funder_partner: Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER)

Farmers in the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa use conservation agriculture (CA) practices to reduce costs and achieve sustainable food production. In Sonora CA can generate average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare, according to farmers. Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize by not using this technology, which saves costs and reduces the environmental impact of farming.

These were the main conclusions from an event held in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, and Guasave, Sinaloa, during 9-14 September. It was attended by about 1,000 people, including farmers, technicians, researchers, state authorities, and businessmen. The program was coordinated by CIMMYT which, in collaboration with SAGARPA (Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food), promotes the adoption of sustainable agronomic practices through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative.

Activities at the event began with a description by Lope Montoya, head of the Norman Borlaug Experiment Station of INIFAP (the National Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute) of soybean varieties that are highly resistant to a pest commonly known as white fly. A few days later, local research centers, such as the Technological Institute of Sonora (ITSON) and the Yaqui Valley Institute (ITVY), joined the event, which was aimed at transferring CA technology and knowledge to students, technicians, and farmers in Mexico’s North Pacific region.

During this rural extension effort, the testimony of maize and soybean farmer Roberto Encinas stood out: he compared conventional farming practices to conservation technology and reported average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare after shifting to minimum tillage, retaining part of the crop residue on the soil surface, and practicing crop rotations.

During the five-day event, there were also demonstrations of farm machinery adapted for use with CA. Representatives of Industrias Vázquez, Sembradoras del Bajío, ASGROW, and John Deere explained the workings of precision planters, bed re-shapers, and fertilizer drills, among other multi-use and multi-crop implements designed specifically for sustainable farming.

In his speech, the mayor of Guasave, Ramón Barajas, mentioned the economic advantages of direct drilling (as CA is also known) during the Fifth Technological Event on Maize Cropping, which was organized by Fundación Produce Sinaloa as the final event of the Third Conservation Agriculture Week. Barajas also stated that Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize with an approximate value of 20 billion pesos, because farmers do not apply the technology, which generates cost savings and reduces the impact of their farming activities on the environment.

President Felipe Calderón delivered his state of the nation address last Friday, 02 September, at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. While security and economic stability were highlighted as top priorities for President Calderón’s last year in office, he also stressed the importance of agricultural development, food security, and the development and access of technologies for farmers.

In his report to Congress, President Calderón made specific reference to the importance of the MasAgro project in achieving these objectives. He stated that “the project that began in April 2011 is the most important legacy in agricultural policy of the current administration, as it contributes to achieving food security for Mexican families by giving access to agricultural technologies adapted to a new environment”.

MasAgro (The Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture Project) is a comprehensive initiative focused on developing high yielding varieties of maize and wheat, achieving sustainable increases in production, as well as delivering the latest technologies to small-scale farmers throughout the states of Mexico. The Take it to the Farmer (TTF) component of MasAgro is an integral part of the initiative, incorporating conservation agriculture (CA) practices and precision tools for Mexican agricultural producers.

Demonstrating the impact of CA on maize production, Porfirio Bastida Olivares from Magdalena Panoaya, Texcoco, told CIMMYT that his yield before implementing CA techniques was 2.5 tons, which has increased to 4 tons after two years, on his 0.5 ha farm. He said that now, not only does he have enough maize to feed his family, but he is able to earn an income from his crop as well. The MasAgro project aims to implement this level of increase for small-scale farmers relying on rainfed agriculture throughout the entire country.

Reinforcing the high priority of agriculture, Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda, the Secretary of SAGARPA (Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food), delivered a press conference on 01 September, where he stated that “MasAgro is considered the most important and ambitious agricultural project of the current administration because it aims to sustainably increase the production of maize and wheat, along with their yielding potential, for the benefit of small farmers”.

MasAgro was launched on 05 April 2011 by CIMMYT and SAGARPA during an official visit of President Calderón to CIMMYT headquarters. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs launched in Mexico and aims to increase maize yields by 5-9 million tons and 350,000 tons of wheat by the year 2020.

The experimental platform of the Bajío CA hub, Irrigation District 011, hosted a special guest on 17 August 2011 when Mariano Ruiz-Funes, SAGARPA Undersecretary, came to view the progress of MasAgro in Guanajuato. He was accompanied by Francisco López Tostado, SAGARPA Guanajuato delegate, José Ma. Anaya Ochoa, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock in Guanajuato, and other authorities from the Irrigation District. They were welcomed by Miguel Ledesma, President of Irrigation District 011, and Raymundo Rocha, Manager of the District. Farmers, technicians and representatives of local companies and institutions were also invited to attend a tour of the Technology Transfer Validation campus of Irrigation District 011, Irapuato, Guanajuato, where the experiment platform is located.

Marie Soleil Turmel, CIMMYT CA National Hub Coordinator, presented MasAgro’s progress in the Bajío zone: “Here we see an example of one experiment platform with CA systems. MasAgro’s philosophy is working, thanks to the collaborative work to develop sustainable technologies together with farmers and local and national stakeholders from the public and private agricultural sectors of Guanajuato,” she said. Turmel added that at this platform they have been validating sustainable agronomic practices, and using the platform for demonstrations and training for technicians and farmers. Further presentations were given by members of the ‘Agricultura Sostenible Basada en la Siembra Directa’ (ASOSID), CIMMYT, and the Irrigation District 011.

Ruíz-Funes said the event clearly showed the application of accumulated experience, and the potential of the work done at the platform. “It must be clear for us that climate change is here to stay, and in that sense, these efforts are focused on achieving food security and facing the effects of climate change on agriculture,” he said.

Increasing the production of maize and wheat, counteracting the threat of food crises, and addressing the challenges of climate change for agriculture in Mexico: these are the objectives of MasAgro (the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture), a collaborative initiative led by SAGARPA (the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food) and CIMMYT, and officially launched in April this year.

On Tuesday 05 July 2011, Puebla became the first Mexican state to join MasAgro, upon signing an agreement with CIMMYT for joint coordination of the project. The partnership will promote modern agronomic techniques, such as conservation agriculture, and encourage the use of improved seed adapted to high-potential agro-ecological areas.

The signing ceremony was held in the “Edificio de Protocolos” building in the city of Puebla. Rafael Moreno Valle, the State Governor, said that MasAgro Puebla will have a significant impact on the livelihoods of small farmers in the state, with Puebla’s state-level efforts reinforcing those of SAGARPA at the federal level to boost the impact of the program. Moreno Valle said the principal objective of the agreement was for the farmers of Puebla to develop their production capacities and ensure the sustainability of the rural environment, but he was also confident that Puebla would contribute to meeting the global challenge of doubling food production.

For his part, Francisco Mayorga Castañeda, Mexican Secretary of Agriculture, spoke of MasAgro as “the most important agricultural policy of recent years in Mexico.”

Representing CIMMYT at the event were Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for support services, and Bram Govaerts, leader of the Take it to the Farmer component of the MasAgro program. Explaining how MasAgro works in practice, Govaerts mentioned that, to date, CIMMYT has coordinated more than 40 training events in agricultural techniques, attended by more than 3,500 farmers who grow rainfed maize and small grain cereals in the lowland and highland valley regions of Mexico.

India has recently experienced a boom in cell phone use in the agricultural sector—disseminating information on anything from technology to agronomic practices, weather, or even market prices. Investigating this recent trend’s presence in Mexico, on June 26 a team of CIMMYT socioeconomists including Tina Beuchelt, Surabhi Mittal, Dagoberto Flores, and Jennifer Zehner visited the Chimalpa Valley in the municipality of Apan, state of Hidalgo, Mexico, an area largely known for being a barley production belt, to gauge the prevalence of cell phone use for agricultural purposes.

The trip involved a focus-group discussion with 12 farmers. The farmers were frustrated that extension services and information were not reaching them because of inadequate communication. They said they relied on their friends and family as their principle source of agricultural information. All participating farmers had cell phones, which they use for some agriculture-related purposes. Cell phone costs are relatively high, but the farmers save time and money by calling their technician, rather than having to travel by car to other towns seeking information. Apart from phone calls, there is not a great interest in sending or receiving agricultural information through SMS due to its high cost. Furthermore, it emerged that none of the farmers were using the existing SAGARPA SMS information service or were even aware of its existence.

As the CIMMYT team and farmers’ discussion progressed, farmers revealed that they would, indeed, like an agency that circulates relevant information, such as rainfall forecasts to make better planting decisions, crop prices, where to buy inputs, input applications, government subsidy programs, and relevant agricultural events. This information would allow farmers to be more efficient in their production. The farmers said they would also appreciate other modes of communication, such as a local agronomic television show or radio programs during the weekend from which they could obtain important agricultural information.

The farmers mentioned important constraints to information sharing, indicating the need for trustworthy external sources. They mentioned a lack of trust among neighboring farmers and that farming networks (or unions) are not well established. By the end of the discussion, farmers started showing more interest in how to obtain agricultural information via cell phone. While they were reticent about the use of cell phones and their cost, they mentioned that if cell phones could be used profitably, they might be willing to pay for such services in the future. This interaction between CIMMYT and the farmers is the initial step in understanding Mexican farmers’ perspectives towards cell phone use as a means of better communication and information dissemination.

On Friday 29 April 2011, Nobel Prize Laureate and father of the Green Revolution, Norman E. Borlaug, was awarded an honorary doctorate (postmortem) from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (UAEM) for his lifelong work to improve modern agriculture.

Although Norman E. Borlaug died in September 2009, his legacy lives on through his many contributions to the development of global agriculture, CIMMYT included. Because of his unwavering determination to feed the world, a ceremony was held at UAEM, Toluca, MX, where Eduardo Gasca Pliego, UAEM President honored Norman E. Borlaug. Dr. Borlaug’s daughter Jeannie Borlaug Laube came down from Texas to receive the honorary doctorate and speak of her father’s work in Mexico, and Toluca specifically, delivering a heartfelt speech in which she fondly recalled her life in Mexico.

CIMMYT Director General Thomas A. Lumpkin attended as one of the speakers for the event, stating:  “(Borlaug) was our spiritual father. His legacy and presence are a part of all of our projects and activities… Many of his values – pragmatism, honesty, hard work, creative problem solving –are reflected in CIMMYT’s culture.”  Lumpkin also expressed his regret that Dr. Borlaug had not lived to witness the launching of MasAgro –a comprehensive initiative of the Mexican Agricultural Secretariat-SAGARPA, CIMMYT, dozens of public and private Mexican organizations, and Mexican farmers to raise crop yields, combat environmental degradation, and confront climate change. He stated that MasAgro has been an integral step in rebuilding the relationship between CIMMYT and Mexico, the decline of which was one of Borlaug’s greatest concerns. Lumpkin added that the launching of MasAgro “… has demonstrated just how far CIMMYT has come in preventing Dr. Borlaug’s fears from coming true.”

The collaboration between UAEM and CIMMYT was also highlighted during the event. As part of MasAgro, the establishment of a long-term, conservation agriculture research plot on the university campus is in the final stages of approval. Research staff of the university will also be involved in testing improved maize varieties as part of MasAgro. Also recognized were the Agriculture Faculty Director, Artemio Balbuena Melgarejo, and scientists María de Guadalupe Gutiérrez and Andrés Morales Osorio for the integral role they have played in building the relationship between the UAEM and CIMMYT. Global Wheat Program Director Hans-Joachim Braun and 20 current and former CIMMYT staff also attended the event, including former CIMMYT wheat researcher and director Sanjaya Rajaram and several specialists who had worked with Dr. Borlaug beginning in the 1950s.

Twenty-three farmers who attended a wheat course on soil management and preparation back in March 2010 returned to CIMMYT-Mexico to complete their training last week. “Integrated Management of Wheat in Mexico: Part Two” ran from 02-06 August 2010 and was a collaborative effort of CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA). It focused on pest and disease control, existing genotypes in the Mexican market, seed health, end-use quality, and use of geographic information systems (GIS) for extension agents.

The participants spent the first two days in Toluca where Fernando Delgado, Toluca’s station superintendent, led the activities in the field. From Wednesday through Friday, the group stayed at El Batán, where they had a varied schedule that included presentations on wheat variety profiles; visits to demonstration plots, the germplasm bank, and seed health laboratories; and sessions on GIS, conservation agriculture (CA), grain industrial quality, and the registration process of new varieties in Mexico.

Petr Kosina, knowledge, information, and training manager, and Roberto Javier Peña, wheat quality expert and laboratory head, coordinated the SAGARPA-funded course, which received technical support from the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock (INIFAP). This course will be given again in 2011 and 2012. Big thanks to everyone who helped make this training a success, including Julio Huerta and Bibiana Espinosa of the germplasm bank; Noemí Valencia and Gabriela Juárez of the seed health lab; Andrea Chocobar and Ricardo Romero of the CA team; INIFAP’s Eduardo Villaseñor; Fernando Delgado; and the GIS office team.

With much appreciated assistance from public and private sector maize extension specialists and innovative farmers, the first part of a two-part CIMMYT-hosted training course titled “Integrated management of maize-based cropping systems” was successfully completed last week in Mexico. Thirty-two participants attended the course, which ran from 26-30 July 2010 and focused on agronomy and pest management.

The participants spent four days at the Toluca experimental station, where their learning began with an analysis of different types of soil management and technologies for both irrigated and rainfed areas. From Tuesday to Thursday they focused on farm equipment and machinery (tractors, and fertilizing and sowing implements).

“I have worked with maize for two and a half years, and want to learn more about this crop so I can assist the farmers I work with,” said Antonia Viloria, an agronomist from Oaxaca who works with the Management Office for the Innovation of the Maize Chain (AGI), an agency closely related to SAGARPA. “I’ve attend various other maize workshops, but this was the first one that let us practice; here I was able to use and calibrate equipment, test the equipment in the field, and measure field distances.”

Other training activities included how to apply the proper amount of herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers, and how to make standard and wide beds. On the last day, everyone traveled to El Batán where they learned about the Geographic Information Systems Unit (GIS), visited the germplasm bank, and saw maize material sown on CIMMYT’s demonstration plots.

“This course is vital because we already know that it is not possible to look at variables individually, like costs, climate change, or agronomy—everything is connected and we have to take into account that things are changing,” said Jaime Covarrubias, from Salamanca, Guanajuato. “On previous occasions I have worked with Fernando Delgado (Toluca’s station superintendent), yet I keep returning because there is always something new to learn, and I take this knowledge back and share it with farmers in my state.”

The participants will return in early October 2010 to complete the second part of the course, which will focus on existing maize varieties and post harvest technologies.

The organizers thank Fernando Delgado for his dedication during the workshop, and for being an example to many Mexican farmers and extension agents. Also, thanks go to Kai Sonder and his GIS team, Víctor Chávez and the germplasm bank staff, and José Luis Torres and his maize group.

In early March 2010, CIMMYT gathered 33 farmers and agricultural leaders for a course on science and technology transfer. Less than two months later, several of the participants have already embraced their role as technology disseminators. Between 28 April and 14 May, information from the original March course, held in Toluca, trickled down to 118 additional farmers through 6 different training events. The training activities took place in different locations with different strategies, but had a single purpose: to take theoretical and practical knowledge to Mexican wheat producers.

Much of the training was spearheaded by the technical staff of AGROCIME, a private agricultural service provider that specializes in technical assistance, credit management, and agricultural promotion. Based in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, AGROCIME members, who had attended the Toluca training, hosted five events throughout the state. The days included training on soil analysis, estimating proper fertilizer doses, identifying crop plagues and diseases, weed control, and sprinkler calibration. Also, another service team from Rinconcito Norteño with offices in Río Grande, which had also been trained in Toluca, joined the training team.

The sixth event was organized by the State Committee of the Wheat Production System (Comité Estatal del Sistema Producto Trigo Zacatecas, CESPTZAC) on 14 May. Its 10 participants consisted of large-scale wheat producers, representatives of wheat producer organizations, and other wheat officers. The event was held jointly with the Zacatecas State Council of Wheat Producers, and was attended by its president (standing back left). The event was combined with the opening of new CESPTZAC offices and the introduction of the 2010 state governing plan for wheat production in Zacatecas. The meeting was led by Jorge A. Acevedo, president of CESPTZAC, who attended CIMMYT’s course in Toluca. Acevedo continued to work with Fernando Delgado, Toluca station superintendent, for several weeks after the course to learn more about tractor operation, land preparation, and crop practices. In addition to these topics, the event also included a plan to establish demonstration plots for bed planting. This multi-organization collaboration ensures that CIMMYTprovided information will be widely disseminated, which is one of the important agreements between the center and SAGARPA.

CIMMYT’s Pedro Aquino, principal researcher, and Federico Carrión, database administrator for the Socieconomics Program, attended four of the six courses. In addition to being introduced to wheat farmers and producers, they conducted surveys that will enable them to analyze the current status of wheat in Zacatecas.

Congratulations and thanks to the staff of AGROCIME Consultores, Rinconcito Norteño, Zacatecas State Committee of the Wheat Production System, and the Zacatecas State Council of Wheat Producers for all their hard work this month!

CIUDAD OBREGÓN, SONORA, MEXICO, 25 MARCH 2010 –The lovely weather and colorful setting of Norman E. Borlaug’s beloved Mexico graced the morning on what would have been his 96th birthday. Several hundred former friends, colleagues, and Mexican farmers and dignitaries gathered at the experiment station he loved and where he did his most important work to unveil an impressive monument in his honor and to hold a ceremony to rename the Ciudad Obregón station in his memory.

At the center of the superbly organized celebration in honor of Borlaug, who died in September 2009, was his daughter, Jeannie Borlaug Laube. She unveiled an impressive monument including a large, bronze statue of Borlaug looking out toward the Yaqui Valley and, in accord with her father’s wishes, deposited his ashes in the monument, thanking guests for their life-long support of his work. “As you know, my father always loved Mexico and felt at home here,” she said.

In addition to Borlaug Laube, the presidium of speakers included Pedro Brajcich, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Livestock, and Agricultural Research (INIFAP); Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda, the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture; Guillermo Padrés Elías, the Governor of the state of Sonora; Antonio Gándara, president of the southern branch of the Sonora farmers association Patronato; and CIMMYT director general Thomas A. Lumpkin. Part of the ceremony was the public announcement of the change in name of the experiment station from “Centro de Investigación Regional del Noroeste” (CIRNO) to “Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug” (CENEB).

Lumpkin conveyed CIMMYT’s gratitude to Mayorga Castañeda for the special “Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Research Fund” of USD 1 million from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA), launched in October 2009 to support applied agricultural research and technology transfer projects. He thanked the Sonora Governor for the state’s support for research on Ug99, among other areas of center work. He also had special words of appreciation for Patronato, calling the 65-year collaboration with Sonora farmers “…the center’s oldest research partnership.”

“Our collaboration with Mexican scientists, public officials, and producers half a century ago resulted in agricultural technologies that transformed farming worldwide,” Lumpkin said. “Given the extreme challenges to food security and natural resource management that humanity faces today, a new productivity transformation is needed. We hope that Mexico is returning to the leading role it played in the 1960s, when it made valuable contributions to fighting the hunger that affected millions on our planet.”

Keeping with an agreement between CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) to collaborate in science and technology transfer, CIMMYT hosted a training course on wheat cropping at its Toluca experiment station during 01-05 March.

Thirty-three technical-savvy farmers from wheat producing areas in Mexico attended the program. Toluca station superintendent Fernando Delgado conducted the course, presenting on land preparation, planting alternatives, weed control, efficient use of planting machinery, and diverse farming implements.

Participants are expected to share their newly acquired knowledge from the course with farmers from their respective production areas. Pedro Aquino, principal wheat researcher, will conduct follow-up and impact evaluation. This course will be complemented by a second portion of training in late August that will focus on crop management, identification of common plant diseases, seed health, and grain quality. This two- tiered course is being overseen by Petr Kosina and Roberto Javier Peña.

Nearly 30 attendees from public and private sector institutions in Mexico gathered on 03 February 2010 to discuss hybrid maize for Mexican highlands. The meeting was part of the project “Increasing the productivity and profitability of maize in the State of Mexico,” which has been in operation since 2007 and is jointly implemented by USDA, SAGARPA, and CIMMYT. The project strives to explore and identify the best hybrids, not only for yield, but for quality properties as well.

From trials by CIMMYT, ICAMEX (an advanced research institution in Mexico State), and the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock (INIFAP), the project selected three new hybrids in 2009 to promote: one from CIMMYT, one from a national program, and one from a private seed company. Discussion at the meeting focused on how these promising hybrids should be promoted in 2010. The meeting, which was coordinated by José Luis Torres, senior researcher with the Global Maize Program, also included discussions about trials in farmers’ fields; a survey of variety preferences among farmers; trials for advanced hybrid testing; breeding and production of seed; quality analyses; and collaboration with institutions working with the genetic breeding of white, yellow, and blue grain for the Mexican highlands.

For the CIMMYT hybrid selected, ICAMEX expressed interest in releasing and promoting it. They also are preparing new farmerlevel trials to further evaluate more high-yielding hybrids with desirable characteristics, such as good grain quality, cooking time, and nixtamalizacion.