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funder_partner: Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC)

Unlocking the power of collaboration in global wheat science

CIMMYT Global Wheat Program (GWP) scientists visited National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners in Pakistan, Nepal, and India during February 2024. The key purpose was to review current approaches and explore new opportunities to enhance collaborative wheat improvement activities.

NARS partners described their current priorities and recent changes in their activities, while CIMMYT shared recent modernization efforts of its wheat breeding and highlighted opportunities to enhance collaborative wheat improvement. GWP representatives included Interim Wheat Director Kevin Pixley, and scientists Naeela Qureshi, Velu Govindan, Keith Gardner, Sridhar Bhavani, T.P. Tiwari, and Arun K Joshi.

Representatives from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and CIMMYT meet to identify chances for improved cooperation in wheat breeding research. (Photo: Awais Yaqub/CIMMYT)

Planning the future of South Asian wheat

In each country, CIMMYT and NARS leaders held a one-day meeting to review and plan their wheat improvement partnership, with attendance from 25-30 wheat scientists in each country. The sessions aimed to review and identify bottlenecks to the wheat impact pathway in each country, describe recent changes in the breeding programs of CIMMYT and NARS partners, and prioritize and agree updates to the NARS-CIMMYT wheat improvement collaborations.

NARS partners highlighted their wheat improvement programs through field visits to research stations. Visitors attended Wheat Research Institute (ARI), Faisalabad and National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Islamabad in Pakistan; National Wheat Research Program (NWRP), Bhairahawa and National Plant Breeding & Genetics Research Center (NPBGRC), Khumaltar in Nepal; and Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in India.

The GWP team also visited: Faisalabad Agricultural University, with a special focus on collaborative zinc biofortification work in Pakistan; farmers’ fields in Nepal to see participatory evaluations of elite wheat lines (candidates for release as new varieties) and to hear from farmers about challenges and expectations from improved varieties; and the Lumbini Seed Company to learn about the crucial role of seed companies, bottlenecks, and opportunities in the pathway from research to impact in farmers’ fields.

NARS scientists and directors in all three countries were enthusiastic about the opportunities for enhanced partnership to adopt some of the modernizing technologies that AGG has brought to CIMMYT. Partners are especially keen to –

  1. Receive earlier generation varieties, segregating breeding lines to empower them to select in their own environments.
  2. Model and explore strategies to shorten their breeding cycles.
  3. Apply quantitative genetics tools to better select parents for their crossing blocks.
  4. Adopt experimental designs that improve efficiency.
  5. Explore opportunities for co-implementing improvement programs through shared testing schemes, communities of practice (e.g. for quantitative genetics or use of exotic germplasm to address challenges from climate change), and more.
A highlight of the trip in Nepal: visiting on-farm trials, where farmers share insights about their preferences for improved varieties, where they often mentioned tolerance over lodging. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“The visit provided CIMMYT and NARS wheat scientists with the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas, and to explore ways of enhancing collaborations that will strengthen our joint impact on wheat farmers and consumers,” said Pixley.

Following these visits, the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) soon reached out to CIMMYT to request a similar review and planning meeting, with a vision to modernize and strengthen their wheat improvement partnership.

Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA)

About ACASA

Increasing climatic risks make it imperative to identify spatial and temporal risks that are likely to impact agriculture. Adaptation options are thus needed to mitigate the negative impacts. Considering this, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is working with national agriculture research systems in South Asia to develop the Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA).

This comprehensive Atlas aims to provide granular-scale information for South Asian countries at the village scale by integrating various spatially explicit data sets together. It covers climate hazards, and the exposure of smallholder populations, farms, and crop and livestock enterprises to hazards. It will also look into the vulnerability of these populations to climatic risks, impacts on critical commodities in the region, and evidence of the effectiveness of different climate adaptation interventions.

The ACASA offers a unique set of tools that can facilitate improved investment targeting and priority setting, and support stakeholders’ decision-making and investments in agricultural technologies, climate information services, and policies. The intended beneficiaries of this Atlas include governments, insurance and agri-food industries, international and national donors, and adaptation-focused entities.

Driven by science and data, explore ACASA’s approach to safeguard South Asian Agriculture

P. Malathy, Director General of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka, delivering keynote address during ACASA Project Inception Meeting.

ACASA Objectives

  1. Increase the quality, availability, and utility of data and evidence.
  2. Improve climate adaptive capacity of agricultural systems and guide stakeholders on location-specific adaptation options, including gender-informed technologies, practices, and climate information services to address risks.
  3. Increase the resilience of small-scale producers to climate variability and change.

ACASA Workstreams

Climate Risk Assessment

Gridded risk analysis using historical crop yield data and satellite signatures; indicators of current and future hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities.

 Assessment of Climate Impact on Commodities

Climate impact on commodities under current and future climate

 Portfolio of Adaptation Options

Decision trees, crop/livestock models, statistical and econometric models, and expert consultations

 UI/UX Development

An open-source, web-enabled, interactive, and dynamic Atlas development

 Capacity Strengthening of Stakeholders

Training materials, tools, tutorials, and country/regional level workshops

ACASA Advisory Panel

The advisory panel established under ACASA will identify potential users, use cases in different countries, and guide and review Atlas’ progress. The constituted panel will have the scientific advisory committee (SAC) and South Asia’s country team leaders, who will be instrumental in hosting and adapting the Atlas. Explore the dynamic team of ACASA’s advisory panel.

Reports

ACASA Project Inception Report

To discuss ACASA and its development, a 3-day inception meeting was held in Delhi, India, from 25th to 27th April 2023, marked by 70 distinguished guests from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India discussing the various aspects of Atlas. The inception meeting provided some valuable recommendations/highlights that will be instrumental in building the Atlas.

ACASA Use Case Report

The ACASA project places significant importance on the practical applications of the Atlas. Various stakeholders could utilise Atlas to enhance investment in agricultural adaptation technologies and climate information services. Drawing from the diverse perspectives of the panellists during the inception meeting, a consolidated report was prepared on how ACASA team and its partners will be prioritising and developing use cases based on geographical and thematic considerations.

 

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