plant pigment also found in many orange foods such as mangoes, carrots and pumpkins, that the body then converts into vitamin A.

Biohappiness: A happy farmer grows ZincShakti wheat on his farm in Uttar Pradesh, India. Photos: Nirmal Seeds, India #grainaday

Farmers in India embrace high-zinc
wheat for its nutritional benefit

By Velu GovindanUndernourishment affects some 795 million people worldwide – more than one out of every nine people do not get enough food to lead a healthy, active lifestyle, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

nutrition article #grainaday

Combatting hidden hunger is key to boosting good nutrition

By Martin Kropff, CIMMYT Director GeneralThere are certain things that all human beings need to survive and food is one of them. Aside from food as a biological necessity, it is also a complex cultural product shaped by agriculture, climate, geography and the pursuit of pleasure.

Recetas

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How do you use maize and wheat in your favorite recipe?

Written by on May 25, 2015. Posted in Features.

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Globally, an estimated 800 million people do not get enough food to eat and more than 2 billion suffer from micronutrient deficiency, or “hidden hunger,” according to U.N. food agencies.

As staple foods, maize and wheat provide vital nutrients and health benefits, making up close to two-thirds of the world’s food energy intake, and contributing 55 to 70 percent of the total calories in the diets of people living in developing countries, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working to ensure the ongoing production of high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties of maize and wheat to improve both the quantity and nutritional quality of these key crops.

These measures include biofortification, a process by which scientists combine conventional plant breeding and lab work to improve the micronutrient content of maize and wheat. At CIMMYT, this process is being used to boost pro-vitamin A and zinc levels in maize and iron and zinc concentrations in wheat.

Boosting the micronutrient content of crops through biofortification can help tackle hidden hunger, simultaneously improving human health and economic growth leading to improved international development.

In order to shed light on the important role maize and wheat play in global nutrition, CIMMYT is celebrating the dietary value of these food staples — and we need your help.

Send us your favorite wheat or maize-based recipe. We’ll feature original recipes on our website and in our “A Grain a Day” cookbook to be published this summer.

Be sure to provide us with information about the dish, in addition to the recipe itself. What is its country of origin? When and how is it eaten? Does it have any cultural or historical significance? Has climate change or other external factors affected the ingredients?
If your recipe isn’t your own concoction, but has nutritional benefit, we’ll share the link on Twitter.

Please submit your recipe by June 15, 2015, to be included in the cookbook.

Looking to participate but lacking an original recipe? Tweet a picture or a copy of your recipe to @CIMMYT using the #GrainaDay hashtag Any questions? Write to Brittany Pietrzykowski (b.pietrzykowski@cgiar.org)

World Food Prize laureate Rajaram honored at World Food Forum

Written by on April 28, 2015. Posted in News.

From right to left: Alejandro Violic, retired CIMMYT training specialist, Sanjaya Rajaram and Juan Izquierdo, FAO consultant. Photo: Juan Izquierdo, FAO consultant

Sanjaya Rajaram, recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize, told more than 200 participants at the World Food Forum in Santiago, Chile, on 14 April, that he held hopes for a “second Green Revolution.”

Speaking to an audience that included the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche Guajardo, Rajaram talked about feeding the world’s growing population and the challenges that farmers face to achieve this, which include rising temperatures and more extreme and erratic rainfall. Rajaram emphasized the importance of small-scale agriculture, genetically-modified crops and biofortified crop varieties to provide more nutritious food.

The event included a special recognition for Rajaram’s outstanding work at CIMMYT, along with Dr. Norman Borlaug, to develop more than 500 wheat varieties.

The Forum was organized by CROPLIFE,whose members include Dow, FMC, DuPont, BASF, Bayer, Monsanto, Syngenta and Arista.

Making more from less: matchmaking maize to poor soils

Written by on April 21, 2015. Posted in Features.

WHEN FERTILIZER IS LIMITED, BREEDING SOLUTIONS FOR THE STAFF OF LIFE IN AFRICA

A farmer applying a solution only very few can afford in adequate amounts: nitrogen fertilisers for poor soils in Africa

Among the major crops produced and consumed in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), maize leads, consumed by more than 650 million Africans. Therefore, maize and Africa’s food security and socioeconomic stability are inseparably intertwined. Poor maize productivity has contributed to food shortages, high prices and has pushed more Africans to extreme poverty. Low-fertility soils are part of the problem, and maize varieties specially bred for poor soils offer a partial solution.

Maize and Soil—Chemical Solution, Socioeconomic Problem, Nitrogen in Sips Not Gulps
After water, poor soil nitrogen is the single most critical constraint for Africa’s maize production. Lack of, or inadequate, soil nitrogen leads to low yields and crop failure. Farmers therefore need nitrogen fertilizers to improve yields when soils are depleted or infertile. However, for most smallholder farmers, the harsh reality is that chemical fertilizers—or adequate amounts of them—remain out of their reach, unaffordable owing to the high costs.

To address this, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and its partners are working through the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) Project to develop maize varieties that are more efficient at using the small quantities of fertilizer that smallholder farmers can afford, typically less than 30 kilograms per hectare. This means that farmers obtain up to 50 percent more from the limited fertilizer applied.

From problems to solutions: everybody wins!
IMAS focuses on improving the genetics of maize varieties to better match the typical soil profiles of smallholder maize farms in eastern and southern Africa. Different maize varieties respond very differently to soil nitrogen stress. ‘In complement to improved agronomy and soil management, selection of appropriate maize varieties for specific soil conditions can play an enormous role in improving productivity and food security in Africa,’ observes Biswanath Das, a maize breeder at CIMMYT. By packaging nitrogen-use efficiency in the seed, IMAS hopes to improve maize yields efficiently and economically for small holder farmers in Africa.

At this year’s Global Soil Week (GSW) running from April 19–23 in Berlin, Germany, it is important that tangible solutions be formulated for farmers to nurture and sustain healthier soils. Engagement and dialogue forums like GSW and the recent #TalkSoil tweet chat initiated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and Shamba Shape Up (a Kenyan television show targeting smallholder farmers) are critical for inclusive discussions to help farmers in Africa.

Such dialogues must continue throughout 2015—the UN International Year of Soils—but also beyond. Why? Because soil is the staff of life, and the Substance of Transformation, as the Global Soil Week theme this year reminds us.

Links

IMAS messages for Global Soil Week and International Year of Soils | Press release
More on the IMAS project
Videos: Maize for hungry soils | Maize that thrives in poor soils
2015 International Year of Soils | Global Soil Week

Poor soils a huge limitation for Africa’s food security

Written by on April 19, 2015. Posted in News.

TEXCOCO, MEXICO, April 19, 2015 – Sustainable Development Goals being addressed at the Global Soil Week cannot ignore dependence on maize as a staple food for millions in Africa, and the need to help smallholder farmers maximize yields in African soils.

Today, Berlin, Germany, hosts soil scientists from across the world who have converged for the Global Soil Week (GSW) to find solutions for sustainable land governance and soil management. Farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture are keen to see outcomes that will translate into healthier soils for sustainable development in Africa and elsewhere.

For Africa’s smallholder farmers, low-fertility soils with poor nitrogen-supplying capacity are only second to drought as a limiting factor. Consequently, farmers suffer low yields and crop failure, a situation that has crippled food security for more than half (60 percent) of the population in this region who depend on smallscale farm produce.

To improve productivity, farmers apply nitrogen fertilizers, which provide necessary nutrients the soil needs to feed plants. However, most farmers cannot afford to apply the required amount of fertilizers because the costs are too high for them. It is estimated that nitrogen fertilizer costs as much as six times more in Africa that in any other part of the world. “For my one-acre farm, I use a 50-kilogram bag that costs KES 4,000 [USD 42]. This is a lot of money, so I have to use very little to save for the next planting season,” says Ms. Lucy Wawera, a farmer in Embu County, Kenya.

Maize is the most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa consumed by more than 650 million people. This dependence therefore dictates that solutions to Africa’s fragile food security also focus on improving maize production. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and its partners are working through the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) Project to address -nitrogen depleted soils. They are exploiting naturally occurring genetic variation in maize to develop new varieties that are nitrogen-use-efficient or better at utilizing the limited amounts of fertilizer that smallholders can afford in sub-Saharan Africa—typically less than 30 kilograms. These new varieties yield up to 50 percent more than current commercial varieties in nitrogen-poor soils. IMAS draws on strong collaboration between the public and private sectors involving the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council and DuPont Pioneer.

“Matching appropriate crop varieties to specific soil systems and ecologies can play a major role in improving productivity of fragile smallholder farming systems in Africa,” says Dr. Biswanath Das, a maize breeder at CIMMYT. “Increasing productivity on existing farmland will prevent encroachment into marginal or virgin lands which leads to further soil degradation.” Helping farmers deal with the challenge of low-fertility soils will remain a key focus for international and national actors in Africa throughout 2015, the UN International Year of Soils. Open discussion platforms should therefore be encouraged to facilitate comprehensive and inclusive dialogue on soil matters. A recent tweet-chat forum titled ‘#TalkSoil’ initiated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and Shamba Shape Up (a Kenyan television program on smallholder agriculture) brought together scientists, farmers, regulators and other actors to discuss a single topic – soil.

It is therefore important that GSW deliberations formulate sustainable solutions for farmers to build healthier soils, and to nurture and maintain them. This will not only arrest soil deterioration but also protect a critical livelihood for billions, and a source and ‘sustainer’ of life for us all – agriculture, deeply rooted and inseparable from soil.

Links for more information

·         IMAS Project: Overview |Update | Videos—Maize for hungry soils | Maize that thrives in poor soils
·         Follow the IMAS conversation on Twitter during #GlobalSoilWeek via #IMASPro
·         Global Soil Week 2015
·         International Year of Soils 2015
·         CIMMYT’s research on maize

For information on the IMAS project, please contact: Biswanath Das: IMAS Project Leader| Brenda Wawa: media contact

Global Soil Week

Written by on April 16, 2015. Posted in News.

For the much-needed focus they bring on a burning issue, CIMMYT’s Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) Project celebrates the Global Soil Week and the International Year of Soils.
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Africa’s maize farmers must deal with drought, weeds and pests, but their problems start with degraded, nutrient-starved soils and the farmers’ inability to purchase enough nitrogen fertilizer.
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Smallholder maize yields in sub-Saharan Africa are a fraction of those in the developed world, due mainly to the region’s poor soils and farmers’ limited access to fertilizer or improved maize seed. On average, such farmers apply only 9 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare of cropland.

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Of that small amount, often less than half is captured by the crop; the rest is leached deep into the soil where plants cannot recover it or otherwise lost. But all is not bleak, and here are some of the solutions from the Improved Maize for African Soils Project.

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Videos

Links

IMAS Project | International Year of Soils | Global Soil Week 2015 – Press release • Short feature | Our work on maize

Green manures help Zambian and Malawian farmers feed crops and livestock

Written by on April 13, 2015. Posted in News.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has tasked CIMMYT with a new project to introduce green manure cover crops to smallholder farmers in eastern Zambia and central and southern Malawi.

Green manures can improve fertility, protect soils and provide fodder and grain for farm animals and humans. They also help substitute for mineral fertilizers, which are costly for landlocked African nations to produce or import. Most smallholder farmers cannot afford them and apply less than 10 kg per hectare of fertilizer to their crops, according to a 2013 study on profitable and sustainable nutrient management systems for eastern and southern African smallholder farming systems.

“This is less than one-tenth of average fertilizer rates in prosperous countries and a key reason why maize yields in southern Africa are around only one ton per hectare,” said Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT conservation agriculture specialist based in southern Africa. “As a result, many farm families in the region remain food insecure and caught in a seemingly unbreakable cycle of poverty.”

Farmers admiring their maize-cowpea intercrop. Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT

With full participation of farmers, the project will test green manures in rotation with maize and as intercrops or relay crops in different farming systems, according to Thierfelder.

“Improved, high-yielding maize can show its potential only under good agronomic practices, such as optimal plant spacing, timely planting, good weed and pest control and adequate fertilization,” Thierfelder explained. “Farmers in Europe and the Americas have followed these basic principles for generations, and some of the ideas spread to Asia and Africa during the Green Revolution. But in Africa mineral fertilizers are most often used by rich farmers and for high-value crops.“

“Improved maize that tolerates drought and other stresses, coupled with conservation agriculture practices –minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and diversification through rotations and intercropping systems – are farmers’ best bet to escape the poverty trap,” Thierfelder said.

Keeping crop residues on the soil is a critical component of conservation agriculture, but the residues are traditionally fed to livestock, which also underpin smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. So the use of conservation agriculture hinges on the ability of a cropping system to produce enough biomass to feed farm animals while providing an adequate residue cover. This requires a source of fertilization to feed the cropping system.

The FAO-CIMMYT project will address this by allocating green manure cover crops for different uses. “Over the last five years, CIMMYT’s global conservation agriculture program has identified potential cover crop varieties that fit farmers’ needs,” Thierfelder said. “Velvet bean, lablab, cowpea, sunnhemp or jackbean can provide 10-50 tons per hectare of extra biomass for livestock. They can also leave 50-150 kilograms per hectare of nitrogen in the soil and do not need any additional fertilizer to grow. Finally, lablab and cowpea provide grain that humans can eat.”

One approach Thierfelder promotes is for a farmer to dedicate part of her land to grow maize under conservation agriculture practices, and other areas to sow green manures, nutritional and cash crops that increase soil fertility and household income. “In this way, a farmer can diversify and gradually have money to purchase mineral fertilizer, boost productivity and move out of poverty.”

Green manure cover crops are not new in Africa. Why should they work this time?

According to Thierfelder, there are examples of success in northern Mozambique with CIMMYT’s partner organization CARE International, using lablab and improved germplasm in cassava-based CA systems can increase cassava tuber yields from 4 to 13 tons per hectare, without using additional mineral fertilizer. “In Tanzania, lablab and other green manures are an important part of the cropping system,” he said. “In Zimbabwe, successful experiments with maize and green manures under an ACIAR-funded ZimCLIFFS project also provide hope. The FAO-CIMMYT project will guide the way on integrating green manures cover crops into these farming systems.”

Malawi Principal Secretary praises CIMMYT contributions to climate change adaptation

Written by on April 13, 2015. Posted in News.

Malawi’s Principal Secretary for Agriculture, Erica Maganga, led a delegation of Government Principal Secretaries and seed company representatives to Mpilisi and Ulongue in Balaka District on 11 March to observe progress in conservation agriculture (CA) adoption, as part of the country’s Agriculture Sector Wide Approach Program (ASWAP).

“CIMMYT is on the forefront in promoting different options to farmers… previous challenges will now not be an issue here as farmers have been exposed to different solutions,” said Maganga, after seeing the benefits of a trial in Ulongue where maize is grown under CA using different types of residues. Over the last several years the country has actively pursued CA, implementing practices that include eliminating traditional ridge-and-furrow tillage systems, keeping crop residues and rotating maize with leguminous crops.

Malawi is smaller than the state of Pennsylvania, yet supports 17.4 million people, half of whom live below the poverty line. Global climate change has disrupted the country’s traditional rain cycles, resulting in longer droughts or extreme floods. Maize is Malawi’s primary food crop, but unpredictable weather causes longer “hungry seasons” – the months until the next maize harvest, after the previous year’s grain has been eaten. With 85% of Malawian farmers depending upon rain-fed agriculture, erratic weather jeopardizes food security and livelihoods.

In 2006, 5 farmers were practicing conservation agriculture in Balaka District, Southern Malawi. Today, there are over 2,200. Photo: T. Samson/CIMMYT

The Malawian government and farmers are working vigorously to address climate variability and support projects in affected communities. One example is Tiyanjane Nutrition Group, a beneficiary of CIMMYT’s ReSEED Maize Project funded by USAID. The group is involved in small-scale farming, value addition and sale of baked goods. Farmers use the proceeds to help orphans and other people in need and to buy inputs for better farming.

“CIMMYT through ReSEED is demonstrating drought-tolerant maize varieties to farmers,” Maganga said. “I want to urge seed companies to be proactive in providing these new maize varieties to farmers.”

The delegation also visited farmers who adopted CA practices such as intercropping pigeonpea with maize. Other demonstrations showcased crop diversification, promotion of indigenous crops, nutrient management, good agriculture practices and construction of infiltration pits and lowland tracts to manage water runoff and filter pollutants.

Mphatso Gama explaining how CA works with Principal Secretary ofAgriculture Erica Maganga looking on. — Mphatso Gama explaining how CA works with Principal Secretary of
Agriculture Erica Maganga looking on.

The high-level delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, the Principal Secretary for Trade and Industry, the Principal Secretary for Finance, the Principal Secretary for Transport and Public Works, the Principal Secretary for Local Government and Infrastructure Development, the Principal Secretary for Lands and Housing Development, the Principal Secretary for Nutrition, HIV & AIDS, the Principal Secretary for Youth, and the Principal Secretary for Economic Planning and Development. Seed companies including Monsanto, Pannar Seed, Chemicals and Marketing Company, Total LandCare Malawi and Self Help Africa also participated.

Going further down the path to bolster Africa’s maize sector

Written by on April 7, 2015. Posted in News.

The long-running Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project started in 2007 and ends this month. What next after this long-distance runner, and, more importantly, what will happen to DTMA products?

Enter DTMASS, which stands for Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling. It’s to be a seamless transition to the next stage on the research-to-development continuum, albeit with a switch in terms of who takes the lead and is firmly in the front seat, and who plays a facilitating role and now settles in the back seat.

DTMASS stands on the shoulders of DTMA ‒ and other projects ‒ the fundamental difference being that now seed companies will be the main drivers of the project. In essence, this is in fact the rationale for DTMASS. Also, to avoid duplication, the geographical areas DTMASS shall concentrate on are different from DTMA sites.

FIGURES: The DTMA scorecard in 2014

13: the number of countries covered in Africa
72: the percentage these 13 countries which jointly account for, as a proportion of all maize grown in sub-Saharan Africa
205: the cumulative number of maize varieties released (mostly hybrids)
184: the distinct varieties represented by the 205 varieties above

FACTS

49%: the additional yield from hybrids, on average, compared to open pollinated varieties
Going up: popularity of hybrids in Africa

“We’ve noted the good products that come from DTMA, and we are keen to forge partnerships to take these products further down the research-to-development path and make a difference,” said Dr. John McMurdy, International Research Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is funding DTMASS.

DTMASS was launched at continental level late last year in November 2014 (see page 1 here), followed by focused country-level launches in each of the participating countries. Implementation began in March 2015.

Continuing conundrum on women and men: let’s talk business Studies show that gender gaps continue to persist, from seed access to seed production. Therefore, a gender-responsive approach is core to DTMASS’ work, recognizing that gender-responsiveness is not a single silver bullet. Rather, it is an accumulation of small efforts done at each of the five steps of seed access and production which will lead to gender-equitable outcomes. The facilitative five steps are (1) seed production (2) processing and branding (3) promotion, (4) distribution and network, and (5) monitoring and evaluation).

“These gender-equitable outcomes are not a work of charity,” stressed Vongai Kandiwa, CIMMYT’s Gender Specialist. “It makes business sense. Seed companies are losing business opportunities by failing to target a large sector of the market – women.”

And while men not only own most of the land but are also twice as likely to walk into an agrodealer shop (observation research in Eastern Kenya), anecdotal evidence as well as sample – but representative – research has shown that men generally consult their wives first before purchasing. Their wives will not help them make informed decisions if they themselves are not aware of the options available.

The curious puzzle of Kenya’s paradox, and some shocks for locals During the launch of DTMASS in Kenya on 2^nd February 2015, it was revealed that maize productivity in Kenya has been on a debilitating downward spiral. Yet Kenya has bona fide and well-established seed companies with significant knowledge and experience. While productivity in the 1980s was well over two tonnes per hectare, it has since dipped to 1.6 tonnes, even as Kenya’s potential production stands at an impressive and life-changing 10 tonnes.

“Good partnerships would turn around that situation, and there’s every reason why Kenya should do better,” observed Dr. Tsedeke Abate, DTMASS Project Leader, who also leads DTMA.

The DTMASS goal for Kenya is 1,600 tonnes of certified seed by 2019. CIMMYT will work in partnership with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and local seed companies, whose representatives attended the meeting. Some of the seed-company representatives said they were shocked by Kenya’s dismal performance on production: they said they knew it was low, but had not known it was that low.

Dr. Joyce Malinga, Acting Director of KALRO’s Food Crops Research Institute, observed that seed has the greatest potential to increase on-farm production and enhance productivity. She said KALRO is keen on commercialization of released drought-tolerant varieties, as a means to ensure that these varieties reach farmers.

The Kenya launch in Nairobi was preceded by country launches in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. DTMASS encourages cross-country learning, and the experience from the Kenya launch would be taken to Uganda the following week, in the same manner Kenya had benefitted from lessons for the three preceding country launches.

Uganda: countering counterfeits, the heat is on, and onwards and upwards! “This project is at the right place at the right time,” said Dr Imelda Kashaija, Deputy Director, National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), Uganda, on 4^th February 2015. She was speaking at the launch of the DTMASS Project in Kampala.

She observed that in Uganda, formal players offering certified seed currently account for a mere 35 percent of the market, leaving 65 percent to informal players. This is an untenable situation, inherent with many problems with the spread of disease as the biggest risk (see maize lethal necrosis, for example). It is estimated that nearly half (40 percent) of the hybrid seed sold in Uganda is fake. “We all know that if we don’t improve the formal seed system, we continue to encourage the bad habit of counterfeit seed that is rampant in Uganda. One way to reduce counterfeit is to strengthen the formal system so farmers get good-quality seed,” Dr. Kashaija added.

Maize affected by drought A WangalachiW Poor pickings that will lead to a paltry harvest: a maize cob from a crop hard-hit by drought.
Photo: A. Wangalachi CIMMYT

She said the project will bring in drought-tolerant maize varieties that will help Uganda fight climate change. In the 19^th century, Uganda was dubbed ‘the pearl of Africa’ by Victorian-era traveler and journalist, Henry Morton Stanley, for good reason. The country sits astride the broad shores of the world’s second-largest freshwater lake (Victoria) which drains into the mighty River Nile, evoking images of glistening green lush landscapes, water in plenty and banana fronds waving in the tropical breeze. But this postcard-perfect picture is beginning to shatter. “We’re getting more dry than wet days,” revealed Dr. Kashaija. “Distribution of rain has changed, even if not the amount. Not only are there now fewer days of rain, the rains are also now unpredictable. So, crops that take longer in the field have poor harvests.” It is also important to remember eastern Uganda falls firmly in the drylands.

Describing seed companies as “our other arm when reaching communities,” Dr. Kashaija observed that seed companies take the seed NARO produces and use it for business. But they focus on more than money by delivering quality seed, thereby helping the government in its objective to improve formal systems. “Through this project, more farmers are going to be able to access improved drought-tolerant seed,” Dr. Kashaija concluded.

Dr. McMurdy described DTMASS as “a strategic project for USAID. DTMASS is part of a suite of new investments, and part of the Feed the Future initiative. This meeting is an opportunity to discuss constraints, and also to foster partnerships and more cooperation. We are looking for synergies with other stakeholders and efforts, including the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.”

“We have the knowledge and technology, and what remains is translating knowledge to action,” added Dr. Abate. He said that Uganda has made significant progress in terms of maize productivity, as indicated by the latest FAO statistics.

The acreage devoted to maize has also doubled over the past several years. Through DTMASS, by 2019, Uganda is expected to produce 1,800 tonnes of improved maize. “I have no doubt Uganda can exceed this projection, given the good team, good partnership and experienced players,” Dr. Abate predicted.

A helping hand Capacity-building to help meet project goals is an integral part of DTMASS, starting with ‘servicing the engine’ – the seed companies that will drive DTMASS.

To this end, in-country seed business management and production courses were held for participating companies. First up was Malawi in June 2015, with Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique in July, Kenya in August, and concluding with Ethiopia in September.

Links:

More on Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling Project (DTMASS)
DTMASS project launch
Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project website
Water Efficient Maize for Africa Project
Improved Maize for African Soils Project
Maize lethal necrosis
- Sin in the Seed: Meeting of the Minds to Combat Maize Lethal Necrosis
- New Maize Lethal Necrosis Project(also funded by USAID)

Uganda launch cropW Participants at the DTMASS project launch in Uganda, 4th February 2015. Photo: CIMMYT

No scientific basis for criticism of wheat as a food staple, nutritionist says

Written by on February 23, 2015. Posted in News.

A nutritionist who is outspoken about the negative consequences of gluten-free diets said in a recent interview that she wants to dispel myths generated by claims that the protein found in wheat is unhealthy.

“Wheat has recently been under attack by people who’ve made claims about it that simply can’t be verified by science,” said Julie Miller Jones, professor emeritus of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“Gluten-free” has become a big money maker for the food industry. Sales have soared 63 percent since 2012, with almost 4,600 products introduced last year, according to the January 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Retail sales of gluten-free foods in the United States were estimated at $12.2 billion in 2014, and by 2020 the market is projected to be valued at $23.9 billion, Statistica reports.

The popularity of gluten- and wheat-free diets has grown in part due to claims published in such books as “Wheat Belly” by William Davis and “Brain Grain” by David Perlmutter. These publications say that wheat products are the cause of most health problems, views rebutted by Miller Jones.

Such claims counter current medical and nutritional advice in international dietary guidelines established in conjunction with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.

“Apart from the approximately 1 percent of people who suffer from celiac disease, the fewer than 1 percent of people who suffer from wheat allergies and the few who suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity, prominent celiac experts and health professionals discount the many supposed benefits of going gluten-free, urging those who do not have these conditions not to adopt such a diet,” Miller Jones said.

As a food staple, wheat plays a vital role in global food security, providing 20 percent of the overall total amount of calories and protein consumed worldwide.

Miller Jones, who delivered a talk at CIMMYT in Mexico, shared her views on the controversy surrounding fad diets that urge the elimination of wheat and its protein complex, gluten, in the following interview.

Q: What worries you about negative attacks on wheat consumption?

A: I’m very concerned about it. One of the attacks is based on the fact that wheat has been bred by people – that this breeding somehow has done something very evil to the grain. I really want to dispel the myth that wheat is somehow bad for you and that modern wheat is somehow different from the wheat that existed years ago. It’s different because we can grow more of it, it’s higher yielding, but it’s not different in terms of the nutrition that it delivers. In fact, we get more nutrition per acre, which I think is a good thing rather than a bad thing.

Q: Critics have suggested that scientists are creating new proteins in wheat. Is this true?

A: You can’t create a new protein without creating a mutation, and plant breeding doesn’t normally create new mutations. There are hundreds of varieties of wheat that exist in the world – what Norman Borlaug (the late CIMMYT wheat breeder and Nobel Peace Prize winner, known as the father of the Green Revolution) did was cross these wheats to develop grains that would grow under a variety of conditions. The glutenins and gliadins that were there have been there ever since wheat has been grown as a crop. He claims that new, modern wheat has more gluten than it did before. A lot of research is showing that the level has not changed. In fact, in his book, Dr. Davis suggests that gliadin is a new toxic protein. That is patently false because you can go back into the early chemical literature – that mentions gliadin early in the 1800s.

Q: Critics have also said that gluten-free fad diets are marketed towards a more western, wealthy culture. If so, what are the implications for the developing world?

A: Obviously, these doctors are trying to sell books in affluent countries where obesity is a big problem. We would all love to find a solution to obesity. All the simplistic solutions like eliminate a particular food or food group or eat in the ancient way – all of those solutions are really quite simplistic. There are a number of things that we need to do in order to address obesity. They are aimed at an obese population concerned about chronic disease and diseases that are associated with obesity. The tragedy in that is that if, as we’ve seen with other issues, when developed nations say that they are not going to eat something because of a particular issue with that food then that food has been rejected as food aid in some developing countries. So this has some really amazingly potentially harmful results that no one really initially intended – these unintended consequences are really problematic. It could also mean that people switch their diets to foods that are less sustainable. We’re really facing a problem with feeding the additional two-and-a-half billion people that will exist on this planet in 2050. Clearly, it’s not a viable or sustainable strategy for feeding the world. I’m very concerned about it and these sort of second-order consequences.

Q: How credible are reports that wheat consumption is bad?

A: Dr. Davis suggests that if we didn’t eat wheat we would cure diabetes. Well, the data simply say completely the opposite. We have studies of large populations from all over the world where people who ate about three servings of whole-grain cereals and bread a day had a 25 percent reduced risk of diabetes. They have a 25 percent reduced risk of coronary heart disease. A study just published at Harvard University in January of this year showed that the people who ate whole grains had reduced mortality for age. So the idea that taking wheat and grains out of the diet makes you healthier simply flies in the face of the scientific literature.

Q: Is there a simple goal you want to achieve?

A: I think that what we do know about healthy diets is that healthy diets are ones that are balanced. If we look at those diets, which support brain health, heart health, help prevent diabetes – they’re the ones such as the Mediterranean diet, which has breads and cereals as a base. It includes meat, poultry, fish but relatively small amounts of meat. It asks you to eat some legumes. The dietary approach to stop hypertension called the DASH diet has been studied on a large cohort of men and women who initially had high blood pressure. What they showed was that when people ate this diet, which has lots of fruits and vegetables, servings of whole grain, low-fat dairy – this mix that we need – those people had a lower risk of cancer and coronary disease. We actually have data on brain health, and diets such as the Mediterranean and the DASH diet showed the least loss of cognitive functioning in the elderly.

Q: In general, should people avoid specific food groups?

A: Instead of eliminating a food group, what we ought to do is eat it in the right amounts. That does not give you the excuse to eat large numbers of servings of what I call doodles, dingdongs and doughnuts. What we need to think about is those kinds of staple foods that have nourished the Aztecs in the past, nourished the pioneers coming across to the New World and that will nourish us today – eat those in the right amount. I’d also like to say exercise would be a good idea, too.

MasAgro widens research platforms and innovation networks in Mexico

Written by on February 13, 2015. Posted in News.

In 2014, the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) program expanded its rural development and innovation networks to 10 Mexican regions through 50 research platforms and 233 demonstration modules of MasAgro technologies and sustainable agronomic practices.

The project developed by the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture (SAGARPA) and CIMMYT provides a framework that can be replicated to take advantage of research and innovation achievements and which secures returns on investments.

In 2014, SAGARPA invested nearly US $40 million in its partnership with CIMMYT to offer better opportunities to Mexican farmers. Six thousand Mexican farmers participated in over 170 training events across the country. MasAgro also offered more than 40 workshops on the adoption of different technologies and conservation agriculture practices to more than 1,300 farmers actively engaged in the program.

These workshops are adapted to the capacity building needs detected through hubs and cover subjects that include adoption of improved maize, wheat and barley varieties, fertilization diagnosis tools, precision machinery, access to new markets and postharvest technologies.

MasAgro also develops basic maize seed and pre-commercial hybrids. So far the program has delivered more than 15 tons of basic seed to Mexican seed companies. Once multiplied and marketed, this seed will be enough to sow two million hectares.

Bram Govaerts, MasAgro leader, explained that in 2014 the initiative established 21 postharvest trials across Chiapas, the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. These trials were designed to offer local solutions to farmers, including accessible options to store harvested grain and to prevent losses that in some cases can exceed 30 percent of their annual harvest.

He added that MasAgro adapts machinery to the needs of the communities where the program operates and operates and develops multiuse-multicrop implements to reduce production and storage costs for farmers. Last year four “smart” machinery protoypes were developed.

“MasAgro works with farmers who have one or two hectares of land, where they can im-prove their efficiency by using manual seeder-fertilizers, but also with farmers who own larger plots who need precision technology to estimate optimal nitrogen fertilizer doses,” Govaerts explained.

In addition, MasAgro successfully developed 44 integral fertility research protocols to improve soil quality in different production zones, in line with the United Nations Organiza-tion for Food and Agriculture (FAO) Year of Soil for 2015.

The program uses remote sensors to estimate exact doses of nitrogen fertilizer for maize and wheat on some 8,000 hectares throughout Mexico.

The arm that strengthens MasAgro is its conservation agriculture agronomy technicians certified by CIMMYT. Finally, by late 2014, MasAgro-Móvil information service had more than 2,700 users who receive weather and agronomic recommendations from technical experts.

Boosting yields while staving off the spread of wheat diseases

Written by on January 30, 2015. Posted in Features.

El Dr. Julio Huerta, patólogo experto en royas y científico adjunto (asignado por el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias (INIFAP)/Investigador de Trigo y Avena INIFAP CIRCE CEVAMEX).

Wheat provides about 20 percent of the world’s food calories. Growing wheat to maturity can be complicated by fast-spreading virulent diseases, which threaten production and land-shortage pressures.

Two among many wheat scientists in the wheat breeding program with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) near Mexico City, work to develop and fine-tune high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties.

Ravi Singh head of CIMMYT’s Global Spring Wheat Improvement Program and Julio Huerta, a rust pathologist, select the most desirable traits suitable for about 60 percent of the developing world’s wheat growing area across various climates, environments and at risk of threats from diseases and pests.

Their understanding of the selection process evolved from nearly four decades of research, which began as they worked under the mentorship of Sanjaya Rajaram, the winner of the 2014 World Food Prize, at CIMMYT research stations in El Batan, Obregon and Toluca.

“As a teacher, Dr. Rajaram led us through the Socratic method of questioning to help young scientists observe, articulate and learn from what they saw in the wheat fields,” Huerta said.

Inspired by what he refers to as the “freedom to flourish,” through the process of asking and receiving answers to questions which inspired him, Huerta developed an eye for wheat selection and judicial elimination in wheat breeding ultimately becoming one of the top wheat curators in the world.

Over the years, as their skills developed, Huerta and Singh tested the theoretical basis for wheat improvement to help form an applied regime approach whereby the “laws” of science are evaluated in practice – in fields across the globe. This work led to their capacity to produce germplasm – or wheat material – which is ultimately distributed to government-run National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS).

“We develop a set of germplasm that is distributed globally,” Singh said. “However, as we make distribution decisions, we evaluate the locations where these seeds will be grown prior to selecting appropriate traits suitable for specific contexts such as high-heat or early frost.”

After receiving germplasm from CIMMYT, NARS work with local seed nurseries to consider which varieties would be best to grow, adapting recommended varieties to their local environment.

Scientists Singh and Huerta offer vital contributions to the ability of farmers to generate profits while strengthening food security by improving wheat productivity. A key part of this work involves replacing varieties susceptible to disease with durable resistant varieties that mitigate losses.

Over many years, CIMMYT has worked with hundreds of partner organizations and thousands of individuals; seed from CIMMYT’s International Wheat Improvement Network has been delivered to 121 countries.

‘Gluten-free’ diets put food security, human health at risk – nutritionist

Written by on January 26, 2015. Posted in Features.

Hans Braun, director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT examines wheat with nutritionist Julie Miller Jones in a greenhouse at CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City. Jones presented a talk on nutrition and wheat at CIMMYT. Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) — Eliminating wheat consumption to avoid ingesting gluten is at best unnecessary for most people and at worst means that diets could lack cereal fiber and other valuable health benefits provided by grains, according to a top nutritionist.

Complete removal of wheat from the human diet would further cripple global efforts to feed the current global population of 7.2 billion, said Julie Miller Jones during a presentation delivered to scientists at CIMMYT on Tuesday.

Despite providing 20 percent of calories consumed globally, wheat and its protein complex, gluten, are often criticized in books and news stories as the cause of many human ailments. However, wheat and grain-based staples provide an array of nutritional and health benefits.

The claim that such non-cereal fibers as those found in fruit, vegetables and legumes can replace cereal fibers has been shown to be untrue, said Miller Jones, who is professor emeritus of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Eating fibers from a variety of sources plays a role in maintaining healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels, she said, adding that they also reduce the risk of gut disorders, help maintain healthy gut bacteria and keep unhealthy bacteria at bay.

Abandoning wheat consumption altogether could lead to a reliance on more costly foods, in short supply or impossible to produce on a global scale to meet the dietary needs of a population expected to increase to more than 9 billion by 2050, said Miller Jones.

“Even if we did decide to abandon wheat as a dietary staple, we don’t have the turnaround time, the availability or the quantity of foods that have been recommended as alternatives in anti-gluten fad diets,” she said.

The popularity of gluten-and wheat-free diets has grown largely due to claims published in such books as “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, “Grain Brain” by David Perlmutter and in the news media, asserting that wheat products are the cause of most health problems. Such claims counter current medical and nutritional advice in international dietary guidelines established in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Javier Peña, wheat quality specialist CIMMYT examines bread with nutritionist Julie Miller Jones in the wheat quality laboratory at CIMMYT. Jones presented a talk on nutrition and wheat at the Center. Photo: CIMMYT

“Gluten-free” is a burgeoning industry. Sales have risen 63 percent since 2012, with almost 4,600 products introduced last year, according to “Consumer Reports” magazine.

This is an alarming trend for such nutritionists as Miller Jones, who was also at CIMMYT to discuss the outline for a series of research papers on the various aspects of grain carbohydrates, gluten and health.

“‘Gluten-free’ is actually just another low-carb diet with a hook – any diet that suggests abandoning an entire food group is unhealthy,” said Miller Jones who recommends the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, low fat or non-fat dairy products, whole grains, lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts and beans.

Read the full story here.

Further reading
CIMMYT Review Paper:
Anti-Wheat Fad Diets Undermine Global Food Security Efforts

Highlights of the 12th Asian Maize Conference

Written by on November 27, 2014. Posted in News.

The 12th Asian Maize Conference and Expert Consultation on “Maize for Food, Feed, Nutrition and Environmental Security” convened in Bangkok, Thailand from 31 October to 1 November 2014.

Organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), CIMMYT, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Thai Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Conference brought together around 350 researchers, policy-makers, service providers, innovative farmers and representatives of various organizations from across the public and private sector.

All photos: APAARI

Maize scientist Dr. Saira Bano from Pakistan is presented an award for best poster by Dr. Hiroyuki Konuma, Assistant Director General of FAO RAP	Dr. B.M. Prasanna, Director of the CIMMYT Global Maize Progam, receives a plaque of appreciation from FAO and APAARI for his contributions to the successful organization of the conference and for strengthening regional maize research and development partnerships.
Dr. Tom Lupkin, CIMMYT Director General, with participants Dr. H.S. Gupta, director general of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and Dr. H.S. Sidhu, Senior Research Engineer, CIMMYT India.	Participants and poster presenters from India, S.V. Manjunatha, M.G. Mallikarjuna and S. Hooda Karambir.
Dr. Mulugetta Mekuria, SIMLESA Project Leader, presents on sustainable intensification of maize-based systems.	Dr. Mark Holderness, the Executive Secretary of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), asks a question.

New wheat breeds can help avert food security disaster

Written by on November 24, 2014. Posted in Features.

new wheat breeds By Sanjaya Rajaram

Wheat breeders involved in the monumental global challenge of ensuring food security for 9.5 billion people by 2050 face enormous hurdles.

Overall, we need to double the amount of food produced to meet demand as population grows steadily from just over 7 billion today, according to the World Bank.

Recent statistics from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization indicate that at least 805 million people are estimated to be chronically undernourished.

Wheat, a major staple crop, currently provides 20 percent of the overall daily protein and calories consumed throughout the world. Production must grow 70 percent over the next 35 years, according to the international Wheat Initiative – an achievable goal if annual wheat yields are increased from a current level of below 1 percent to at least 1.7 percent.

Governments and the private sector must more fully support research efforts into developing new wheat varieties or face the risk of further global insecurity related to price instability, hunger riots and related conflict.

Modern-day model

The prevailing vision of the “Father of the Green Revolution” Norman Borlaug, my great friend and mentor who died in 2009 at age 95, provides a sound scientific and humanitarian basis upon which we must build.

Borlaug, with whom I worked at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 because, more than any other single person of his era, he helped to provide bread for a hungry world.

The wheat varieties he developed are credited with saving 1 billion lives with the disease-resistant, high-yield semi-dwarf wheat varieties he developed. Previously, Borlaug had introduced similar innovations throughout Mexico – where CIMMYT is headquartered – leading to the country’s self-sufficiency in wheat.

When he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, he claimed it on behalf of the “army of hunger fighters” with whom he had worked.

“I’m acutely conscious of the fact that I am but one member of that vast army,” he said in his Nobel acceptance speech. “I want to share not only the present honor but also the future obligations with all my companions in arms, for the Green Revolution has not yet been won.”

Two years after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Borlaug stepped aside and appointed me head of the CIMMYT wheat breeding program where I spent most of my career fighting alongside other Green Revolutionaries developing resilient wheat varieties, except for the eight years I spent at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Those wheat varieties are now grown on 58 million hectares (143 million acres) worldwide, contributing to the average 700 million metric tons (770 million tons) of wheat produced annually. We estimate these varieties provide wheat to more than 1 billion people a year.

At ICARDA, first as director of the Integrated Gene Management Program, then as special scientific advisor, I also oversaw the promotion of new technologies to help farmers in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region.

We developed wheat improvement strategies to tackle some of the challenges facing wheat in dry areas, including stripe rust disease, which can put wheat crops around the world at risk.

Ensuring results

The challenges we face today are vastly more complex than they were during Borlaug’s time, but they are not insurmountable.

Global objectives for food security can most definitely be met. However, we must be able to rely on guaranteed research funding from both the public and private sectors to address the many challenges we face, including decreasing land availability and erratic environmental changes related to climate change.

Researchers are developing wheat varieties tolerant to the drought, heat, extreme wet and cold conditions that impact wheat now and that are anticipated by scientists to grow more extreme as global average temperatures continue to warm and weather patterns become more volatile.

These efforts must be accelerated. Funding must cover training so that we can carry on the Borlaug legacy – if we do not have that capacity we will not be able to keep up with the demand for wheat and famine will be the result.

Combining biotechnology with conventional breeding methodologies can help both smallholder farmers and large corporate farm operations to avert potential disaster, but we need financial backing to conduct trials.

Moreover, we must address such wide-ranging concerns affecting wheat as soil health, disease resilience, seed diversity, water management, micronutrient imbalance and the impact of carbon emissions.

The world must wake up to the costs of these challenges and the price of not meeting them.

Sanjaya Rajaram is the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate for scientific research that led to an increase in world wheat production by more than 180 million metric tons (200 million tons). He worked at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) for 33 years.

This article originally appeared on the Thomson Reuters Foundation website as part of the 2014 Borlaug Dialogue co-hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation and CGIAR Fund. The op-ed series titled The Greatest Challenge in Human History: Sustainably Feeding 9 Billion People By 2050 highlighted how agricultural research and development are not only tied to food security and nutrition, but that they are also central to achieving many of the forthcoming U.N Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).