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funder_partner: Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development

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CropSustaiN BNI Wheat Mission

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation and CIMMYT have launched the 4-year CropSustaiN initiative to determine the global potential of wheat that is significantly better at using nitrogen, thanks to Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI)—and to accelerate breeding and farmer access to BNI wheat varieties.

With a budget of US$ 21 million, CropSustaiN addresses the pressing challenges of nitrogen pollution and inefficient fertilizer use, which contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ecological degradation. Currently, no other seed or agronomic practice-based solution matches BNI crops’ mitigation impact potential. Growing BNI crops can complement other climate mitigation measures.

The challenge

Agriculture is at the heart of both food and nutrition security and environmental sustainability. The sector contributes ca. 10-12% of global GHG emissions, including 80% of the highly potent nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Fertilizer use contributes to such N losses, because plants take up about 50%, the remainder being lost. Wheat is the world’s largest ‘crop’ consumer of nitrogen-based fertilizer—a relatively nitrogen-inefficient cereal—at the same time providing affordable calories to billions of resource-poor people and ca. 20% of globally consumed protein. CropSustaiN targets this nexus of productivity and planetary boundary impact by verifying and thus de-risking the needed breeding, agronomic, and social innovations.

A solution: BNI-wheat

BNI is a natural ability of certain plant species to release metabolites from their roots into the soil. They influence the nitrogen-transforming activity of nitrifying bacteria, slowing down the conversion of ammonium to nitrate in the soil. This preserves soil ammonium levels for a longer time, providing plants with a more sustained source of available nitrogen and making them more nitrogen-use efficient (nitrogen plant use efficiency). As a result, BNI helps reduce the release of N2O gas emissions and nitrate leaching to the surrounding ecosystem.

A research breakthrough in 2021, led by the Japan International Research Center of Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) in collaboration with CIMMYT, demonstrated that the BNI trait can be transferred from a wheat wild relative to a modern wheat variety by conventional breeding. BNI wheat can be made available to farmers worldwide.

Growing BNI wheat could reduce nitrogen fertilizer usage by 15-20%, depending on regional farming conditions, without sacrificing yield or quality.

 

Incorporating BNI into additional crops would reduce usage further. Farmers can get the same yield with less external inputs.

Other BNI-crops

CropSustaiN will work on spring and winter wheats. Rice, maize, barley, and sorghum also have BNI potential. CropSustaiN will build the knowledge base and share with scientists working on other crops and agronomic approaches.

Objectives and outcomes

This high risk, high reward mission aims to:

  • Verify the global, on-farm potential of BNI-wheat through field trial research and breeding.
  • Build the partnerships and pathways to meet farmer demand for BNI-wheat seeds.
  • Work with stakeholders on policy change that enables BNI crops production and markets

Success will be measured by determining nitrogen pollution reduction levels under different soil nitrogen environments and management conditions on research stations, documenting crop performance and safety, breeding for BNI spring and winter wheats for a wide range of geographies, and gauging farmer needs, interest, and future demand.

Wheat spikes against the sky at CIMMYT’s El BatĂĄn, Mexico headquarters. (Photo: H. Hernandez Lira/CIMMYT)

A collaborative effort

CIMMYT is the lead implementer of Novo Nordisk Foundation’s mission funding. CropSustaiN’s interdisciplinary, intersectoral, systems approach relies on building partnerships and knowledge-sharing within and outside this research initiative. 45+ partners are engaged in CropSustaiN.

The potential GHG emissions reduction from deploying BNI-wheat is estimated to be 0.016-0.19 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year, reducing 0.4-6% of total global N2O emissions annually, plus a lowering of nitrate pollution.

Impact on climate change mitigation and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

The assumption is that BNI wheat is grown in all major wheat-growing areas and that farmers will practice a behavioral shift towards lower fertilizer use and higher fertilizer use efficiency. That could lead to ca. a reduction of 17 megatons per year globally. This can help nations achieve their NDCs under the Paris Agreement.

International public goods, governance, and management

CIMMYT and the Foundation are committed to open access and the dissemination of seeds, research data, and results as international public goods. The governance and management model reinforces a commitment to equitable global access to CropSustaiN outputs, emphasized in partnership agreements and management of intellectual property.

Invitation to join the mission

The CropSustaiN initiative is a bold step towards agricultural transformation. You are invited to become a partner. You can contribute to the mission with advice, by sharing methods, research data and results, or becoming a co-founder.

Please contact CropSustaiN Mission Director, Victor Kommerell, at v.kommerell@cgiar.org or Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Senior Scientific Manager, Jeremy A. Daniel, at jad@novo.dk.

Additional reference material

  1. BNI International Consortium (Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, JIRCAS)
  2. Nitrification inhibitors: biological and synthetic (German Environment Agency, Umweltbundesamt)
  3. CropSustaiN: new innovative crops to reduce the nitrogen footprint form agriculture
  4. Annual Technical Report 2024. CropSustaiN: A new paradigm to reduce the nitrogen footprint from agriculture
  5. BNI-Wheat Future: towards reducing global nitrogen use in wheat
  6. CIMMYT Publications Repository

Strengthening maize value chains in Nepal

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

Stakeholders collaborate in a two-day workshop to discuss the inclusive development of maize value chains in Nepal. (Photo: CIMMYT)

From April 3-4, 2024, CIMMYT hosted the International Conference on Strengthening Maize Value Chains in Nepal, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Department of Agriculture (DOA), the National Agriculture Research Council (NARC), and the Agri Enterprise Center (AEC) of the Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Maize holds the potential to yield manifold benefits for farmers, the private sector, and the Government of Nepal, through the development of an efficient market system,” said Judith Almodovar, acting director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal. With this in mind, the two-day conference held in Kathmandu brought together government officials, policymakers, industry leaders, and experts from Nepal and the wider region to explore avenues for advancing the country’s maize sub-sector. It served as a platform for participants from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, representing various functions of the maize value chain to share and exchange innovative commercial maize production, post-harvest, supply chain, and marketing models and policies aimed at improving efficiency, ensuring sustainability, and fostering competitiveness.

Addressing the opening session, Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Jwala Kumari Sah, highlighted the Government of Nepal’s priority to increase maize production and marketing, emphasizing the need to provide maize for food, feed, and fodder to boost incomes and improve livelihoods. While highlighting objectives and expectations from the conference, Country Representative for CIMMYT in Nepal, Dyutiman Choudhary, shared information about CIMMYT’s mandate and global expertise in maize science, as well as interventions to develop a maize seed-to-feed model in Nepal. The organization’s model fosters public-private farmer partnerships for commercial maize production as a key approach to develop an inclusive and sustainable maize sub-sector in the country. “As a result, maize yields have doubled in Nepal and farmer gate prices have increased by 50% in the last two years,” Choudhary explained.

CIMMYT scientists and partners engage in a panel discussion on maize commercialization. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Recommendations for sustainable improvement

The conference involved five different technical sessions over the course of two days, each focused on various themes related to production, marketing, international best practices, and policies. Experts from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal were involved in insightful discussions and shared valuable knowledge and experience for advancing the commercialization of the maize sub-sector in Nepal.

Participants made recommendations for the sustainable improvement of national maize production and commercialization to meet the growing demand for food, feed, and fodder while reducing reliance on imports. These include developing high-yielding, short-duration, stress-tolerant maize varieties, and identifying models for commercial maize production, post-harvest, storage, market linkages, and supportive policies for improved investment and coordination among public sectors, market actors, and service providers to meet national maize demand.

At the closing session, Govinda Prasad Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD), notified attendees that MOALD is in the process of strengthening a national strategy for maize commercialization and that the learning from the conference will provide valuable inputs. He added that the participation of experts from neighboring countries has provided deep insights for policy development.

Charting a new course in agriculture: NARC-CIMMYT synergy in Nepal

Written by Nur-A-Mahajabin Khan on . Posted in News.

The Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and CIMMYT are partnering to advance actions to revolutionize agriculture in Nepal. The collaboration, announced at a planning meeting between the two organizations on October 16, 2023, aims to enhance food security and improve the livelihoods of farmers in the country. With their combined expertise, NARC and CIMMYT will chart a new course in agricultural development, bringing hope and prosperity to Nepal’s farming communities.

CIMMYT scientists with NARC scientists. (Photo: Nabin Maharjan/CIMMYT)

Previous collaborative efforts developing new crop varieties have helped to strengthen Nepal’s national research framework. In a recent statement, Sreemat Shrestha, NERC chief at the NARC, highlighted CIMMYT’s significant contributions. Shrestha emphasized CIMMYT’s role in introducing revolutionary advancements, such as digital file mapping, market segmentation and advanced agricultural land use technologies.

CIMMYT Country Representative in Nepal, Dyutiman Choudhary, gave the presentation and led the meeting. During the event, he presented a comprehensive explanation of the vast relationship that exists between CIMMYT and NARC. He emphasized the historical significance of this partnership and discussed the various aspects that contribute to the strength of their combined efforts.

NARC expanding global influence and enhancing research impact

In an effort to strengthen its position on the global stage, NARC has set forth a clear mission to enhance capacity development, broaden its influence worldwide and establish a coalition of highly trained scientists to elevate the quality and impact of research.

“With this ambitious agenda, NARC is poised to make significant strides in scientific advancement, and CIMMYT will be a valued partner with us the entire time,” said Shrestha.

Sieglinde Snapp, director of Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) at CIMMYT, while acknowledging the challenges the world is facing, such as air and water quality issues, rising food prices, emphasized the importance of agriculture in addressing these challenges and further innovations like new genetic research, molecular biology and AI.

Sieglinde and Sreshtha discuss the CIMMYT-NARC collaboration. (Photo: Nabin Maharjan/CIMMYT)

“I am excited about the progress CIMMYT and NARC have already achieved in Nepal,” said Snapp. “I encourage all of us to continue our efforts together, because collective action is necessary for meaningful change.”

Snapp highlights the need for technology adoption and mentions the transformation of wheat value chains, particularly in reducing women’s labor through introducing machines and spare parts. She praises the commitment to balance input and output and cites an example of helping farmers during a fertilizer crisis.

CIMMYT’s new focus at play in Nepal

Timothy Krupnik, CIMMYT regional director for SAS, provided insights into the organization’s growth and global influence in over 80 countries. Krupnik highlighted CIMMYT’s transition from its primary focus on breeding and genomics to its engagement to include other factors, such as agronomy, on-farm participatory research, socioeconomic studies and comprehensive agrifood systems.

“This shift in focus enhances CIMMYT’s understanding of the broader agricultural landscape and contributes to more comprehensive solutions,” said Krupnik. “Remarkable progress has been achieved in hybrid maize development and seed production, and we look forward to continuing to work with our Nepali partners.”

The meeting discussed various agricultural technology and innovation topics, including machinery, remote sensing, GIS toolsand greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies. NARC officials stressed the significance of enhancing capacity, especially in digital agriculture, to prepare Nepal for present and future climate challenges. Specific focus was on utilizing predictive crop modeling and simulation techniques to ensure crop resilience in the face of changing climate scenarios.

Fostering agricultural innovation: collaborative meetings with NARC and NSSRC in Nepal

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

On October 4, 2023, Sieglinde Snapp, program director of the Sustainable Agrifood System (SAS) program, along with the country representative of CIMMYT and project lead of the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project (NSAF) Dyutiman Choudhary, visited the National Soil Science Research Center (NSSRC) under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The chief of NSSRC, Shree Prasad Vista, and his team welcomed Snapp and the team from CIMMYT. In the meeting, Vista presented an overview of NSSRC’s work and emphasized the collaborative work with NSAF. He focused on the achievements NSSRC has accomplished with the joint efforts of NSAF. He highlighted the launch of the Digital Soil Map and new fertilizer recommendations. He also reflected on the benefits of soil health cards to the farmers that NSAF supported. In addition, he prioritized the importance of collaboration to improve the livelihood of farmers. He appreciated the cross-learning that CIMMYT has been providing for knowledge transfer and adopting best management practices. After the meeting, the team visited the NSSRC’s laboratory, which provided insights about their soil research activities.

The chief of NSSRC briefs Sieg Snapp on farmers’ health card. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Following the visit to NSSRC, Snapp and CIMMYT colleagues visited the NARC Head Office within the same premises. The Executive Director of NARC, Dhurbaraj Bhattari, welcomed the delegates in his office. The ED presented an overview of NARC and its primary focus. He emphasized the importance of collaborative work with CIMMYT. After the presentation, the delegates from CIMMYT, NARC and NSSRC discussed critical issues regarding sustainable agricultural practices. The primary focus of the meeting was the strategies to boost sustainable agricultural productivity to enhance crop yields, value chain enhancement for farmer’s benefits, policy development for collaboration and harmonization to encourage horizontal and vertical cooperation between different stakeholders, need for investment in research and infrastructure at the grassroots level for addressing the challenges faced by farmers.

Addressing the meeting, Snapp focused on the importance of partnership aligning with CIMMYT’s latest strategies to facilitate knowledge transfer and the adoption of best practices. She also raised her concerns regarding the loss of crops between harvest and storage. She reflected on the commitment of CIMMYT to improving agriculture through science and innovation to change the livelihood of farmers. She showed her commitment to ongoing collaboration for sustainable agricultural development.

The meeting provided a platform to strengthen the longstanding collaboration between CIMMYT and NARC to address the challenges faced by farmers to enhance agricultural productivity through sustainable approaches. The Executive Director of NARC extended heartfelt gratitude for CIMMYT’s support, which has played a pivotal role in transforming the lives of countless farmers. He also expressed hope for continued collaboration in the future.

The CIMMYT and NSSRC team at NSSRC offices. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Snapp visited CIMMYT Nepal from October 3-7, 2023. 2023. During her visit, she interacted and engaged with various stakeholders, including Nepal staff, farmers in the field, agricultural cooperatives, government authorities, seed growers, suppliers and feed mills.

Atlas crucial to strengthen Nepal’s capacity to cope with climate change

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

Nepal, like other South Asian nations, faces significant environmental challenges, including climate change and air pollution. The impacts of climate change in Nepal are profound, with species moving to higher elevations, glaciers melting and an increase in extreme precipitation events. Despite only contributing a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, Nepal ranks fourth on the Global Climate Risk Index. This vulnerability is attributed to the country’s unique geographical features, characterized by remarkable topographical variation spanning from 60 to 8,848 meters within just 190 kilometers from North to South. In addition to economic challenges and micro-climates, Nepal is highly susceptible to the consequences of climate change, particularly in the mid-and far-western hills and mountains.

Photo: (Neil Palmer/CIAT and CCFAS)

To tackle these challenges, Nepal has taken proactive measures by implementing various adaptation strategies. Key initiatives include the National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA), National Adaptation Plan (NAP 2021-2050), Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS-2015-2035) and the Green, Resilient, & Inclusive Development (GRID) plan. These initiatives have played vital roles in building resilience. Nepal has also launched the Climate-Smart Village program at the local level in all seven provinces, offering grassroots training on carbon and energy efficiency, biodiversity conservation and water management practices. Another notable achievement is the ‘The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas,’ which utilizes data from five major river basins and historical climate records to project future climate hazards and extreme events.

Furthermore, Nepal developed the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) in 2019, prioritizing eight thematic areas including agricultural and food security. The Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Report by the Ministry of Environment (2021) has also examined vulnerability and risks in eight thematic areas and one cross-cutting area for the preparation and implementation of the National Adaptation Plan. This report not only assesses the various dimensions (exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and risk) of climate change impacts across multiple sectors but also offers a range of adaptation options to address the adverse effects.

To successfully implement and translate the NCCP into action, it is crucial to identify where and how to invest. By aligning with the Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA), Nepal reaffirms its commitment to addressing the intersection of agriculture and the environment. By leveraging the Atlas, Nepal will expedite its efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on agriculture, with a comprehensive understanding of various dimensions of risks and vulnerability. The Atlas will provide a detailed breakdown of risks specific to different commodities, enabling the development of effective mitigation and adaptation solutions.

By complementing ongoing efforts to manage risks and enhance adaptation strategies, the Atlas will serve as a testament to Nepal’s determination to strengthen its capacity to cope with climate change. It will make an invaluable contribution to climate change adaptation technologies, assisting government entities at all levels in formulating effective policy guidelines. By integrating research findings, indigenous knowledge, and cutting-edge technologies, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) firmly believes that the Atlas represents another crucial step towards implementing a holistic approach to mitigate and adapt to the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture.

Piece by Dhruba Raj Bhattarai, executive director, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Nepal

Government of Nepal adopts new fertilizer recommendations

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in News.

Balancing the application of fertilizers based on the characteristics of soil leads to increased crop productivity, income, and fertilizer use efficiency unlike former “one size fits all” recommendations, said Bedu Ram Bhushal, Nepal’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) during a press briefing earlier this month in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.

Participants from the press release (Photo: Deepa Woli/CIMMYT)

The site-specific recommendations applicable to maize, wheat, and rice were jointly launched with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and National Soil Science Research Center (NSSRC). They were implemented in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and led by the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) Project at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

“I congratulate NARC for this historical work on updating the fertilizer recommendations after 46 years,” Bhushal said. “Now, we should support the large-scale adoption of these new recommendations by farmers for sustainable soil fertility management.”

Earlier recommendations developed by the Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science Service Section under the Department of Agriculture (DoA) in 1976 did not take into account soil diversity, biophysical conditions, and agronomic management. Nutrients recommended for a particular crop were the same for terai lowlands, hills, and mountains.

In general, soil fertility changes over time due to deployment of continuous intensive cropping systems. The new recommendations consider the indigenous nutrient supply of soils, target yields, and the amount of nutrients removed by crops at harvest.

Senior officials and dignitaries endorsed new fertilizer recommendation (Photo: Deepa Woli/CIMMYT)

It took six years for NSSRC of NARC in partnership with NSAF, to update the recommendations through nutrient omission and optimum nutrient rate trials in various locations. By using advanced analytical methods and machine learning tools for extrapolating data across different agroecological zones and domains, they were able to make them site-specific.

Other factors considered, included attainable yield at a particular farm, soil fertility status, agro-climate, crop management practices, and the amount of nutrients to be supplied to fill the gap between crop nutrient removal and soil nutrient supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Micronutrients and organic inputs were also considered.

These recommendations were presented to leading soil scientists and agronomists from NARC and MoALD and were validated at national meetings in July and October 2022.

The Honorable Minister of MoALD, Bedu Ram Bhusal reviewed the press release (Photo: Deepa Woli/CIMMYT)

The new recommendations were included in the DoA’s agriculture extension guidelines in 2023, to achieve potential yield at the farm level and to link with the extension system through the three-tier of governments for its extensive use throughout the country. The new approach is part of CIMMYT’s efforts to support the NARC, MoALD, provincial agriculture ministries, and farmers to build indigenous soil fertility management resources and capabilities and promote locally adapted strategies for long-term resilience by using integrated soil fertility management approaches.

Wheat Disease Early Warning Advisory System (DEWAS)

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Wheat Disease Early Warning Advisory System (Wheat DEWAS) project is bringing new analytic and knowledge systems capacity to one of the world’s largest and most advanced crop pathogen surveillance systems. With Wheat DEWAS, researchers are building an open and scalable system capable of preventing disease outbreaks from novel pathogen strains that threaten wheat productivity in food vulnerable areas of East Africa and South Asia.

The system builds from capabilities developed previously by multi-institutional research teams funded through long-term investments in rust pathogen surveillance, modelling, and diagnostics. Once fully operationalized, the project aims to provide near-real-time, model-based risk forecasts for governments. The result: accurate, timely and actionable advice for farmers to respond proactively to migrating wheat diseases.

The Challenge

Farmers growing wheat face pathogen pressures from a range of sources. Two of the most damaging are the fungal diseases known as rust and blast. Rust is a chronic issue for farmers in all parts of the world. A study in 2015 estimated that the three rust diseases — stem, stripe and leaf — destroyed more than 15 million tons of wheat at a cost of nearly $3 billion worldwide. Wheat blast is an increasing threat to wheat production and has been detected in both Bangladesh and Zambia. Each of these diseases can destroy entire harvests without warning, wiping out critical income and food security for resource-poor farmers in vulnerable areas.

The Response

Weather forecasts and early-warning alerts are modern technologies that people rely on for actionable information in the case of severe weather. Now imagine a system that lets farmers know in advance when dangerous conditions will threaten their crop in the field. Wheat DEWAS aims to do just that through a scalable, integrated, and sustainable global surveillance and monitoring system for wheat.

Wheat DEWAS brings together research expertise from 23 research and academic organizations from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Europe, the United States and Mexico.

Together, the researchers are focused on six interlinked work packages: 

Work package Lead Objectives
Data Management Aarhus University; Global Rust Reference Center
  • Maintain, strengthen and expand the functionality of the existing Wheat Rust Toolbox data management system
  • Create new modules within the Toolbox to include wheat blast and relevant wheat host information
  • Consolidate and integrate datasets from all the participating wheat rust diagnostic labs
  • Develop an API for the two-way exchange of data between the Toolbox and the Delphi data stack
  • Develop an API for direct access to quality-controlled surveillance data as inputs for forecast models
  • Ensure fair access to data
Epidemiological Models Cambridge University
  • Maintain operational deployment and extend geographical range
  • Productionalize code for long-term sustainability
  • Multiple input sources (expert, crowd, media)
  • Continue model validation
  • Ensure flexibility for management scenario testing
  • Extend framework for wheat blast
Surveillance (host + pathogen) CIMMYT
  • Undertake near-real-time, standardized surveys and sampling in the target regions
  • Expand the coverage and frequency of field surveillance
  • Implement fully electronic field surveillance that permits near real-time data gathering
  • Target surveillance and diagnostic sampling to validate model predictions
  • Map vulnerability of the host landscape
Diagnostics John Innes Centre
  • Strengthen existing diagnostic network in target regions & track changes & movement
  • Develop & integrate new diagnostic methodology for wheat rusts & blast
  • Align national diagnostic results to provide a regional & global context
  • Enhance national capacity for wheat rust & blast diagnostics
Information Dissemination and Visualization Tools PlantVillage; Penn State
  • Create a suite of information layers and visualization products that are automatically derived from the quality-controlled data management system and delivered to end users in a timely manner
  • Deliver near real time for national partners to develop reliable and actionable advisory and alert information to extension workers, farmers and policy makers
National Partner Capacity Building Cornell University
  • Strengthening National partner capacity on pathogen surveillance, diagnostics, modeling, data management, early warning assessment, and open science publishing

 

Wheat DEWAS partners 

Academic organizations: Aarhus University / Global Rust Reference Center; Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University; Cornell University / School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Section; Hazara University; Penn State University / PlantVillage; University of Cambridge; University of Minnesota

 Research organizations: Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI); CIMMYT; Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh; Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI); Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR); ICARDA; John Innes Centre (JIC); Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO); National Plant Protection Centre (NPPC), Bhutan; Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC); Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC); UK Met Office; Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI); The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) / GetGenome; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service; Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI)

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

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Publications.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Public-private collaboration to improve fertilizer supply

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Basanta Shrestha, Vice-Chair of FAN, shares the objectives of the public-private dialogue with Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of MoALD (seated left) ,Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav, Honorable Minister of MoALD (seated center), Chandrakanta Dallakoti, Chairperson of FAN (seated right), and other participants. (Photo: Aayush Niroula/CIMMYT)

Fertilizer supply shortages are a chronic problem in Nepal, where thousands of farmers are often unable to access the required quantities on time. This is particularly common during the cultivation of rice — the major staple food crop for the country.

Some of the critical challenges to meeting fertilizer demand include limitations to import mechanisms and budget allocation for fertilizer subsidies by the Government of Nepal. Additionally, the successive COVID-19-induced lockdowns and Russia-Ukraine war have further deepened the crisis in the past two years by significantly delaying imports and increasing fertilizer prices. This continuous gap in supply has compelled farmers to buy fertilizers from the country’s unofficial or “gray” markets.

To address these shortcomings, researchers on the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), have been supporting the Fertilizer Association of Nepal (FAN) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) to resolve policy issues that will enhance fertilizer distribution efficiency.

Fertilizer sector stakeholders participate in a panel discussion at the public-private dialogue. (Photo: Aayush Niroula/CIMMYT)

On 23 September 2022, the NSAF project team joined representatives from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and FAN to organize a policy dialogue around improving the country’s fertilizer supply system. Held in Kathmandu, the event brought together concerned public and private sector stakeholders to discuss existing challenges and propose different policy alternatives that ensure the timely availability of fertilizers in the required quantities.

Representatives from FAN presented the key issues and challenges in the sector while NSAF project coordinator Dyutiman Choudhary presented the findings of different fertilizer policy studies conducted jointly with local partners. The results showed that involving the private sector in distribution improved farmers’ access to fertilizers compared to distribution carried out solely by cooperatives. The study also indicated a potential to reduce fertilizer subsidies and increase import volume to help meet demand.

Lynn Schneider, Deputy Director of USAID Economic Growth Office shares her remarks at the policy dialogue. (Photo: Dyutiman Choudhary/CIMMYT)

Improving national supply systems

The event featured a panel discussion, where participants shared their experiences and outlined the issues faced by private sector importers, logistic service providers and retailers, and policymakers from federal and provincial governments while engaging in their respective functions. The panel members also suggested a number of different ways to improve national fertilizer supply systems, such as:

  1. Restructuring fertilizer subsidy programs, i.e. reducing the current subsidy by 20-30% (a recommendation from the NSAF assessment) and using budget savings to increase imports and allocate subsidies based on fertilizer demand.
  2. Making a procurement process timeline to ensure timely fertilizer supply for three major crops — rice, wheat, and maize — and importing about 30% of the total fertilizer through Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement.
  3. Implementing a crisis management strategy by maintaining buffer stocks (20% of the demand).
  4. Ensuring a level playing field for the private sector in the import and distribution of the fertilizers.

The dialogue concluded with mutual agreement by stakeholders from the public and private sectors to improve local fertilizer distribution through private sector engagement. They agreed to revise some clauses specified in the Nepal Fertilizer Distribution Directive 2020 related to profit margins, volumes, classification of fertilizer distributors and selling fertilizers. Govinda Prasad Sharma, secretary of MOALD, informed attendees that the ministry has already started planning fertilizer procurement based on actual demand and gave assurances about G2G agreements with neighboring countries such as India to bring in fertilizers for distribution during times of peak demand. Sharma also agreed to continue supporting the private sector in capacity building to import fertilizers and to revise subsidies to make more fertilizers available.

“It is our great pleasure to see all fertilizer-related stakeholders in a common platform, which is critical to bring out key issues and cooperation between the public and private sector,” said Lynn Schneider, deputy director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal. Schneider also emphasized the importance of generating efficiency in estimating fertilizer demand and supply and fertilizer types by using Nepal’s digital soil map, working in close coordination with provincial and local governments, and increasing the role of the private sector to ensure fertilizer supply to meet crop requirements in the peak season.

Attendees at the Public Private Dialogue on Improving Fertilizer Supply System in Nepal (Photo: Aayush Niroula/CIMMYT)

The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer project is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is a flagship project in Nepal. It aims to build competitive and synergistic seed and fertilizer systems for inclusive and sustainable growth in agricultural productivity, business development and income generation in Nepal.

CIMMYT leads innovation sprint to deliver results to farmers rapidly

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

Smallholder farmers, the backbone of food systems around the world, are already facing negative impacts because of climate change. Time to adapt climate mitigation strategies is not a luxury they have. With that in mind, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) facilitates innovation sprints designed to leverage existing development activities to create a series of innovations in an expedited timeframe.

At the UN COP27 in Egypt, AIM4C announced its newest round of innovation sprints, including one led by the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) to enable smallholder farmers to achieve efficient and effective nitrogen fertilizer management. From 2022 to 2025, this sprint will steer US $90 million towards empowering small-scale producers in Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe), Asia (China, India, Laos and Pakistan), and Latin America (Guatemala and Mexico).

“When we talk to farmers, they tell us they want validated farming practices tailored to their specific conditions to achieve greater productivity and increase their climate resilience,” said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYT Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director who is coordinating the sprint. “This sprint will help deliver those things rapidly by focusing on bolstering organic carbon in soil and lowering nitrous oxide emissions.”

Nitrogen in China

Working with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the sprint will facilitate the development of improved versions of green manure crops, which are grown specifically for building and maintaining soil fertility and structures which are incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting. Green manure can significantly reduce the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, which prime climate culprits.

“There are already green manure systems in place in China,” said Weidong Cao from CAAS, “but our efforts will integrate all the work being done to establish a framework for developing new green manure crops aid in their deployment across China.”

Triple wins in Kenya

The Kenya Climate Smart Climate Project, active since 2017, is increasing agricultural productivity and building resilience to climate change risks in the targeted smallholder farming and pastoral communities. The innovation sprint will help rapidly achieve three wins in technology development and dissemination, cutting-edge innovations, and developing sets of management practices all designed to increase productive, adaption of climate smart tech and methods, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Agricultural innovations in Pakistan

The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral project funded by USAID, led by CIMMYT, and active in Pakistan since 2015, fosters the emergence of a dynamic, responsive, and competitive system of science and innovation that is ‘owned’ by Pakistan and catalyzes equitable growth in agricultural production, productivity, and value.

“From its beginning, AIP has been dedicated to building partnerships with local organizations and, smallholder farmers throughout Pakistan, which is very much in line with the objectives and goal as envisioned by Pakistan Vision 2025 and the Vision for Agriculture 2030, as Pakistan is a priority country for CIMMYT. However, a concerted effort is required from various players representing public and private sectors,” said Thakur Prasad Tiwari, senior scientist at CIMMYT. “Using that existing framework to deliver rapid climate smart innovations, the innovation sprint is well-situated to react to the needs of Pakistani farmers. “

Policies and partnerships for innovations in soil fertility management in Nepal

The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, funded by USAID and implemented by CIMMYT, facilitates sustainable increases in Nepal’s national crop productivity, farmer income, and household-level food and nutrition security. NSAF promotes the use of improved seeds and integrated soil fertility management technologies along with effective extension, including the use of digital and information and communications technologies. The project facilitated the National Soil Science Research Centre (NSSRC) to develop new domain specific fertilizer recommendations for rice, maize, and wheat to replace the 40 years old blanket recommendations.

Under NSAFs leadership, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) launched Asia’s first digital soil map and has coordinated governmental efforts to collect and analyze soil data to update the soil map and provide soil health cards to Nepal’s farmers. The project provides training to over 2000 farmers per year to apply ISFM principles and provides evidence to the MOALD to initiate a balanced soil fertility management program in Nepal and to revise the national fertilizer subsidy policy to promote balanced fertilizers. The project will also build efficient soil fertility management systems that significantly increase crop productivity and the marketing and distribution of climate smart and alternative fertilizer products and application methods.

Public-private partnerships accelerate access to innovations in South Asia

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), established in 2009, has reached more than 8 million farmers by conducting applied research and bridging public and private sector divides in the context of rural ‘innovation hubs’ in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. CSISA’s work has enabled farmers to adopt resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies and improve their access to market information and enterprise development.

“Farmers in South Asia have become familiar with the value addition that participating in applied research can bring to innovations in their production systems,” said Timothy Krupnik, CIMMYT systems agronomist and senior scientist. “Moreover, CSISA’s work to address gaps between national and extension policies and practices as they pertain to integrated soil fertility management in the context of intensive cropping systems in South Asia has helped to accelerate farmers’ access to productivity-enhancing innovations.”

CSISA also emphasizes support for women farmers by improving their access and exposure to improved technological innovations, knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills.

Sustainable agriculture in Zambia

The Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming systems in Zambia (SIFAZ) is a research project jointly implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture and CIMMYT designed to facilitate scaling-up of sustainable and climate smart crop production and land management practices within the three agro-ecological zones of Zambia. “The Innovation Sprint can take advantage of existing SIFAZ partnerships, especially with Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture,” said Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT scientist. “Already having governmental buy-in will enable quick development and dissemination of new sustainable intensification practices to increase productivity and profitability, enhance human and social benefits while reducing negative impacts on the environment.”

Cover photo: Paul Musembi Katiku, a field worker based in Kiboko, Kenya, weighs maize cobs harvested from a low nitrogen trial. (Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT)

From seed to feed

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

In 2022, more than 2,000 households participated in CIMMYT’s Maize Commercial Model program, doubling the number of farmers and area of maize produced compared to data from 2021. (Photo: Aayush Niroula/CIMMYT)

Experts at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working with partners to drive self-sufficiency in poultry feed and achieve more sustainable maize systems in Nepal thanks to the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project.

About 3,000 metric tons (t) of poultry feed is used in Nepal every day, with maize making up about half of feed ingredients. The Feed Association of Nepal estimates that more than 80% of maize for animal feed requirements are met through imports, which costs around $100 million a year. Maize imports are estimated to exceed $130 million in 2022.

Through the NSAF project — a project which facilitates sustainable increases in Nepal’s national crop productivity, income and household-level food and nutrition security across 20 districts — CIMMYT scientists have been supporting public private partnerships to increase commercial maize production and strengthen the “seed to feed” chain in the country.

In the Terai region, huge swaths of land lie fallow in the spring season. Experts estimate that enough maize grain could be produced on this land to substitute about 40% of maize imports to the country. Increasing spring maize production in these fallow lands has been one of the goals of the NSAF team, as well as improving coordination between public and private sectors. To do this, the team have designed a multi-stakeholder engagement initiative to strengthen the seed to feed chain.

In December 2020, CIMMYT experts began the initiative to scale up the use of new maize hybrid varieties and improved agronomic practices. In the spring of 2022, CIMMYT researchers partnered with public and private organizations in Banke, Bardiya and Kailali to help commercialize hybrid maize production and strengthen maize value chain coordination in the region. Partners included integrated agriculture and livestock development offices in Bardiya, agriculture knowledge centers in Banke and Kailali, local governments, farmer cooperatives, seed companies, agro-dealers and feed mills.

Working with these partners, CIMMYT scientists also advanced efforts to improve the capacity of actors to increase efficiency in supply chains, production and marketing, provide local employment and strengthen the market for domestically produced maize for poultry feed.

As of September 2022, the following milestones have been achieved:

  • Provincial governments have established multi-stakeholder maize commercial networks at sites where maize actors and stakeholders participate to coordinate commercial maize production, access to support services and to link farmers and grain buyers.
  • In 2022, more than 2,000 households from 19 local government units produced maize on 547 ha in Banke, Bardiya and Kailali. The total maize production increased from 1390t in 2021 to 3,232t in 2022. This was an increase of 61% in the number of farmers and 52% in area. The value of maize sold also tripled from USD 306,900 in 2021 to USD 915,700 in 2022.
  • The farm gate price of maize by 22% and the Government of Nepal invested $2.37 million to support access to quality seed, agriculture machinery and irrigation facilities.
  • Farmers sold 500t maize grains to feed mills in 2022, a huge jump from only 30t in 2021.
  • In partnership with the Government of Nepal, CIMMYT researchers organized training programs for farmers in maize commercial network sites on production, post-harvest, exposure visits and marketing to prepare them to produce maize as per buyers’ requirements. They also guided farmers on how to access credit, crop insurance, and digital advisory services to further improve their production and marketing.
Maize constitutes about half of all poultry feed products in Nepal and maize imports for feed are estimated to be worth around $130 million in 2022. (Photo: Aayush Niroula/CIMMYT)

Next steps

CIMMYT scientists plan to double the number of districts under the maize commercialization model from three to six in 2023. The Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and the local and provincial governments are keen to scale out the model to several maize production regions of Nepal.

In a joint assessment with the Government of Nepal and private sector partners, CIMMYT scientists identified a number of key areas for further development. These include supporting farmers to access high yielding, short duration and stress tolerant maize varieties, as well as best management practices for improving maize production. Other priorities include developing models for contractual arrangements between farmers groups and feed mills, encouraging public and private sector investment in village-level warehouses with drying facilities. Finally, CIMMYT and partners are eager to introduce incentives such as subsidies on grain produced and sold by farmers through cooperatives, develop national maize quality standards and update the 1976 Feed Act.

Going forward, CIMMYT’s research on public private partnership for commercial maize production will focus on drivers of uptake of technology and institutional innovations, the role of aggregation models and contractual arrangements in maize market system coordination and impact assessment on farmers benefits.

Refresher webinar on fall armyworm management in South Asia

Written by Alison Doody on . Posted in News.

Banner for the refresher webinar on fall armyworm management in South Asia. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The fall armyworm is a destructive polyphagous pest that feeds on more than 300 crop species, with a particular appetite for maize. The pest was first reported in Asia in 2018 and has been spreading in the region since then, especially in maize-producing countries of South Asia.

Several campaigns on identifying and managing fall armyworm have been conducted in South Asia, yet the challenge to control the pest remains. The damage caused by fall armyworm to farmers’ fields was reported widely during the 2022 spring maize season in Pakistan and Nepal’s Terai region. Many maize farmers complained about the current economic downturn, price hike of agricultural commodities and the unavailability of safe pesticides to reduce crop losses.

On 21 July 2022, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) initiated a refresher webinar to share the latest scientific advances and best practices for identifying and managing fall armyworm in South Asia. The platform extended an opportunity for the participants to understand and learn about effective integrated pest management (IPM) approaches being practiced in the region. It also addressed the importance of enabling policies that are crucial to foster innovations to reduce crop yield loss and save the environment from hazardous effects of toxic pesticides.

The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project (NSAF) team, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by CIMMYT, organized the virtual event in collaboration with Nepal’s Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal’s National Maize Research Program, the Maize and Millet Research Institute in Pakistan, the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and CGIAR’s Plant Health Initiative.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal, delivered their opening remarks during the inaugural session. The Secretary emphasized the use of safer methods, including but not limited to mass rearing and releasing of natural enemies of fall armyworm and the deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties.

“USAID will continue working with partners to advocate and promote IPM practices till the pest becomes of non-economic importance,” said Seuc.

BM Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative lead emphasized the importance of IPM practices to manage the pest. Prasanna discussed the global efforts to control the pest and shared the progress of fall armyworm tolerant maize seeds which are being released and deployed by CIMMYT partners to help resource poor farmers, especially in Africa.

AbduRahman Beshir, NSAF’s seed systems lead, emphasized the importance of the event and acknowledged the participation of approximately 525 attendees from public and private research institutions, academicians, civil society, private sector, policy decision-makers, CGIAR centers and USAID Nepal. The webinar gathered attendees from 15 countries, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and China.

Experts from South Asia presented on a range of topics including the status of fall armyworm and its management in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Pacific Region, IPM practices and experience of using safe pesticides, breeding for native genetic resistance to fall armyworm, and biological control and push-pull strategies. The experts emphasized on the need for collective efforts to strengthen national and international coordination, favorable policies, deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties, and best response interventions to help farmers battle the fall armyworm and limit its spread.

Efforts to mitigate the impact of fall armyworm attacks are still ongoing. CIMMYT is continuously working to alert farmers and stakeholders on the IPM practices of fall armyworm in the region.

Elite maize seeds handed over to seed sector stakeholders in Nepal

Written by Alison Doody on . Posted in News.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development hands-over diverse maize seed inbred lines acquired by CIMMYT to the National Agricultural Research Council. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Maize is Nepal’s second most important crop for food security. Although the country’s diverse ecology can support maize production throughout the year, maize seeds and other grains, are largely imported each year.

Access to quality maize seed is one of the issues. Almost 85% of Nepalese farmers are unable to access quality certified maize seeds leaving them vulnerable to lower productivity. Traditional seeds, for example, are often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions induced by climate change. Nepal also has low seed replacement rates — around 20% for major cereals, which means that over 80% of farmers are either recycling seeds or use substandard quality seeds for each cropping season.

Over the past four years, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), through Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have been assisting the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and private seed company partners to test market ready and multiple stress tolerant hybrid and synthetic maize varieties at various locations across Nepal and evaluate their suitability for cultivation. These maize varieties have come from CIMMYT’s maize breeding hubs in Mexico, Zimbabwe, Colombia and India as well as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

After over two years of testing and identifying the best performing varieties, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Govinda Prasad Sharma handed over the seeds of selected maize varieties to NARC and seven partner seed companies for further testing, variety registration and seed scale up in Nepal. The handover ceremony took place on August 18, 2022 at the Quality Hybrid Seed Production and Seed Business Management International Training Workshop, which gathered together a diverse range of maize stakeholders from Nepal and South Asia.

These new high-performing, climate-resilient varieties will help Nepal increase their national maize yield, enhancing food security and livelihoods.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development hands over diverse maize seed inbred lines acquired by CIMMYT to one of the private seed company partners of the NSAF project. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Nutritious and climate resilient

The maize seeds include varieties enriched with provitamin A and zinc, aflatoxin tolerant synthetics, white and yellow kernel hybrids, and sweet and popcorn maize varieties. As well as being good for nutrition, the seeds are high yielding. Synthetic varieties have the potential to yield 6-7 metric tons (t) per hectare, while the hybrid varieties may yield over 10t — a significant increase from 3-5t of local seeds.

Climate change resilience is a vital trait for modern crops. Climate change is posing a threat to crops, with traditional varieties often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions. Included in the handover were climate resilient, early maturing seeds which take less than 100 days to mature in the summer season, reducing their exposure to drought. Among the handed over seeds were varieties tolerant to fall armyworm — a devastating pest threatening maize production in Nepal.

Stress tolerant and high yielding varieties suitable for such extreme conditions are needed now more than ever to increase on-farm yield levels. Nepal also needs a vibrant last mile seed delivery system and mechanisms to support and serve under-reached populations, including women and smallholder farmers. Sharma acknowledged CIMMYT’s support in sharing these elite and diverse maize seeds, which will contribute towards the government’s efforts of self-sufficiency in major cereals including maize.

“USAID is pleased to be collaborating with both the Government of Nepal and private sector partners through the NSAF project to enhance maize production and productivity at the farmer level,” said Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID.

“Once the range of maize seeds become widely available in the market, these varieties will play a major role in enhancing the food and nutrition security to millions of farmers who use maize directly or indirectly in the food chain, especially for those living in the hills.”

The exclusive allocation of the new products to partners complements the project team’s efforts to support private seed companies who have recently acquired research and development licenses and can subsequently register varieties under their own brands.

“We are handing over not only seeds and technologies to our partners but also responsibility, so that these varieties can make it to the farmers’ field in the shortest time possible,” said AbduRahman Beshir, NSAF’s seed systems lead at CIMMYT.

This crucial initiation also supports Nepal’s efforts to compete with imports and promote self-sufficiency through the private sector-led hybrid seed industry. Ultimately, farmers will have better access to quality maize seeds and increase crop productivity and income.

Quality protein maize: a road ahead

Written by Leslie DomĂ­nguez on . Posted in Publications.

Maize, along with wheat and rice, provides around 30% of food calories to more than 4.5 billion people in 94 developing countries. These statistics declare that maize is an important crop to ensure food and nutritional security for poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Limited diversification in dietary food and higher per capita maize consumption indicates that a great proportion of the population in developing countries are lacking in essential nutrients like micronutrients and amino acids.

Rigorous efforts by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) maize breeder Surinder K. Vasal and cereal chemist Evangelina Villegas in the early 1980s led to the development of an improved maize kernel with higher yield and vitreous appearance by combining the opaque-2 and genetic modifier systems by using backcrossing and recurrent selection. These efforts led to development of an improved maize known as quality protein maize (QPM).

QPM ensures the nutritional security of maize dependent communities. It is described as nutritionally superior maize with high lysine, tryptophan and leucine contents along with high biological value and high protein intake. QPM also has higher contents of non-zein protein (albumin, globulin and glutelin fractions), which are rich in lysine and tryptophan.

The development of QPM was comprised of a series of efforts across many decades to develop promising varieties. CIMMYT described the term QPM for maize genotypes with improved lysine and tryptophan contents and hard endosperm texture. Now, QPM is referred to maize genotypes with homozygous o2 alleles, increased lysine and tryptophan contents, and without harboring the negative pleiotropic effects of soft endosperm.

In recent years, CIMMYT has developed several QPM varieties across many countries with different genetic backgrounds. However, to fast track the deployment of QPM at scale, it needs a vibrant seed system in place and a viable business model which ensures an active engagement of seed producers, farmers and consumers.

This review article discusses the importance and timeline of various events in QPM development and dissemination, genetic basis and systems, breeding strategies, challenges and potential opportunities for QPM adoption. “We can consider the article as a compendium of QPM where it addresses historical background and scientific breakthroughs which will be useful to researchers, students and others who are looking for a comprehensive information on QPM,” said AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT’s senior scientist and maize seed systems specialist for Asia, who co-authored the publication.

Read the full study: Quality protein maize (QPM): Importance, genetics, timeline of different events, breeding strategies and varietal adoption

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

Strengthening capacity and building national and regional partnerships in the seed sector

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

Hybrid seeds exhibit a significant potential to boost on-farm productivity and attain food security. Still, the availability, affordability and accessibility of such quality seeds remain a challenge for farmers in South Asia. Primarily driven by the demand from the poultry industry, maize productivity in the region is increasing annually. Yet, the hybrid maize seed coverage is below 50% in most South Asian countries.

In continuation of its capacity-building initiatives, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) conducted an International Training Workshop on Quality Hybrid Maize Seed Production and Seed Business Management in South Asia on August 15-18, 2022, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The four-day hybrid training was jointly organized by Nepal’s Seed Quality Control Center, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Seed Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal and CGIAR’s Seed Equal Initiative. Primarily, the event aimed at strengthening the capacity of seed stakeholders on the latest advances in quality hybrid maize seed production and establishing competitive hybrid seed business strategies.

Around 60 participants comprising of private seed company owners, national and international seed system specialists, maize breeders, crop inspectors, seed agronomists, marketers, policymakers and researchers working in hybrid seed production and marketing attended the training. Representatives were invited from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Principal trainer, John MacRobert, shared examples and knowledge in the principles of hybrid maize seed production and seed business. Former principal scientist of CIMMYT, MacRobert is currently the managing director of Mukushi Seeds Pvt Ltd in Zimbabwe and director of Quality Seed Pvt Ltd in South Africa. The training also involved group discussions and exercises on preparing a seed road map as well as developing profitable seed business plans. The participants used a seed business model canvas tool to chart their production plans, develop marketing strategies and diagnose profit. In 2018, MacRobert trained 15 private seed companies from Nepal and Pakistan on hybrid seed business mentorship course in Kathmandu. Since then, the participants brought in and shared rich practical experiences from their own businesses and regulatory organizations during this year’s program.

Joining MacRobert were 14 national and international experts from CIMMYT and other institutions, who delivered sessions related to hybrid maize breeding principles and techniques, seed quality control measures and regulations, and variety registration and licensing policies and procedures.

The forum offered an excellent learning opportunity for the national and international participants to exchange knowledge and experiences from seed specialists on developing competitive hybrid maize and seed production technologies that will bring cost-efficiency in production and maximize crop yields and business profits. It also served as a ground for establishing networks and collaborations. The mutual learnings will contribute to building national and regional partnerships in the seed sector.

Participants reflected on the learnings and benefits gained from the comprehensive course, which they would apply to improve maize productivity in their respective countries.

Muhammad Aslam, assistant professor from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in Pakistan, acknowledged the opportunity provided to him and his university. He mentioned the support of CIMMYT in Pakistan in strengthening the local maize seed industry, where the market share of local seed companies is gradually increasing due to the elite germplasm support and capacity development efforts by CIMMYT. He added that the practical knowledge gained from the training will enhance the university students’ skills.

Attendees at the International Training Workshop on Quality Hybrid Maize Seed Production and Seed Business Management in South Asia. (Credit: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

An ode to seeds

During the closing session of the training, Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, handed over diverse maize seeds to the NARC and seven private seed company partners of the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project. CIMMYT acquired the elite maize parental lines and breeder seeds from its international maize breeding hubs in Mexico, Zimbabwe, Colombia and India. The seeds have the potential of yielding 6-7 metric tons per hectare for synthetics and more than 10 metric tons for hybrids–a significant increase from 3-5 metric tons of local seeds. More importantly, given the current climate challenges Nepali farmers are facing, these climate-resilient seeds reach maturity earlier than local varieties which reduces their exposure to drought. These seeds will also withstand Fall Armyworm infestations, a devastating pest threatening maize production in Nepal.

“Genetic materials that will not only enhance yield but diversify the gene pool of crops in Nepal is extremely important,” said Lynn Schneider, deputy director of the Economic Growth Office at United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nepal. “Agriculture must combat climate change and malnutrition, which are critical for the South Asia region. So, I am really proud that we are working on these areas,” shared Schneider.

“Food security is a priority for the Government of Nepal,” explained Sharma. He mentioned maize as an essential commodity from the food and feed perspective for South Asia and plans to collaborate with the private sector and donor organizations to increase maize productivity in the country. “The event will definitely help in augmenting the activities and accelerate the pathway towards achieving food and feed security,” he added.

Moreover, a certificate of appreciation was presented to Nepal’s National Maize Research Program to recognize their effective collaboration in hybrid maize varietal promotion and source seed distribution. Similarly, three partner seed companies of the project were also recognized for the breakthrough in becoming the first recipients of the Government of Nepal’s research and development license to register and produce hybrid seeds on a commercial basis.

CIMMYT also launched an assessment report on Cereal Seeds Value Chain in Nepal that provides evidence-based recommendations for developing Nepal’s formal cereal seed sector, specifically maize and rice. The publication highlights the need for a well-performing seed system where high-quality seeds of a wide range of varieties and crops are produced and available in time and affordable to farmers.

Deepak Bhandari, executive director of NARC, also congratulated the authors and expressed the significance of formulating and implementing inclusive strategies to build a vibrant seed industry in Nepal. He also acknowledged the event organizers for conducting an exceptional international workshop on hybrid maize seeds for the public and private seed stakeholders.

Cover photo: Training attendees gather to discuss competitive hybrid maize seed production technologies and build relationships with seed systems professionals. (Credit: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)