HarvestPlus aims to reduce hidden hunger and provide micronutrients to billions of people directly through the staple foods that they eat. We use a novel process called biofortification to breed higher levels of micronutrients directly into key staple foods. For more information, visit http://www.harvestplus.org/.
Munfiat, a farmer from Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, is happy to sow and share seed of the high-yielding, disease resistant Faisalabad-08 wheat variety. (Photo: CIMMYT/Ansaar Ahmad)
Nearly 3,000 smallholder wheat farmers throughout Pakistan will begin to sow seed of newer, high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties and spread the seed among their peers in 2019, through a dynamic initiative that is revitalizing the contribution of science-based innovation for national agriculture.
Some 73 tons of seed of 15 improved wheat varieties recently went out to farmers in the provinces of Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, as part of the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), an initiative led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
âOur main goal is to help farmers replace outdated, disease-susceptible wheat varieties,â said Muhammad Imtiaz, CIMMYT scientist and country representative for Pakistan who leads the AIP. âStudies have shown that some Pakistan farmers grow the same variety for as long as 10 years, meaning they lose out on the superior qualities of newer varieties and their crops may fall victim to virulent, rapidly evolving wheat diseases.â
With support from CIMMYT and partners, participating farmers will not only enjoy as much as 20 percent higher harvests, but have agreed to produce and share surplus seed with neighbors, thus multiplying the new varietiesâ reach and benefits, according to Imtiaz.
He said the new seed is part of AIPâs holistic focus on better cropping systems, including training farmers in improved management practices for wheat.
Wheat is Pakistanâs number-one food crop. Farmers there produce over 25 million tons of wheat each year â nearly as much as the entire annual wheat output of Africa or South America.
Annual per capita wheat consumption in Pakistan averages over 120 kilograms, among the highest in the world and providing over 60 percent of Pakistanisâ daily caloric intake.
The seed distributed includes varieties that offer enhanced levels of grain zinc content. The varieties were developed by CIMMYT in partnership with HarvestPlus, a CGIAR research program to study and deliver biofortified foods.
According to a 2011 nutrition survey, 39 percent of children in Pakistan and 48 percent of pregnant women suffer from zinc deficiency, leading to child stunting rates of more than 40 percent and high infant mortality.
The road to better food security and nutrition seems straighter for farmer Munsif Ullah and his family, with seed of a high-yielding, zinc-enhanced wheat variety. (Photo: CIMMYT/Ansaar Ahmad)
âI am very excited to be part of Zincol-16 seed distribution, because its rich ingredients of nutrition will have a good impact on the health of my family,â said Munsif Ullah, a farmer from Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Other seed distributed includes that of the Pakistan-13 variety for rainfed areas of Punjab, Shahkar-13 for the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan, Ehsan-16 for rainfed areas in general, and the Umeed-14 and Zardana varieties for Baluchistan.
All varieties feature improved resistance to wheat rust diseases caused by fungi whose strains are mutating and spreading quickly in South Asia.
CIMMYT and partners are training farmers in quality seed production and setting up demonstration plots in farmersâ fields to create awareness about new varieties and production technologies, as well as collecting data to monitor the varietiesâ performance.
They are also promoting resource-conserving practices such as balanced applications of fertilizer based on infrared sensor readings, ridge planting, and zero tillage. These innovations can save water, fertilizer, and land preparation costs, not to mention increasing yields.
âCIMMYTâs main focus in Pakistan is work with national wheat researchers to develop and spread better wheat production systems,â Imtiaz explained. âThis includes improved farming practices and wheat lines that offer higher yields, disease resistance, and resilience under higher temperatures and dry conditions, as well as good end-use quality.â
CIMMYTâs partners in AIP include the National Rural Support Program (NRSP), the Lok Sanjh Foundation, the Village Friends Organization (VFO), the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) Wheat Program, the Wheat Research Institute (WRI) Faisalabad and Sakrand centers, AZRI-Umarkot, Kashmala Agro Seed Company, ARI-Quetta, BARDC-Quetta, and Model Farm Services Center, KP.
On World Food Day, October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) joins the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners around the world in their call to realize Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger by 2030. Learn how CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and Semilla Nueva are working together to use biofortified zinc-enriched maize to reduce malnutrition in Guatemala, an important component of Goal 2.
Over 46 percent of children under five in Guatemala suffer from chronic malnutrition. More than 40 percent of the countryâs rural population is deficient in zinc, an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in pre-natal and post-natal development and is key to maintaining a healthy immune system. CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and Semilla Nueva are working together to change this, through the development and deployment of the worldâs first biofortified zinc-enriched maize.
Biofortified maize is a unique and efficient way of improving nutrition. As the nutrients occur naturally in the plant, consumers do not have to make any behavioral changes to get results. Rather than having to import supplements or fortify food, seeds and crops are sourced within the country, which makes this option more sustainable and accessible even in remote rural areas. It tastes the same as non-biofortified maize varieties and requires no special preparation methods. This made biofortification the obvious choice for improving zinc deficiency in Guatemala, and CIMMYT the obvious partner.
Developed by CIMMYT scientists Evangelina Villegas and Surinder Vasal, QPM has enhanced levels of lysine and tryptophan, essential amino acids, which can help reduce malnutrition in children. Villegas and Vasal would later go on to win the World Food Prize in 2000 for this groundbreaking work, and genetic variation found in QPM would serve as the baseline for developing zinc-enriched maize.
A maize plot of the Fortaleza F3 variety in Guatemala. Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller.Â
After years of breeding work and research, the worldâs first biofortified zinc maize hybrid, ICTA HB-18, was released in Guatemala in May 2018. It was developed by CIMMYT, the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize (MAIZE) and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), and Guatemalaâs Institute for Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA) with support from HarvestPlus. Commercialized by Semilla Nueva under the name Fortaleza F3, the biofortified zinc maize hybrid contains 6-12ppm more zinc and 2.5 times more quality protein compared to conventional maize varieties. An open pollinated variety, ICTA B-15, was also released.
Just 100 grams of tortilla made of either of these varieties can provide 2.5 milligrams of zinc, 50 percent of the daily recommended intake for children, making zinc-enriched biofortified maize an excellent tool in the fight against malnutrition and hidden hunger.
As CIMMYT is a breeding organization, it depends on national partners to get seeds to the farmers. That is where Semilla Nueva comes in. This non-profit social enterprise is working to get high yielding biofortified seeds to farmers in Guatemala.
RĂłmulo GonzĂĄlez’s daughter holds a corncob. Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller.
The last mile
âWe need to be able to impact farmers with our improved germplasm,â said San Vicente. âSemilla Nueva takes us to the last mile, to the farmers, which alone we could not do, so that our breeding work can achieve impact in farmersâ fields and lives.â
Semilla Nueva targets commercial farmers in Guatemala, as they are the main source of maize consumed in the country. Typically, a quarter of their harvest is consumed at home and surplus is sold in local markets, meaning that the zinc maize not only provides increased income to farmers, but also improves nutrition in their families, communities and country at large.
âCIMMYT, along with partners like HarvestPlus, have provided the technologies and support to allow us to come up with new ways to improve farmersâ lives. Tapping into decades of research from qualified scientists is the only way that an organization of our size can have hope of making an impact in the lives of millions of farmers. Thatâs what makes the partnership so incredible,â said Curt Bowen, executive director and cofounder of Semilla Nueva. âWe provide the innovative way to get technologies to farmers through our social enterprise model. CIMMYT and HarvestPlus come up with the technologies that we never could have come up with on our own. Together, we help thousands of families make huge changes in their lives and take on malnutrition, which is one of the worldâs biggest challenges to ending global poverty.â
Semilla Nueva plans to produce 5,000 bags of Fortaleza F3 next year, which will represent 5 percent of the Guatemalan hybrid seed market.
Farmer RĂłmulo GonzĂĄlez on his maize plot.Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller.
âFarmers have responded very positively to Fortaleza F3. They are convinced of its performance, especially during the dry season,â said Angela Bastidas, senior operations director at Semilla Nueva. âThe way we approach farmers is not different than other seed companies; through farm visits, meetings, or field days. We are not reinventing the wheel. The difference with us has been offering farmers exactly what they need in terms of maize performance and price. Additionally, they find that our maize produces soft tortillas that taste better!â she explained.
In the end, the results speak for themselves. Fortaleza F3 increases yields by 13 percent and profits by $164 per bag compared to other mid-priced seeds, which goes a long way in improving farming familiesâ livelihoods, food security and nutrition.
âWith Fortaleza F3, I pay less for the seed compared to other mid-priced competitors that I used to plant. F3 also yields more, giving me a greater profit,â said RĂłmulo GonzĂĄlez, a farmer from the southern coast of Guatemala. âWith the extra income Iâve gotten since switching to F3, Iâve been paying for my daughter to go to school. Fortaleza F3 not only gave me a good harvest, but also the ability to support my daughterâs education.â
Ashley Muzhange eats sadza with her family in rural Zimabwe. Her sadza is made with vitamin A orange maize, a variety improving the nutrition of children and families in the nation. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
In the rural Chiweshe Communal Area, about two hours north of Zimbabweâs capital Harare, 18-month-old Ashley Muzhange tucks into a bowl of vitamin A orange maize sadza. Sadza, a thickened porridge made from finely ground maize grain with a side of stewed vegetables, is the staple dish for rural families.
Ashleyâs sadza is made from biofortified maize, conventionally bred by researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the work of HarvestPlus to contain a higher amount of nutritious vitamin A.
Recent prolonged drought pushed malnutrition to levels not seen in over 15 years, with almost 33,000 children in need of urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition, according to the United Nations Childrenâs Fund (UNICEF). Many experience micronutrient deficiencies, since their diets lack the vitamins and minerals required for growth and development.
Ashley’s mother, Lilian Muzhange, prepares fritas made with vitamin A orange maize grown on their family farm. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
According to the World Health Organization, 35.8 percent of preschool aged children suffer from vitamin A deficiency. The leading cause of preventable blindness in children, it compromises the immune system increasing the risk of death from diseases like measles, diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Biofortification increases the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through conventional plant breeding or agronomic practices. When consumed regularly, biofortified crops generate measurable improvements in health and nutrition. The process develops crops rich in nutrients for consumers as well as the agronomic characteristics like drought and disease resistance valued by farmers. It is considered a sustainable way to bring micronutrients to populations with limited access to diverse diets.
Even though baby Ashley is unaware her sadza not only fills her stomach, but also provides her with a dose of vitamin A, her family is conscious of the benefits.
âThis orange maize assures me that my daughter gets a nutritious meal and means we donât only rely on the supplements provided by the government,â said Lilian Muzhange, her mother.
Orange the color of health
The farming family first began trialing the biofortified vitamin A orange maize in 2015 and are now growing it in place of traditional white maize. The nutritious variety contains high levels of beta-carotene, a vitamin A precursor that produces the rich orange color and once ingested is converted into the micronutrient, acting as an antioxidant to protect cells.
âOur family now prefers the new vitamin A orange maize over the white maize, as it has great health benefits for my children and granddaughter and the taste is delicious. The sadza truly is better,â said Ashleyâs grandfather Musonza Musiiwa. âI was also pleased the variety is drought tolerant. Despite a dry spell in January my maize was able to yield a good harvest.â
Orange maize conventionally bred to contain high amounts of vitamin A is fighting child malnutrition in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT)
Rural diets mainly consist of what farming families can grow, which is predominantly maize, said CIMMYT maize breeder Thokozile Ndhlela. The majority of rural households do not meet minimum dietary diversity, reliant on a cereal-based diet where meat is a rarity, the Zimbabwe Food and Nutrition Council finds.
âWhite maize traditionally used for the staple sadza is predominantly starch and very low in nutritional value,â said Ndhlela, who leads CIMMYTâs biofortified breeding efforts in Zimbabwe. âBiofortifying this staple crop ensures consumers have access to nutritious food season after season as farmers continue to grow it.â
Musiiwa not only sees the health and agronomic benefits of vitamin A orange maize, but has also identified its economic opportunity. The farmer is planning to increase the amount he grows to capitalize on the market he believes is set to grow.
Getting vitamin A maize into farmersâ fields and onto plates
Sakile Kudita, HarvestPlus researcher, explains the benefits of of vitamin A orange maize to seed company and government representatives. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
For the new biofortified maize to be part of the food system it must be commercialized creating a full value chain, said Sakile Kudita, a demand creation researcher with HarvestPlus, a program improving nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops.
âVitamin A orange maize needs to be a product millers take up and processed foods are made of, so that seed companies have an incentive to keep producing seed and farmers have an incentive to grow more than just for consumption but also sale in order to generate income,â she said.
The efforts of HarvestPlus and CIMMYT to engage government, food processors and seed companies at field days, where they learn about the nutritional and agronomic benefits and taste the orange maize have yielded success, said Kudita. Working with the government, four biofortified varieties have been commercialized since 2015.
Prime Seed Co, a subsidiary of the regional certified seed company Seed Co, was the first company commissioned by the government to commercialize vitamin A orange maize in Zimbabwe and now sells the variety Musiiwa uses in his field.
Prime Seed Co worked with CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and the Zimbabwe government to release the first vitamin A orange maize variety onto the market. Photo: Thoko Ndhlela/ CIMMYT
âThrough our partnership with CIMMYT and HarvestPlus we are developing a market for vitamin A orange maize in Zimbabwe,â said Masimba Kanyepi, a sales manager at Prime Seed Co. âWe have seen our sales improve since launching the first variety and expect an increase.â
Kanyepi is confident the market will grow following a new government regulation requiring all processed maize products to contain added micronutrients, including vitamin A, through fortification.
Food industry representatives taste-test foods made with vitamin A orange maize at an open day. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
âAdding vitamin A to maize at the processing stage is expensive for food companies due to the cost of importing the vitamin from overseas,â said Kanyepi. âBuying vitamin A orange maize grown by local farmers already biofortified at the same price as the white variety makes economic sense.â
Food companies see the saving with Zimbabwe manufacturer, Cairns Foods, confirming itâs taking steps to include biofortified maize in its cereals and biofortified beans in its canned products.
With food processors and millers buying vitamin A orange maize there is demand for farming families like the Musiiwas to grow more, ensuring not only a boost to their health but also their livelihood, said Kudita.
Breeding for a more nutritious future
Vitamin A orange maize in a farmer’s field. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
The crop diversity found in the maize species is key to nutritional gain. The plant grows in distinct environments and has developed a diverse range of valuable traits including nutritional properties.
Following a lengthy analysis of thousands of samples in the CIMMYT Maize Germplasm Bank researchers discovered native landraces and varieties from South and Central America containing increased levels of beta-carotene, explained Ndhlela. These were included in breeding programs in Africa and crossed with local varieties to ensure they were fit for the subtropical climate and were tolerant to local biotic and abiotic stresses.
Working alongside Zimbabweâs national breeding program Ndhlela continually monitors, improves and combines dozens of characteristics, which include high yield potential, nitrogen use efficiency, and tolerance to drought, into new varieties that meet farmersâ preferences.
The most recent biofortified varieties contain about 39 percent more vitamin A compared to the first, she said.
âCIMMYTâs support through free access to maize germplasm and breeding expertise has allowed us to continue developing this nutritious maize,â said Prince Matova, a maize breeder with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Agriculture. âIn the next few years we expect to release two more varieties.â
At the end of the day, farming is a business and farmers value varieties with high yield, adapted to stress conditions. The breeders are currently trialing new vitamin A maize varieties with the hope of identifying those with the potential to yield as much as the traditional white varieties and are already garnering positive feedback from farmers.
CIMMYT maize breeder Thoko Ndhlela shows food industry representatives the agronomic benefits of vitamin A orange maize in the field. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
CIMMYTâs biofortified vitamin A maize breeding is  supported by HarvestPlus. HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two of these centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
HarvestPlusâ principal donors are the UK Government; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the US Governmentâs Feed the Future initiative; the European Commission; and donors to the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health. HarvestPlus is also supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Over two billion people across the world suffer from hidden hunger, the consumption of a sufficient number of calories, but still lacking essential nutrients such as vitamin A, iron or zinc. This can cause severe damage to health, blindness, or even death.
At the 4th annual Latin American Cereals Conference (LACC) in Mexico City from 11 to 14 March, presenters discussed global malnutrition and how biofortification of staple crops can be used to improve nutrition for farming families and consumers.
Wolfgang Pfeiffer of HarvestPlus presents on malnutrition and stunting. Photo: Jennifer Johnson/CIMMYT.
âA stunted child will never live up to its full potential,â said Wolfgang Pfeiffer, director of research and development at HarvestPlus, as he showed a slide comparing the brain of a healthy infant versus a stunted one.
Hidden hunger and stunting, or impaired development, are typically associated with poverty and diets high in staple crops such as rice or maize. Biofortification of essential nutrients into these staple crops has the potential to reduce malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies around the world.
âMaize is a staple crop for over 900 million poor consumers, including 120-140 million poor families. Around 73% of farmland dedicated to maize production worldwide is located in the developing world,â said B.M. Prasanna, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) at LACC.
The important role of maize in global diets and the rich genetic diversity of the crop has allowed for important breakthroughs in biofortifcation. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has over 40 years of experience in maize breeding for biofortification, beginning with quality protein maize (QPM), which has enhanced levels of lysine and tryptophan, essential amino acids, which can help reduce malnutrition in children.
B.M. Prasanna discusses the history of maize biofortification at the LACC conference. Photo: Mike Listman/CIMMYT.
âOver 50 QPM varieties have been adopted in Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, and three new QPM hybrids were released in India in 2017 using marker assisted breeding,â said Prasanna.
In more recent years, CIMMYT has worked with MAIZE and HarvestPlus to develop provitamin A maize to reduce vitamin A deficiency, the leading cause of preventable blindness in children, affecting 5.2 million preschool-age children globally, according to the World Health Organization. This partnership launched their first zinc-enriched maize varieties in Honduras in 2017 and Colombia in 2018, with releases of new varieties planned in Guatemala and Nicaragua later this year. Zinc deficiency can lead to impaired growth and development, respiratory infections, diarrheal disease and a general weakening of the immune system.
âThere is a huge deficiency of vitamin A, iron and zinc around the world,â said Natalia Palacios, maize nutritional quality specialist at CIMMYT. âThe beauty of maize is its huge genetic diversity that has allowed us to develop these biofortified varieties using conventional breeding methods. The best way to take advantage of maize nutritional benefits is through biofortification, processing and functional food,â she said.
Natalia Palacios discusses the development of biofortified varieties such as provitamin A and zinc-enriched maize. Photo: Mike Listman/CIMMYT.
The effects of these varieties are already beginning to show. Recent studies have shown that vitamin A maize improves vitamin A status and night vision of 4-8 year old rural children in Zambia.
âBiofortified crops are in testing in over 60 countries, 7.5 million households are growing biofortified crops, and over 35 million household members are consuming them,â said Pfeiffer. âIt is critical to involve farmers in the development of biofortified crop varieties before they are released, through participatory variety selection.â
Overall, the conference presenters agreed that ending hidden hunger will require cooperation and partnerships from multiple sectors and disciplines. âPartnerships with seed companies are crucial for biofortified maize to make an impact. This is not just about technological advances and developing new products, this is about enabling policies, stimulating demand, and increasing awareness about the benefits of these varieties,â said Prasanna.
Left to right: Miguel Lengua, director general of Maxi Semillas S.A.S; Bram Govaerts, Latin America regional director at CIMMYT; Martin Kropff, CIMMYT director general; Howdy Bouis, interim HarvestPlus CEO; and Felix San Vicente, CIMMYT maize breeder; at the launch of new biofortified zinc maize. (Photo: Jennifer Johnson/CIMMYT)
Cali, Colombia (CIMMYT) — A new zinc-enriched maize variety was released in Colombia on February 23 to help combat malnutrition in South America.
Zinc is an essential mineral that plays an important role in human development but is not naturally produced by humans. Zinc deficiency can lead to impaired growth and development, respiratory infections, diarrheal disease and a general weakening of the immune system. In Colombia, an average of 22 percent of the population is affected by zinc deficiency. However, in certain regions, such as the pacific coast and Amazonia, up to 65 percent of the population is deficient in zinc.
CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff speaks at the launch of zinc-enriched maize. (Photo: Jennifer Johnson/CIMMYT)
âThe support that CIMMYT and CIAT have received from HarvestPlus has been fundamental in allowing our researchers to develop crops with enhanced vitamin and mineral content,â said Martin Kropff, CIMMYT director general. âThe improved maize that we present today is an important example of the impact we can have when we work together in partnership.â
The minimum daily requirement for zinc is 15mg, but not everyone has access to foods with naturally occurring quantities of zinc, which makes this zinc-enriched maize variety a boost for nutrition in a region where maize is a staple food.
BIO-MZN01 contains 36 percent more zinc on average than other maize varieties, meaning that arepas (a common maize-based Colombian dish) made of this new variety offer consumers up to five times more zinc than those made with traditional varieties. Additionally, BIO-MZN01 can yield up to 6 to 8 tons per hectare(t/ha), nearly double the national average in Colombia of 3.7 t/ha and is tolerant to several maize diseases that are common in the region, including rust, turcicum leaf blight, and gray leaf spot. Another advantage is it can be grown between 0 and 1400 meters above sea level during both cropping seasons in the country.
The official launch of BIO-MZN01 was held at CIAT in Palmira, Colombia, and was attended by local farmers, seed companies, and government officials as well as CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and CIAT staff. As part of the launch, visitors and staff were invited into the field to see the variety firsthand and learn more about its properties and the history of its development.
New zinc-biofortified maize variety BIO-MZn01. (Photo: CIMMYT)
âThe conservation and utilization of genetic diversity have been crucial for the development of this new biofortified variety, as well as other CIMMYT varieties with improved nutrition or resistance to climate change,â said Natalia Palacios, maize nutritional quality specialist at CIMMYT. âThis has been an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary effort at all levels of the maize value chain.â
Other products of the CIMMYT/HarvestPlus partnership include zinc-enriched wheat and biofortified provitamin A maize, which helps to prevent blindness in children.
âWe have been working with CIMMYT since HarvestPlus began,â said Marilia Nutti, the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at HarvestPlus. âThe greatest advantage of working with CIMMYT is their quality researchâCIMMYT has all of the knowledge of maize and wheat, and maize is a big part of the diet in Latin America. Meanwhile, HarvestPlus and CIAT already had the partnerships on the ground in Colombia to ensure that this improved zinc maize could get to farmers and consumers. This has truly been a win-win partnership to improve nutrition.â
A farmer examines a zinc-enriched maize plant. (Photo: CIMMYT)
The scientific work conducted at CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and CIAT reaches the hands of farmers through local seed companies such as Maxi Semillas S.A.S., a partner of CIMMYT Colombia for the past 40 years that will be commercializing the new variety. âThese varieties are the product of an incredibly long and costly investigation that we do not have the resources to conduct ourselves. In turn we work to ensure that the variety can reach the hands of the farmers and consumers that need it most,â said Miguel Lengua, director general of Maxi Semillas S.A.S.
The variety will be sold at a similar price to currently available maize varieties in Colombia, and certified seed will be available beginning in August.
BIO-MZN01 will also form part of a new initiative in Colombia called âSemillas para la Paz,â or Seeds for Peace, which seeks to provide improved seed varieties as an alternative to illicit crops. The program, organized by the Colombian government and the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (CORPOICA), will promote the cultivation of nine different crops, including maize and beans. Over 20 tons of this new zinc-enriched maize variety will be produced by Maxi Semillas for this program, along with an iron-enriched biofortified bean variety developed by CIAT with HarvestPlus.
Girls and women are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The likelihood of female students graduating with a degree in a science-related field is much lower than for male students, according to a U.N. study conducted in 14 countries. In an effort to improve their representation, a U.N. resolution established February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
To celebrate the occasion this year, CIMMYT asked women involved in agricultural science to share their views on what they would like to see change.
Rahma Adam
CIMMYT Gender and Development Specialist
Nairobi, Kenya
There are two inspiring women in science, who have made significant contributions to the world. The first woman is Wangari Maathai and the second woman is Marie Curie. Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctoral degree, the first to become a professor at the University of Nairobi. She made a significant contribution to environmental/forest conservation, womenâs rights and peace. In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement (GBM), an organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation and womenâs rights. The GBM has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. In 2004, she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
French-Polish scientist Curieâs work led to the discovery of radium and polonium in 1898, setting the stage for nuclear medicine, which allows internal imaging of tumors. Curie is the first person and only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice, including the 1903 physics prize jointly with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, and the 1911 chemistry prize. She was also the first woman to win the Nobel Prize.
The key factor that will encourage women and young girls to get involved in science is to be paired up with already practicing women scientists through mentorship programs so that they see firsthand what it is like to be a female scientist, and what it takes to become one. Starting a mentorship early in life â from the primary school level â will inspire young female students to take more interest in science classes and contemplate a career in science.
Bev Postma
HarvestPlus CEO
Washington DC, United States
Womenâs contributions to science are vast and immeasurable. Heroes like Jane Goodall and Marie Curie, are some of the worldâs most famous scientists who also happen to be women. One of my own personal role models from the past is Antoinette Brown Blackwell, who isnât usually remembered as a scientist, but her efforts to dismantle the barriers to women in science and other research and intellectual fields is a major source of inspiration to me. Today, I am inspired every day by the young scientists in the CGIAR, both women and men, who continue to challenge all forms of gender disparity and are making huge contributions to our body of knowledge.
Women have long contributed innovations to various scientific fields, but their efforts are not always acknowledged, remembered or encouraged as readily as their male counterparts. Women of all ages have been fighting an uphill battle to become equals in the scientific community. Progress is being made but young women still face too many barriers to enter STEM fields and there are still too many hurdles to clear once they enter the workforce. The statistics speak for themselves and must not be ignored. The world needs these women scientists and we need to do all we can to nurture them and encourage a new generation of young women to enter into STEM fields. We must encourage and excite young women about studying STEM subjects, especially in developing countries. We can do this by profiling more female role models and by ensuring that new and established scientists get their fair share of airtime in publications and on conference panels. Sadly, I still see far too many male-only panels at STEM conferences. We all have a role to play in creating a work environment that provides opportunities for everyone to succeed, regardless of gender. Together, we must continue to support and elevate woman scientists within our workplaces and throughout the CGIAR system. I pledge to do my part to support and champion this movement.
Julie Borlaug
Inari Agriculture, Inc. VP Communications and Public Relations
United States
In my opinion, getting more girls and women involved in science will create more innovation, creativity and competitiveness. Women look at issues and research in a different light than men and are often more effective in communication. We must change the current perception of science as a negative, especially in agriculture. It is my hope that women will be able to talk about the benefits of innovation and technology in a manner that makes it easier to understand and acceptable to the public.
I would like to see more STEM programs in schools as well as in after-school programs and camps to introduce girls to science at an early age. Introduction at an early age is critical to furthering their passion and interest. By the time they are teenagers, they are more influenced by their peers and it is often too late to gain their interest.
Additionally, there are many opportunities for parents to provide toys that expose girls to math, chemistry and physics at an early age. Lego sets and many science kits have lines focused solely on girls and provide an important way for girls to grow confident in their capabilities. Several web-based STEM-themed games and apps have been released to encourage girlsâ interests.
We need more young female scientists to serve as mentors to girls through various media, including social media outreach. It is hard to find programs or social media activities that highlight young female scientists to inspire girls. We must make a concerted effort to change this and empower the current and future generation of scientists!
Reshmi Rani Das
CIMMYT Research Scholar
Hyderabad, India
Women and girls have made significant contributions in various science disciplines, especially in agriculture, irrespective of their social status. We know women are the major workforce in agriculture worldwide, but sometimes they are marginalized due to limited land rights. When this is the case, they have less control over resources. Women’s contributions to agriculture are significant, across the sector, starting with research and development, and including the deployment of scalable technology leading to the capacity to make an impact on humanity.
It is essential to bring women working in agriculture into the mainstream and to empower them with direct access to knowledge of improved agricultural technologies. The female presence in scientific fields has been largely disproportional compared to male; however, the trend is slowly changing, as more and more women are entering these fields.
Equality in recognition of their contributions and equal rights in ownership of the resources might work as a strong motivator for women and girls to get more involved in science. Introducing women and girls to scientific fields and encouraging them to follow their hearts and minds irrespective of social issues that influence career choices could also help overcome the negative perceptions that girls develop at a young age that science is a hard subject, leading them to avoid it. Friendly environments in high school and the university level, inviting females to participate and get over a fear of science, would encourage those with talent and a genuine interest to develop their interest.
Encouraging women to participate in training and workshops by motivating young girls to explore and challenge typically male-dominated fields could also help bolster the number of women in the field. As well as providing more financial assistance in the form of fellowships so that they become financially independent.
Parents are primary mentors, and therefore right from the beginning if there is support, women and girls can accomplish much more. The value of mentorship outside the home is also irreplaceable. In the past, we have seen the majority of successful women credit their success to their mentors for helping them reach career goals.
Mina K. Devkota
CIMMYT Systems Agronomist
Kathmandu, Nepal
Many girls begin making a significant contribution to science from a very early age. As they grow older, a sizeable portion of them will work in various research organizations, contributing to science in different fields. Women often also play a big supporting role in the successes of men working for science. Thus, women, directly and indirectly, contribute to scientific advancement.
In my opinion, enabling environments in family, society and in communities, promoting knowledge gathering, support for education and career development will encourage more women and girls to get involved in science. For example, in some countries, certain people have the mindset that women and girls must still be confined to household activities, an unfair bias limiting access to opportunities and exposure to science.
Members of National Technical Committee of NSB evaluating BAW 1260, the breeding line used to develop BARI Gom 33. Photo: CIMMYT
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) — As wheat farmers in Bangladesh struggle to recover from a 2016 outbreak of a mysterious disease called âwheat blast,â the countryâs National Seed Board (NSB) released a new, high-yielding, blast-resistant wheat variety, according to a communication from the Wheat Research Centre (WRC) in Bangladesh.
Called “BARI Gom 33,” the variety was developed by WRC using a breeding line from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a Mexico-based organization that has collaborated with Bangladeshi research organizations for decades, according to Naresh C. Deb Barma, Director of WRC, who said the variety had passed extensive field and laboratory testing. “Gom” means “wheat grain” in Bangla, the Bengali language used in Bangladesh.
âThis represents an incredibly rapid response to blast, which struck in a surprise outbreak on 15,000 hectares of wheat in southwestern Bangladesh just last year, devastating the crop and greatly affecting farmersâ food security and livelihoods, not to mention their confidence in sowing wheat,â Barma said.
Caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype triticum, wheat blast was first identified in Brazil in 1985 and has constrained wheat farming in South America for decades. Little is known about the genetics or interactions of the fungus with wheat or other hosts. Few resistant varieties have been released in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the countries most affected by wheat blast.
The Bangladesh outbreak was its first appearance in South Asia, a region where rice-wheat cropping rotations cover 13 million hectares and over a billion inhabitants eat wheat as main staple.
Many blast fungal strains are impervious to fungicides, according to Pawan Singh, a CIMMYT wheat pathologist. âThe Bangladesh variant is still sensitive to fungicides, but this may not last forever, so weâre rushing to develop and spread new, blast-resistant wheat varieties for South Asia,â Singh explained.
The urgent global response to blast received a big boost in June from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which funded an initial four-year research project to breed blast resistant wheat varieties and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which also provided grant to kick-start the work in South Asia. Led by CIMMYT, the initiative involves researchers from nearly a dozen institutions worldwide.
Chemical controls are costly and potentially harmful to human and environmental health, so protecting crops like wheat with inherent resistance is the smart alternative, but resistance must be genetically complex, combining several genes, to withstand new mutations of the pathogen over time.
Key partners in the new project are the agricultural research organizations of Bangladesh, including the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), and the Instituto Nacional de InnovaciĂłn Agropecuaria y Forestal in Bolivia, which will assist with large-scale field experiments to select wheat lines under artificial and natural infections of wheat blast.
Other partners include national and provincial research organizations in India, Nepal and Pakistan, as well as Kansas State University (KSU) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). The U.S. Agency for International Agricultural Development (USAID) has also supported efforts to kick-start blast control measures, partnerships and upscaling the breeding, testing and seed multiplication of new, high-yielding, disease resistant varieties through its Feed the Future project.
BARI Gom 33 was tested for resistance to wheat blast in field trials in Bolivia and Bangladesh and in greenhouse tests by the USDA-ARS laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland. International partnerships are critical for a fast response to wheat blast, according to Hans-Joachim Braun, director of CIMMYTâs Global Wheat Program.
âWorldwide, weâre in the middle of efforts that include blast surveillance and forecasting, studies on the pathogenâs genetics and biology, integrated disease management and seed systems, as well as raising awareness about the disease and training for researchers, extension workers, and farmers,â said Braun.
With over 160 million people, Bangladesh is among the worldâs most densely populated countries. Wheat is Bangladeshâs second most important staple food, after rice. The country grows more than 1.3 million tons each year but consumes 4.5 million tons, meaning that imports whose costs exceed $0.7 billion each year comprise more than two-thirds of domestic wheat grain use.
WRC will produce tons of breederâs seed of BARI Gom 33 each year. This will be used by the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) and diverse non-governmental organizations and private companies to produce certified seed for farmers.
âThis year WRC will provide seed to BADC for multiplication and the Department of Agricultural Extension will establish on-farm demonstrations of the new variety in blast prone districts during 2017-18,â said Barma.
As an added benefit for the nutrition of wheat consuming households, BARI Gom 33 grain features 30Â percent higher levels of zinc than conventional wheat. Zinc is a critical micronutrient missing in the diets of many of the poor throughout South Asia and whose lack particularly harms the health of pregnant women and children under 5 years old.
With funding from HarvestPlus and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition, CIMMYT is leading global efforts to breed biofortified wheat with better agronomic and nutritional quality traits. The wheat line used in BARI Gom 33 was developed at CIMMYT, Mexico, through traditional cross-breeding and shared with Bangladesh and other cooperators in South Asia through the Center’s International Wheat Improvement Network, which celebrates 50 years in 2018.
Stable window 1 and 2 (W1W2) funding from CGIAR enabled CIMMYT and partners to react quickly and screen breeding lines in Bolivia, as well as working with KSU to identify sources of wheat blast resistance. The following W1 funders have made wheat blast resistance breeding possible: Australia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, France, India, Japan, Korea, New Zeland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the World Bank. The following funders also contributed vital W2 funding: Australia, China, the United Kingdom (DFID) and USAID.
Mary Sikirwayi of Murewa District in Zimbabwe showing her orange maize cobs in the field. Photo: R. Lunduka/CIMMYT.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) â More farmers in Zimbabwe are demanding high-yielding, highly nutritious and drought tolerant provitamin A maize.
In Zimbabwe, nearly one in every five children under the age of five years are vitamin A deficient. These deficiencies can lead to lower IQ, stunting and blindness in children, and increased susceptibility to disease across all ages. While vitamin A is available from a variety of sources, such as fruit, green leafy vegetables and animal products, these are often too expensive or unavailable to the more than 10 million people living in Zimbabweâs rural areas.
Zimbabweâs ZS242 â an orange provitamin A maize variety released on the market by the government in October 2015 â is particularly popular with farmers due to its nice aroma and good taste. Â Consuming foods made from orange maize, which is rich in beta-carotene, can provide maize-dependent populations with up to half their daily vitamin A needs, according to HarvestPlus.
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.
These varieties are also high-yielding, disease resistant and drought tolerant, presenting an opportunity for farmers to not only increase yields but also enhance the availability of vitamins and minerals for people whose diets are dominated by micronutrient-poor staple food crops.
Mary Sikirwayi, a farmer from Murewa District, Zimbabwe, bought provitamin orange maize seed during a seed fair organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.
The maize grew and matured so fast that by the time her family wanted to try the fresh cobs for cooking and roasting, they had already started to dry. After harvesting the grain, she decided to make sadza, a porridge-like staple food consumed in Zimbabwe. When her family ate the sadza, everyone was so excited about the good taste and flavor of the food.
In addition to the good taste of the sadza from the provitamin A maize, Sikirwayi said the yield from the orange maize is more than five times higher than the national maize average yield. In the coming year, she plans to double the planted area of orange maize, due to its high demand both on the market and in her household.
CIMMYT and HarvestPlus have been working with Zimbabweâs Department of Research and Specialist Services, Ministry of Health and Child Care, universities, seed companies, processors, retailers and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to demonstrate the benefits of orange maize since 2012. The Zimbabwe government has expressed strong support for enriching the micronutrient content of plants and other crops, including maize.
Hans-Joachim Braun (left, white shirt), director of the global wheat program at CIMMYT, Maqsood Qamar (center), wheat breeder at Pakistanâs National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, and Muhammad Imtiaz (right), CIMMYT wheat improvement specialist and Pakistan country representative, discussing seed production of Zincol. Photo: Kashif Syed/CIMMYT.
ISLAMABAD (CIMMYT) – Farmers in Pakistan are eagerly adopting a nutrient-enhanced wheat variety offering improved food security, higher incomes, health benefits and a delicious taste.
Known as Zincol and released to farmers in 2016, the variety provides harvests as abundant as those for other widely grown wheat varieties, but its grain contains 20 percent more zinc, a critical micronutrient missing in the diets of many poor people in South Asia.
Due to these benefits and its delicious taste, Zincol was one of the top choices among farmers testing 12 new wheat varieties in 2016.
âI would eat twice as many chappatis of Zincol as of other wheat varieties,â said Munib Khan, a farmer in Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi District, Punjab Province, Pakistan, referring to its delicious flavor.
Khan has been growing Zincol since its release. In 2017, he planted a large portion of his wheat fields with the seed, as did members of the Gujar Khan Seed Producer Group to which he belongs.
The group is one of 21 seed producer associations established to grow quality seed of new wheat varieties with assistance from the countryâs National Rural Support Program (NRSP) in remote areas of Pakistan. The support program is a key partner in the Pakistan Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
âOver the 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons, 400 tons of seed of Zincol has been shared with farmers, seed companies and promotional partners,â said Imtiaz Muhammad, CIMMYT country representative in Pakistan and a wheat improvement specialist.
Zincol resulted from the CIMMYTâs âbiofortificationâ breeding research, focused on enhancing nutrient levels in the grain of key food crops. Scientists develop biofortified crops using diverse genetic resources, including wheat landraces and wild relatives with the genetic potential to accumulate zinc in the grain.
Genes for enhanced grain zinc content from those sources are crossed into adapted, high-yielding varieties, over repeated cycles of selection involving many thousands of plants.
âOne year after the release of Zincol, wheat farmers on more than 320 hectares are sowing the variety,â Imtiaz said.
He also noted that 15 tons of Zincol seed was shared free of charge for testing with 600 farm families in Sukkar District, Sindh Province, through an initiative of World Vision-Canada and HarvestPlus, a CGIAR research program dedicated to the study and delivery of biofortified foods.
Zincol yields as much other widely grown wheat varieties, but its grain contains 20 percent more zinc, a critical micronutrient missing in the diets of many poor people in South Asia. Photo: Kashif Syed/CIMMYT
Wheat: Vehicle for enhanced nutrition
Pakistan produces more than 25 million tons of wheat a year. The country has an annual per capita consumption averaging around 124 kilograms â among the highest in the world and providing over 60 percent of inhabitantsâ daily caloric intake. The staple wheat-based foods are chappatis or a flat bread baked on the walls of large, cylindrical clay ovens.
Particularly in remote areas of Pakistan, human diets too often lack essential micronutrients such as zinc. According to a 2011 nutrition survey, 39 percent of children in Pakistan and 48 percent of pregnant women suffer from zinc deficiency, leading to child stunting rates of more than 40 percent and high infant mortality.
Zinc deficiency is also known to cause diarrheal disease, lower respiratory tract infections, malaria, hypogonadism, impaired immune function, skin disorders, cognitive dysfunction and anorexia, according to the World Health Organization.
âGiven its role as a key food staple, wheat with enhanced levels of zinc and other micronutrients can contribute to better nutrition,â said Velu Govindan, a CIMMYT wheat breeder who specializes in biofortification and helped develop Zincol.
âZincol also carries the genetic background of NARC 2011, a popular, high-yielding Pakistan wheat variety that resists wheat stem rust, a deadly disease that threatens wheat worldwide,â Govindan added.
As part of AIP and HarvestPlus, as well as with numerous public and private partners and farmer seed production groups in Pakistan, CIMMYT is leading the extensive evaluation, distribution and seed production of Zincol, said Krishna Dev Joshi, a former CIMMYT wheat improvement specialist who worked on the project.
âWith modest resources and limited amounts of seed, we tested and promoted Zincol over the last two years in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh, covering 15 districts and engaging nearly 700 farmers,â Joshi explained.
Joshi said farmer seed producers and private seed companies were able to provide another 100 tons of seed in 2016, enough to sow more than 2,500 hectares in 2017 and over half a million hectares in 2018.
âZincol reached farmers nine years after the initial breeding cross in 2007, several years more quickly than is the norm in Pakistan, partly because it was tested simultaneously in national and provincial trials,â Joshi added. âZincol is part of a suite of new, micronutrient-enhanced wheat varieties bred by CIMMYT and partners for use in South Asia, a region whose inhabitants consume 100 million tons of wheat each year.â
For India, Govindan and partners created a new biofortified wheat variety using synthetic parents crossed onto WH1105, a CIMMYT-derived high-yielding variety grown in Indiaâs Northwestern Plain Zone. The new variety out-yields other popular varieties by as much as 8 percent and has a 20 percent higher zinc content, as well as good resistance to yellow rust disease. Another new Indian variety, Zinc Shakti, has a 40 percent greater grain zinc content and is being marketed by the private sector and spread via farmer-to-farmer seed sharing.
A farmer prepares maize porridge using Provitamin A maize. Photo: R.Lunduka/CIMMYT
Vitamin A deficiency is considered a major public health problem in Tanzania affecting over 30 percent of the population, mostly children in preschool and women of reproductive age. It can result in morbidity, loss of vision or blindness and even death.
Provitamin A maize (PVA) is a special type of biofortified maize that contains high levels of beta-carotene. Beta-Carotene is an organic, red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits and gives PVA maize an orange color. It is converted to vitamin A in the body after consumption to provide additional nutritional benefits.
Biofortification enhances the nutritional value of staple food crops by increasing the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through either conventional plant breeding, agronomic practices or biotechnology. This can significantly reduce the prevalence of âhidden hungerâ due to micronutrient deficiency.
Maize â a staple food in Tanzania â can serve as a cheap and sustainable source of vitamin A, especially for vulnerable populations. Â Stores of vitamin A in 5 to 7 year old children improved when they ate PVA maize, according to HarvestPlus research.
PVA maize was recently introduced in Tanzania through the Building Nutritious Food Baskets Project (BNFB), a joint effort by the Government of Tanzania, Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and national seed companies. Two Provitamin A maize varieties â Meru VAH517 and Meru VAH519 â were released for commercial production by Meru Agro Tours and Consultants in September 2016.
To catalyze efforts to increase planting and consumption of PVA maize, different actors along the maize value chain launched a PVA maize platform for Tanzania. Â The platform will serve as an information and knowledge center on PVA maize in the country by linking different stakeholders to relevant authorities on matters relating to PVA maize, as well as provide capacity development opportunities for members on critical gaps relating to PVA maize knowledge and biofortification in general.
Membership of the platform is expected to become multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary and include actors such as the ministry of health, school feeding programs and academic institutions. The platform will be led by national partners.
The International Potato Center is collaborating with a consortium of CGIAR research centers, the governments of Nigeria and Tanzania and national partners on BNFB, which is addressing hidden hunger by catalyzing sustainable investments for the production and utilization of biofortified crops. The project mainly targets rural populations, especially young children under the age of five and women of reproductive age, in Nigeria and Tanzania.
Velu Govindan, a wheat breeder who has advanced the development of nutrient-rich millet and wheat varieties with higher yield potential, disease resistance and improved agronomic traits, has won the 2016 Young Scientist Award for Agriculture presented by Indiaâs Society for Plant Research. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â A scientist who has advanced the development of nutrient-rich millet and wheat varieties with higher yield potential, disease resistance and improved agronomic traits has won the 2016 Young Scientist Award for Agriculture presented by Indiaâs Society for Plant Research.
Velu Govindan, a wheat breeder from India working with the HarvestPlus project at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), received the award last week for high-yielding, nutritious wheat varieties tolerant to rust diseases and climate change-induced heat and drought stress.
âIâm so honored,â said Govindan. âItâs a terrific vote of confidence for the work weâre doing at CIMMYT and through HarvestPlus to develop nutritious staple crops that significantly reduce hidden hunger and help millions of people lead better, more productive lives in the global south.â
CIMMYT scientists tackle micronutrient deficiency or âhidden hungerâ by biofortifying crops to boost nutrition in poor communities where nutritional options are unavailable, limited or unaffordable. About 2 billion people worldwide suffer from hidden hunger, which is characterized by iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin A and zinc deficiency.
The wheat component of HarvestPlus, which is part of the Agriculture for Nutrition and Health program managed by the CGIAR global agricultural research project, involves developing and distributing wheat varieties with high zinc levels.
Govindan has been actively involved in the recently released wheat variety Zinc Shakthi â meaning âmore powerâ â which has been adopted by some 50,000 smallholder farmers in India. In addition, two new varieties are projected soon to be widely adopted throughout the fertile northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains of India.
âWeâve released âbest betâ varieties in India and Pakistan to ensure fast-track adoption of high zinc wheat,â Govindan said. âFarmers are adopting it, not only for its nutritional benefit, but also for its superior agronomic features like competitive yield, rust resistance and other farmer preferred traits.â
Before joining CIMMYT eight years ago, Govindan worked at the International Crops Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), where he initiated the development of an iron-rich pearl millet called Dhanashakti â meaning âprosperity and strengthâ â which was commercialized in 2012 in the Indian state of Maharashtra, where it is now used by more than 100,000 smallholder farmers.
In addition to his primary responsibility of breeding nutrient-rich wheat varieties, Govindan works with the Global Wheat Programâs spring wheat breeding team at CIMMYT. The spring bread wheat program develops high yielding and climate resilient varieties, which are distributed to more than 80 countries in the wheat growing regions of the developing world.
Through its annual awards ceremony, the Society for Plant Research, which has also produced the international journal Vegetos since 1988, recognizes individual contributions from across a broad spectrum of plant-based research, including agriculture, biotechnology, industrial botany and basic plant sciences.
CIMMYT maize breeder, Thokozile Ndhlela (left), inspects a maize trial field with smallholder farmer, Otilia Chirova, in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) – Little did 47-year-old Thokozile Ndhlela know that growing up in a rural area in Zimbabwe would inspire her to become a well-respected agricultural scientist, helping to transform agriculture by developing science-based solutions to some of the complex issues facing African farmers.
Currently a postdoctoral staff member with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)in Zimbabweâs capital Harare, Ndhlela encourages girls to choose options that lead to careers in agriculture. Most farmers worldwide average an age of over 60, so Ndhlelaâs work is also helping to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture.
“There are many exciting opportunities to further improve agricultural productivity and improve food and nutritional security in my country, and beyond,” she said with a chuckle.
She comes from humble beginnings â growing up on a small farm, through primary and secondary school, and universities â and now she has begun to reap the rewards of her hard-won endeavors.
She credits her farmer father as her inspiration to pursue agricultural science.
âMy father was my greatest source of inspiration for me to venture into agriculture,â Ndhela said. âFrom high school, he encouraged me to study sciences. He used to boast, saying his daughter would be studying agriculture and that Iâd come back and assist him in his plot.â
His dream came true.
âIâm proud now since he is growing improved maize varieties that lâm providing him,â she said, adding that he proudly tells his friends that the varieties are being bred by his daughter.
Thokozile Ndhlela shows pro-vitamin A maize to visiting scientists at CIMMYT southern Africa regional office in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT
For Ndhlela, the journey has at times been long and winding. She has had to burst age-old stereotypes, which doubt womenâs capacity to engage in science and balance career aspirations with family commitments. She started her journey in pursuit of her first desire to become a teacher, but, she changed course to become an agricultural scientist.
She believes making agricultural research a high priority will also attract more skilled professionals to the field — especially women and young people.
âIâm happy to see farmers in my region using results of my research work,” she said.
Her scientific ambition was nurtured by her female secondary school teachers. After finishing secondary school in 1989, she enrolled at Gwebi College of Agriculture outside Harare to study for a national diploma in agriculture. Afterwards, she worked at the Zimbabwe Crop Breeding Institute in the Ministry of Agricultureâs Department of Research and Specialist Services (DRSS). While at DRSS she earned her Bachelor of Science in agriculture at the Zimbabwe Open University and subsequently enrolled for a masterâs degree in plant breeding at the University of Zambia. While at the DRSS, she began her research and earned a doctoral degree at the University of the Free State in South Africa in 2012, with a thesis entitled, âImprovement strategies for yield potential, disease resistance and drought tolerance of Zimbabwean maize inbred lines.â
âMy greatest passion is to see farmers in Zimbabwe and beyond grow improved maize varieties to step up food security and improve their livelihoods,â she said. âAfter becoming qualified, I was thrilled to put my skills to work and worked hard in breeding maize for drought, disease, heat and other stresses.â
Ndhlela has had the good fortune to implement the results of her work. While working for the national research system, she led the crop breeding program and won CIMMYT’s Best Breeding Program Award in southern Africa five years in succession. This success later culminated in winning the Zimbabwe Presidential Award for excellence in agricultural research in 2015. Under her guidance, the program saw the release of seven high yielding, drought tolerant hybrids and two open pollinated varieties in five years.
âThis was no easy feat since it involved a lot of hard work, tolerance,â Ndhlela said. âI used to spend most of the time in the field since plant breeding is done in the field, and not in the office.ââ
CONFRONTING CHALLENGES
Out in the field with other researchers, Thokozile Ndhlela (far right), demonstrates maize breeding work at a CIMMYT southern Africa partner days in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT
In Africa, food and nutritional security remain a major concern. Declining soil fertility is a significant issue in the region, leading to poor crop performance. Climate change could also result in the number of malnourished people in sub-Saharan Africa increasing by 40 percent by 2050 â from 223 million to 355 million people, according to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. This challenge will require a great deal of innovation and focused scientific effort.
Ndhlela said smallholder farmers should shift agriculture from its current largely informal status in the economy into the formal business sector with a more structured system that targets young women. As a result, women in agriculture will play critical roles in agricultural incomes and employment development. When treated appropriately, added Ndhlela, agriculture can be moulded into an attractive career, especially for youth. In addition, she said, Africa needs more scientists, and especially women scientists.
A mother of four boys, Ndhlela believes she can make a difference to peopleâs lives through her agricultural research in development work. She shares her views on women in agricultural research in the following interview.
Q: Tell us about your early childhood.
A: I was born in Matobo District in Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe. Iâm the second born in a family of three boys and two girls. I spent most of my early childhood with my paternal grandparents in Matobo rural area. My grandparents earned a living off farming, growing horticultural crops commercially. They were passionate about farming, and l remember when l was in Grade One I would be woken up very early to go and work in the field before going to school. After school, or during weekends, l would also take the responsibility of herding goats. My parents were also passionate farmers and during school holidays we would all help my grandparents with farm work.
Q: What was one of your childhood dreams?
A: My childhood dream was to become a teacher. I was being inspired by my parents, and my many relatives who were in that profession.
Q: Was there any particular female scientist who inspired you when you were at school?
A: I was particularly inspired by my high school biology and chemistry teachers, who were both female. They taught me that what boys could do we girls could do too.
Q: âGirls should not believe that science training at university is a male domain.â Whatâs your comment on this?
A: Girls used to shy away from science especially at college level but with the new generation this seems to have changed as more girls are now doing science- based programs.
Q: Role models are also critical in shaping oneâs future. Who was your inspiration to pursue a doctorate in agriculture?
A: Dr. Marianne Banziger, CIMMYT deputy director general for research and partnerships (then leading CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program, based in Kenya) inspired me to pursue doctorate studies. Doing a doctorate was far-fetched for me until Dr. Banziger asked me if l were interested in pursuing doctoral studies. She assured me that CIMMYT would support me secure a place to study.
Q: Thereâs a general misconception that studying agricultural science only prepares one to work on a farm. Is this the case?
A: This misconception used to be there especially when l was studying for my national diploma. We would play sports with students from other technical colleges whose students would snear at us agriculture students. They thought we could only work on a farm. Even my high school friends never understood why l chose agriculture. They asked me whether l would be able to work on a farm. But this is changing. People are now aware of the opportunities in agricultural science. I have personally had encounters with parents asking me what is required for their children to study agricultural science. I have made a career in science and agriculture and young girls can do it, also.
Q: Tell us about your experiences as a female researcher with DRSS. What does it mean to a female researcher? What are your experiences at CIMMYT?
A: As a female researcher at DRSS, I commanded a lot of respect from both male and female counterparts. This inspired and gave me the zeal to keep aiming higher. I started working at DRSS in 1994 as a diploma holder. With encouragement and inspiration, l ended up with a doctorate in plant breeding.
At DRSS, I led the Crop Breeding Institute to win a national award in maize breeding excellence. Called the âRobert Gabriel Mugabe Awardâ (after the Zimbabwean president), it is presented bi-annually for critical breakthroughs in research. The $15,000 award was presented to the Crop Breeding Instituteâs National Maize Breeding Program, for outstanding research in the production and release of the maize variety ZS265. The variety has excellent tolerance to diseases, drought and low nitrogen and therefore suitable for production under dryland conditions.
In recognition of their sterling effort in using plant breeding to address low maize productivity on smallholder farms, CIMMYTâs Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project awarded the âBest Maize Breeding Team in southern Africaâ prize to Zimbabwe a record five times from 2008 to 2014.
Food insecurity can be overcome if we can bring together new knowledge and skills to farmers in a very sustainable manner. There will be crop production challenges unless we integrate climate change, soil fertility and water.
Joining CIMMYT as a maize breeder in 2014 was a dream come true for me and l really felt rewarded for my work. As plant breeding is male-dominated at CIMMYT- Southern Africa Regional Office, l feel challenged to do even better and prove that even women can do the job. I believe Iâm an inspiration to other upcoming female scientists.
Q: During training, what was menâs attitude toward you?
A: I used to command respect from some of my male colleagues. However, some would look down on me. These were forced to change their attitude once they realized that I was better than them in our studies. I vividly remember such a scenario at the University of Zambia where l was the only female in a class of 10 Master of Science students.
Q: What was the main output of your agricultural research?
A: The main output of my agricultural research was the successful production of hybrids that are high yielding, drought and disease tolerant.
Q: To what extent are you involved in agricultural innovation at CIMMYT?
A: Iâm particularly working on a special program on pro – vitamin A maize. This research work is both challenging and rewarding as my colleagues respect me because of my achievements. The work seeks to alleviate the problem of vitamin A deficiency that is prevalent in most developing countries, including those in southern Africa. There is very good evidence that vitamin A deficiency leads to an impaired immune system and can even have an impact on brain development. But effective science can make a huge difference here by enriching staple crops such as maize, with pro-vitamin A and providing subsistence farming households with nutritionally enhanced food.
In Zimbabwe, nearly one in every five children under the age of five years are vitamin A deficient. These deficiencies can lead to lower IQ, stunting, and blindness in children, increased susceptibility to disease for both children and adults; and higher health risks to mothers â and their infants â during childbirth. In partnership with HarvestPlus, and other fellow CIMMYT scientists, l have managed to facilitate the research and release of four pro-vitamin A hybrids in Malawi, Tanzania (two), Zambia (six) and Zimbabwe (four).
Q: Has working for CIMMYT in maize biofortification enriched your skills and knowledge?
A: Working at CIMMYT has made me grow in science. Coupled with improved leadership and gradual increase in my communications skills, I have become very confident in my career. Before joining CIMMYT, I had less knowledge on maize biofortification. I have since gained a lot of knowledge so that l can now explain to people what lâm doing with so much confidence and enthusiasm. Iâm loving it!
Q:Â Women face huge challenges daily and often lack the right kind of support. The employment environment can also be hostile to women scientists. Has working for CIMMYT enabled male scientists to view female scientists the same, as equal partners in agricultural research in development?
A: I feel male scientists at CIMMYT are mature and view female scientists as equal partners in agricultural research in development, and l respect them for that.
The CGIAR is one of the biggest suppliers and conservers of crop genetic diversity. CIMMYT’s genebank contains around 28,000 unique samples of maize seedâincluding more than 24,000 landraces; traditional, locally-adapted varieties that are rich in diversityâand 150,000 of wheat, including related species for both crops. Photo: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.
NEW DELHI — Conserving and using agricultural biodiversity to create better crops can help meet several sustainable development goals and stave off further species extinctions, according to scientists at the first International Agrobiodiversity Congress.
About 75 percent of plant genetic diversity worldwide has been lost since the beginning of the 20th century and 30 percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Meanwhile, humans only consume about 1.5 percent of edible plants and only three of these – rice, maize and wheat – contribute nearly 60 percent of calories and proteins obtained by humans from plants. This huge loss in biodiversity due to environmental degradation caused by humans â what many scientists refer to as earthâs âsixth extinctionââ is detrimental to global food security and the environment.
âJust a 7-10 percent loss of any major food crop would result in prices quadrupling,â says Howarth Bouis, founder of HarvestPlus and 2016 World Food Prize winner. âNon-staple food prices in India have [already] risen by 50 percent over the past 30 years.â A lack of agricultural diversity puts the worldâs entire food chain at risk if a shock â such as increased instances of drought or crop diseases due to rising temperatures from climate change â were to destroy a particular type of crop.
As part of a global response to these challenges, researchers in collaboration with farmers are gathering seed to conserve and protect in genebanks across the world for future generations. These banks are the foundation of agriculture, food security and dietary diversity.
âWe donât know what scientists will need in 30 years,â says Marie Haga, executive director of the Crop Trust. âWe need to conserve the entire spectrum [of seeds]. If itâs not being used right now, that does not mean it wonât be critically important in the future.â
New advancements in DNA-sequencing and phenotyping technologies have also created an opportunity to actively use the genetic information of these seeds that did not exist just a few years ago. Crop breeders can now more rapidly and effectively identify seeds that have traits like enhanced nutritional qualities, drought or heat tolerance, or disease resistances to create better crops that withstand challenges related to malnutrition, climate change, disease and more.
For example, in 2012 approximately 23 percent of Kenyaâs maize production was lost due to an outbreak of the disease Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN). Thanks to the efforts of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and other partners, there are now 13 hybrid varieties with tolerance to MLN â created in just four years.
Delegates to the congress also tackled issues regarding the effective and efficient management of genebanks, biosafety and biosecurity, intellectual property rights, access to germplasm, benefit sharing from use of germplasm, and farmersâ role in conservation of genetic resources and other related themes.
The Congress culminated with the adoption of âThe Delhi Declaration on Agrobiodiversity Managementâ that recommended harmonizing multiple legal systems across countries to facilitate the safe transfer of genetic resources, developing and implementing an Agrobiodiversity Index to help monitor the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity in breeding programs, promoting conservation strategies for crop wild relatives and other strategies to strengthen agricultural biodiversityâs role in agricultural development.
A scientist examines wheat grain. CIMMYT/Nathan Russell
Gideon Kruseman is CIMMYT’s ex-ante and foresight specialist.
Over the next few decades, projections indicate global population will grow from more than 7 billion to more than 9 billion people by 2050. A large proportion of that world population will be living in low- and middle-income countries in urban environments â often huge — cities.
In India, the country with the largest rural population, for instance, the percentage of urban population is expected to increase from 37 percent in 2011 to 56 percent by 2050. Globally it will grow from 55 percent in 2011 to 70 percent in 2050. The trends we anticipate in India are comparable to Africa as a whole where urban population is projected to increase from less than 40 percent to around 55 percent, although there are differences between countries and regions.
Meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) established in 2015 by the United Nations and the global community will be challenging. The 17 goals with 169 targets aim to solve problems related to climate change, hunger, education, gender equality, sanitation, jobs, justice and shared peace by 2030.
In particular, SDG 2, which aspires to eliminate hunger, and SDG 3, which aims to establish good health and well-being, will be challenging even if we concentrate only on climatic, environmental and biophysical constraints. If we also take into account all the implications of urbanization and economic growth on diets and dietary change a new dimension of complexity becomes apparent.
Whether model calculations are based on current consumption patterns and trends, healthy diets or a variety of ecologicalsustainability criteria, maize and wheat will play a significant dietary role. Currently, these two staple crops feed two-thirds of the world population and will continue to be the main supply of energy in human diets in all scenarios.
However, scenarios for maize and wheat will not ensure decrease in quantitative and qualitative malnutrition unless we act upon projected future demands now. Diets, dietary change and their effects on health and nutritional status form complex interactions with socio-economic and environmental drivers.
In the future, diets will inevitably change as they have in previous decades. Basic commodities in food consumed in urban areas require different traits than food consumed in rural areas where the chain between production and consumption is shorter. The reason for this is that in rural areas in low and middle income countries staple grains are milled and processed locally, while in urban areas people tend to eat industrialized processed or pre-processed food.
In urban areas in Africa and South Asia wheat-based products are starting to replace traditional staples such as maize and rice to some extent. Moreover, research reveals that in urban centers people tend to eat energy dense food, which can help prevent quantitative malnutrition in terms of calorie intake, but does not ensure a healthy diet. Healthy eating requires a wide range of nutrients that traditionally are found in diverse foods. When people opt for less diversity and more convenience, this requires nutrient-dense as well as calorie-dense food. A significant trend that points to convenience food is the increased consumption levels of snacks and fast food, in low- and middle-income countries.
Maize-based snacks are important components of urban diets. Moreover, maize is a key ingredient found in convenience food made by the food industry in the form of starch and syrup. Ensuring that maize and wheat can meet nutritional demands in less diverse diets requires the introduction of new traits into the varieties comparable to the ongoing efforts of maize and wheatbiofortification at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
The development of nutrient-dense varieties takes time since they must also incorporate traits that address environmental conditions, climate change and resistance to pests and diseases as well as feature favorable post-harvest characteristics such as milling and processing quality.
Crucial to this process are the genetic resources that allow the traits to be combined in the breeding done at CIMMYT.
How do we do this? Billions of seeds, expertly and carefully conserved for humankind, are housed in our seed bank. They are freely available to breeders and other researchers around the world who may use them to uncover solutions to some of the challenges that face humanity in the future. Any one seed could help secure the food of our future.
While the potentially desirable traits hidden in the seeds in the seed bank are very valuable, there are costs involved in maintaining this diversity. Diversity is important for finding traits that will allow maize and wheat to be more nutritious than they are already today and so aid in meeting the demands of the future. Today, everyone can be part of this future by joining the âsave a seed movement.â
CIMMYT and partners recently held a seed fair in Mutoko, Zimbabwe to validate CIMMYTâs drought-tolerant and nutritious seed varieties. Above, smallholder farmers showcase their indigenous seeds as part of an information and technology exchange among various stakeholders. Photo: J. Siamachira/CIMMYT
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) â Annually, vitamin A deficiency affects between 250,000 and 500,000 vulnerable and malnourished young people with early-life blindness worldwide. Half of these people die, according to the World Health Organization. The goal of completely eradicating vitamin A deficiency â mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia â remains a big challenge.
âThere is very good evidence that vitamin A deficiency leads to an impaired immune system and can even have an impact on brain development,â said Thokozile Ndhlela, a CIMMYT maize breeder in southern Africa, addressing about 1,400 people at a seed fair event in Mutoko and Murewa districts of Mashonaland East province in Zimbabwe.
âBut effective science can make a huge difference by enriching staple crops such as maize with pro-vitamin A and providing subsistence farming households with nutritionally enhanced food, â Ndhlela explained to the audience, which included smallholder farmers, private seed companies, non-governmental organization representatives, traditional leaders, members of parliament and government officials.
In Zimbabwe, nearly one in every five children under the age of 5 are Vitamin A deficient. While vitamin A is available from a variety of sources, such as yellow, orange and red pigmented fruits, dark leafy vegetables, or animal products such as milk, eggs, liver and cheese, Â these are often too expensive or unavailable in Zimbabweâs rural areas, where 70 percent of the population live.
As part of efforts to address this nutritional challenge, CIMMYT and the CGIAR HarvestPlus research program are working with Zimbabwean researchers to develop maize varieties with high beta-carotene content.
âBeta-carotene, which is converted in the body to vitamin A is naturally found in maize,â said Ndhlela. Maize that is rich in beta-carotene is also orange in colour.
Since 2002, CIMMYT and CGIAR have been working on biofortification to enhance the micronutrient content of maize to support a fortification strategy launched by the Zimbabwe government in November 2015 through an agro-based initiative managed by farmers.
The improved orange maize varieties are bred to have some of the important traits such as high-yield potential, disease-resistance, and drought-tolerance, thereby reducing farmersâ vulnerability to effects of drought and other stresses, such as heat. This represents one promising strategy to enhance the availability of vitamins and minerals for people whose diets are dominated by micronutrient-poor staple food crops.
Grace Mhano, director of Afriseed Seed Company of Malawi. Her company is one of the institutions promoting pro-vitamin A orange maize under the Malawi Improved Seed Systems and Technologies (MISST) project. Photo: J. Siamachira/CIMMYT
Orange maize â when eaten as a porridge-like staple food known as sadza in Zimbabwe – could provide half of the average daily requirement of vitamin A for women and children. This maize is bred specifically for human consumption compared to yellow maize, which is mainly for animal feed.
âOur focus is on hidden hunger, caused by insufficient mineral and vitamins in the diet â that is the major hunger problem Zimbabwe faces today,ââ says Tendayi Mutimukuru-Maravanyika,ââ HarvestPlus Zimbabwe country manager.
CIMMYT together with HarvestPlus, Zimbabweâs Department of Research and Specialist Services, and other partners have released the ZS242 maize variety in Zimbabwe. An additional three hybrids are expected to be released in the country by end of October 2016. Regionally, six varieties have been released in Zambia, and four in Malawi.
Farming households have benefited from the orange maize in 13 districts: Mutare, Makoni, Mutasa, Mount Darwin, Guruve, Shurugwi, Gokwe South, Kwekwe, Mutoko, Murewa, Zaka, Bikita and Marondera. The intention is to have the production and consumption of these crops scaled up to the national level through collaboration with the private sector. In the 2015-2016 cropping season, 73 tons of orange maize seed was distributed to eight districts and about 30,000 households benefited. Â Out of the 13 districts, CIMMYT set up demonstration plots in five districts, of which seed fairs were held in two districts.
Demonstrations and field days are organized in various districts to create awareness, educate and train farmers on how to produce the crop and showcase good agricultural practices. âWe also train partners to ensure that the product gets to the intended beneficiary, the consumer, in a way that contributes to their health,ââ said Lister Katsvairo, HarvestPlus southern Africa regional manager.
Due to a general preference for white maize, encouraging the acceptance of the orange maize variety remains a challenge often overcome when consumers taste it, according to Katsvairo. Consumers prefer the orange variety once they understand the benefits of vitamin A in their diets. In addition, people believe that yellow and orange maize are the same, but the two breeds are different in taste and colour. âThey both have the same nutritional value, but orange maize contains more vitamin A compared to yellow maize, ââ Katsvairo said.
Douglas Makuvire, Murewa district agricultural extension officer, says most children in his area suffer from vitamin A deficiency, alluding to consumer fear of eating orange maize as a result of negative previous experiences with yellow maize, but said that efforts involve reassuring people of the nutritional benefit.
Murewa smallholder farmer, Donald Kure, 62, said he had a bad experience with yellow maize during the devastating 1992 drought when the government fed millions of people with it to avert mass starvation. âThe taste was pathetic, ââ he recalls. Though Kure had mixed feelings about the orange maize he remained optimistic. Â âMaybe this orange maize variety would be different,ââ he said after tasting sadza prepared with orange maize meal at the field day.
