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New facility investigates the hidden half of maize

Written by on September 30, 2013. Posted in News.

By P.H. Zaidi/CIMMYT

A new facility at CIMMYT-Hyderabad, India, will allow researchers to assess and quantify key root traits and their dynamics under various growing conditions. CIMMYT’s new root phenotyping facility is based on the lysimetric system, by which scientists can directly assess and quantify root traits and their dynamics under various growing conditions. It also allows high-precision phenotyping of various root traits.

A high-profile delegation from Groupe Limagrain, led by its CEO, visits the newly-established root phenotyping facility at CIMMYT-Hyderabad, India. Photo: T. Durga/CIMMYT

The system revolutionizes the research, moving from a static assessment of roots through time-consuming extraction and scanning to a real-time measurement of water uptake, water use and an assessment of variation in roots under different growing conditions in the rhizosphere. Recent advances in high-precision weighing systems and information technology tools have greatly improved its efficiency and effectiveness as a root phenotyping system.

A representative from USAID observes maize root extracted from a minirhizotron. Photo: T. Durga/CIMMYT

CIMMYT’s root phenotyping facility is specially designed for – but not restricted to – maize. The facility features 2,400 minirhizotron observation tubes placed in eight concrete pits. A wheeled stand is used to lift the rhizotrons for weighing. The weight of the cylinder, along with the entire plant, is monitored periodically and allows researchers to estimate the amount of water used and transpired as well as the transpiration efficiency of different genotypes. Roots are critically important to plants because they are the part first exposed to any soil-mediated stresses, such as drought, waterlogging, salt stress or nutrient stress. Root traits govern the overall performance of plants; however, this important hidden half is often avoided due to the complexity involved in studying root structure and functions.

Mini-rhizotrons with maize plants sit at the root phenotyping facility. Photo: T. Durga/CIMMYT — Mini-rhizotrons with maize plants sit at the
root phenotyping facility. Photo: T. Durga/CIMMYT

In maize, the genotypic variation in root traits and variation under stresses can be carefully selected in targeted breeding for stress tolerance, which can contribute significantly to genetic gains. Root traits are often judged on the basis of related characteristics, which may not accurately explain the stress-responsive — or adaptive — structural and functional changes in roots under sub-optimal or stressed conditions. The facility is used in phenotyping root traits of mapping populations developed for various molecular breeding projects on drought and heat stress tolerance as well as other traits usually observed in field conditions, including morphological traits and grain yield. It is located under a renovated rain shelter, protecting the trials from rain at the targeted crop stage and allowing for yearround use.

CIMMYT is grateful to the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture for its financial support of the facility and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics for providing space and other logistic support in establishing this unique facility.

Training on weed control in direct seeded rice will boost farmers’ confidence

Written by on September 10, 2013. Posted in Features.

CSISA scientists address farmers’ concerns on Direct Seeded Rice method in Haryana
The Dry Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method is gaining popularity in north India, thanks to the researchers, agricultural departments, and enterprising farmers of Punjab and Haryana who have made efforts to implement it on a large scale. Faced with the threats of depleting groundwater, shortage of farm labor, rising production costs, and climate variability, more and more farmers are adopting this alternative method of sowing rice. It promises to be both environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

Compared to the more widely used method where seeds are first germinated in a nursery and then the rice seedlings are manually transplanted to the fields, DSR involves sowing seeds directly in the fields with the help of a machine called a Multi Crop Planter. This technique has been popular in some developed countries of the world, including the U.S., but is new for farmers in India. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of India has been promoting this technique through its two flagship schemes, the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY). DSR brings many benefits to farmers—it reduces cultivation costs by 5,100 rupees (78 USD) per hectare, reduces water consumption by 25%, and increases profitability up to 4,600 (70 USD) rupees per hectare. “Moreover, when wheat is grown after a crop of DSR, wheat productivity has been found 8 to 10% higher than when grown after a crop of conventional cultivated rice,” says Virender Kumar from CSISA.

Reports find DSR effective in reducing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. CCAFS and Greenhouse Gas Emission quantification project are studying the benefits of conservation agricultural practices, like zero tillage DSR, on greenhouse gas emissions. “For each tonne of rice production with conservation agriculture based management practices, on average 400 kg CO2 equivalent was reduced compared to conventional puddled transplanted rice,” says ML Jat from CCAFS.

Haryana promotes direct seeded paddy
The State Agriculture Department, Haryana Agricultural University, and Farmers Commission are now promoting the use of DSR in Haryana because of its benefits. Four years ago, only 226 hectares of area was under DRS in Haryana. This number has increased to 8000 hectares in 2012 and is targeted to cover 20,000 hectares in 2013. However, access to effective weed management and cost-effective herbicides still remain a challenge and will affect the success of this technology in the long term.

As with any new technique, the phase of building awareness, training and responding to farmers’ concerns is integral to making DSR technique successful. Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a project funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID along with other stakeholders, launched a campaign in May to encourage farmers to adopt DSR in Haryana. The campaign included technical trainings on DSR for farmers and service providers, meetings with different stakeholders to identify and solve the problems of availability of inputs including machinery and seed, mass-media programs like radio talks, and distribution of pamphlets in the local language. The campaign reached the farmer at the field and village level for their direct feedback and to understand their problems. “Synergy between different public-private stakeholders, feedback from farmers, and technical inputs to the farmers at the right time are necessary after a series of intensive trainings to make a transformation like Direct Seeded Rice technology a success,” says B.R. Kamboj from CSISA. CSISA, in collaboration with IFC-Dunar Foods Limited and the Haryana State Department of Agriculture, organized a travelling seminar on 14 August in different villages of the Asandh block of the Karnal district. Farmers highlighted their concerns, which included late availability of the subsidized inputs such as seeds, herbicides, and machinery, and weed problems even after the proper application of herbicides.

Responding to various issues, representatives from the organizations suggested the application of preemergence herbicide, which prevent the germination of weed seeds such as pendimethalin, is necessary for effective weed management in DSR; on machinery, farmers could establish farmer cooperatives and pool resources to purchase the machinery; on less germination, sowing should be done by the expert service providers. It is also critical to use the proper setting of the sowing depth of the machine. The participants also visited the DSR fields of different villages including Balla, Salwan, Dupedi, and Padhana. While the crops looked very healthy, symptoms of zinc deficiency and excessive use of urea were seen. B. R. Kamboj demonstrated how to identify the weeds and advised on judicious use of pesticides for effective control of insects, diseases, and weeds. To ensure a good harvest from the DSR fields, the next step is timely control of insects and pests. Farmers must learn to identify the insect and pests and the right stage to control them. The Department of Agriculture will provide regular visits and trainings on insect pest management (IPM) in some identified DSR villages. “This will be a very important activity to build the confidence in the farmers to continue using DSR technique,” Kamboj says.

Strengthening maize technicians’ capacity in Mozambique

Written by on August 29, 2013. Posted in News.

Maize technicians received a training course in Mozambique.

Forty participants from various agricultural research stations, private seed companies, and communitybased seed production schemes attended a training course for maize technicians during 8–12 July in Chimoio, Mozambique.

The objective of the course was to update maize technical staff on seed production and implementation of on-station and on-farm trials. The training included practical sessions as well as theoretical lectures on seed production, breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses, and trial lay-out using the alpha lattice design.

The course was organized under the auspices of Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA), Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for the Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA), and USAID Mozambique in collaboration with the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM). During the course, SIMLESA representatives emphasized on-farm testing using the mother baby trial and the principles of conservation agriculture. USAID-Mozambique and DTMA focused on the importance of producing quality seed and scaling up seed to reach smallholder farmers.

Mozambique has recently released two drought tolerant maize hybrids and one early maturing open pollinated variety (OPV) under the DTMA project. With very few seed companies in the country, most of the seed in Mozambique is sourced from the informal seed sector. The training session came at a crucial stage, as several communities are ready to begin production of newly released OPVs. The course was coordinated by Peter Setimela and Cosmos Magorokosho from CIMMYT-Zimbabwe, and David Mariote and Pedro Fato from IIAM.

Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia-Mechanization and Irrigation project launched

Written by on August 27, 2013. Posted in News.

CIMMYT and International Development Enterprises (iDE) announced the initiation of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia-Mechanization and Irrigation in Bangladesh

In south-western Bangladesh, the world’s largest delta with plentiful fresh surface water, more than 600,000 hectares of land are fallowed without crop in the dry season.

Responding to this problem, CIMMYT and International Development Enterprises (iDE) are pleased to announce the initiation of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia-Mechanization and Irrigation (CSISA-MI) project to sustainably intensify cropping on fallow and low-productivity lands. This US$13-million, five-year project, supported by the Feed the Future Initiative and administered by the USAID mission in Bangladesh, was launched on 1 July 2013.

CSISA-MI is a sister initiative falling under the CSISA-Bangladesh program, connecting CIMMYT, IRRI, and WorldFish as partners. The MI initiative aims to unlock agricultural productivity in southern Bangladesh by conducting research and market development to increase the availability and adoption of resource-conserving irrigation equipment, and to scale farm machineries to respond to rural labor scarcity and high costs, while also encouraging crop management practices based on conservation agriculture (CA). Southern Bangladesh is constrained by numerous factors, including farmers’ inability to invest in resource-conserving and productivity-enhancing machinery, high cost of water pumping, and lack of awareness about the potential for dry season crops like wheat, maize, sunflower, and legumes.

CSISA-MI responds to these problems by developing smart business models to link farmers with agricultural service providers, and service providers with machinery and irrigation equipment dealers, to boost the use of irrigation and machinery for CA throughout the region. The project will also bridge the gap between the public and private sectors by facilitating partnerships with the government of Bangladesh and private sector partners engaged in irrigation, agricultural mechanization, and extension.

CSISA-MI will create broad access to low-cost surface water irrigation and smart agricultural machinery and other services to enable farmers to optimize water, labor, time, seed, and fertilizer use in their fields during the dry season. Research topics will focus on the improvement of irrigation water use efficiency and agricultural water management as well as enhancement of the use of fuel-saving axial flow pumps (AFPs) and other equipment for surface water irrigation. Further research and the development of value chains will focus on seed-fertilizer drills compatible with two-wheeled tractors for strip tillage, bed planters, multi-crop reapers, and rice transplanters used to reduce turn-around time between crops.

Machineries and cropping practices will be fine-tuned to the diverse agro-ecological conditions of the region through on-farm action research and experimentation in farmers’ fields. CSISA-MI harnesses the power of the market to align incentives toward large-scale, smart-technology adoption. The initiative has already made significant progress. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with leading firms, including RFLP ran Group and ACI Agribusiness, have been signed to accelerate the commercial availability of AFPs, bed planters, and seed-fertilizer drills.

Focus on heat stress resilient maize for Asia

Written by on August 19, 2013. Posted in News.

HTMA-meeting Scientists from the Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project and representatives from collaborating public and private sector institutions from the region, Purdue University, and CIMMYT gathered together during 30-31 July 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal, for the 1st HTMA Annual Progress Review and Planning Meeting. The meeting was jointly organized by the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) and CIMMYT to discuss progress to-date and future HTMA work plans. HTMA, supported by USAID under the Feed the Future initiative, is a public-private alliance targeting resource-poor people in South Asia who rely on growing maize for subsistence or income in rainfed conditions and whose welfare is directly dependent on maize yields and negatively affected by crop failures.

K.B. Koirala, National Maize Coordinator for Nepal, welcomed all participants and highlighted the importance of the public-private alliance through HTMA, especially for addressing such complex issues as developing and distributing heat stress resilient maize. CIMMYT Global Maize Program director B.M. Prasanna reiterated the need for and importance of maize breeding for heat-stress resilience in his opening remarks, while USAID’s Larry Beach stressed the project’s significance in addressing the emerging effects of climate change.

The first day was devoted to an annual progress review, which was initiated by senior maize physiologist and CIMMYT and HTMA project leader P.H. Zaidi, who presented updates on the project execution and status of progress during the project’s first year. The following session, chaired by Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) executive director D.B. Gurung, covered membrane lipid profiling in relation to heat stress; identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) for heat-stress tolerance and component traits by joint linkage analysis; association mapping for heat tolerance; latest marker statistics on genotyping-by-sequencing; genomic selection for heat stress tolerance; and development of target populations for rapid-cycle genomic selection. The afternoon session was chaired by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) chairman Iftikhar Ahmad and focused on phenotyping for heat-stress tolerance; crop modeling and the IMPACT model component; a road map for development and distribution of heat resilient maize; seed distribution systems; and seed companies’ perspectives on target markets.

During day two, participants discussed and developed a workplan and activities for the second year of the project for each collaborating institution. This was followed by a special session on “Exploring linkages & synergy among USAID-funded projects in South Asia.” Representatives from various ongoing projects in the region, including the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), and HTMA, as well as NARC and the Nepalese Ministry of Agriculture, joined in the lively discussion, which helped to identify opportunities for potential linkages among the region’s initiatives and a synergy between them. The linkages could offer a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

The meeting was concluded with an HTMA project steering committee meeting chaired by B.M. Prasanna. The committee members expressed their satisfaction with the strategy, ongoing activities, and the progress being made.

“You go to the field.” U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security

Written by on August 1, 2013. Posted in News.

When asked how you become a successful wheat breeder, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug replied, “Well, you go to the field. You go to the field again, and then you go to the field. When the wheat plants start to talk to you, you know you have made it.” The Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom were awarded to Dr. Borlaug for saving the lives of over one billion through his efforts. Borlaug’s legacy continues today through the U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security Program at the Center for Global Food Security, Purdue University, providing graduate students the opportunity to “go to the field” and become successful scientists in their own right.

Funded by USAID, the Borlaug Fellowship provides graduate students the opportunity to collaborate with agricultural scientists in developing nations. The program fosters connections between scientists internationally, while furthering research and developing community around important agricultural themes, such as production, natural resource conservation, and development. With a focus on interdisciplinary and cross-cultural experiences, students benefit from the ability to practice their science on the ground in an international setting, preparing them to become important members of the global scientific community. Doctoral candidates Ariel N. Rivers of Pennsylvania State University and Sean M. Thompson of Texas A&M University were given the opportunity to “go to the field” during the 2013 field season in partnership with CIMMYT.

Of the dual-title program, Entomology and International Agriculture and Development at Pennsylvania State University, Rivers (pictured above) is mid-way through her six-month tenure at CIMMYT’s El Batán station. By studying the three practices of conservation agriculture —crop rotation, minimal soil disturbance, and retention of crop residues on the soil surface— Rivers hopes to better understand which of these practices augment beneficial insect communities and how. In high enough numbers, beneficial insects can contribute to pest control, nutrient cycling, and soil aeration, all of which are essential to agricultural production in low-input developing country agriculture.

Thompson (pictured right), of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, is working with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to non-destructively assess wheat root biomass. This technology could allow for rapid, non-destructive assessment of populations and selection for traits undetectable by traditional methods. The primary objective of this research is to define the capability of GPR to phenotype below ground crop biomass, in the context of higher yield and quality stability in wheat during drought stress. GPR is one of the many field-based high-throughput phenotyping technologies being tested in CIMMYT’s Wheat Physiology program.

Both Rivers and Thompson plan to collaborate internationally after they complete their doctoral studies. “We have benefitted from the opportunity to practice that skill at CIMMYT,” they both agree. “Thanks to the example set by Borlaug, we are better prepared to take our science ‘to the field’.” Further information about the research or the U.S. Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security can be obtained by contacting the Purdue Center for Global Food Security.

CIMMYT’s work highly appreciated in Ethiopia

Written by on July 19, 2013. Posted in News.

Bekeles-Ethiopia The third Dialogue on Ethiopian Agricultural Development: Agricultural Research for National Development in the Face of Climate Change and Food Security was held during 4-5 July 2013 at the Haramaya University of Agriculture, Haramaya Harar. The Dialogue aimed to provide a platform for discussion on agricultural research for development and transformation of the sector for food security in Ethiopia.

The Dialogue was attended by World Food Prize Laureate and distinguished professor Gebissa Ejeta; two members of the agricultural standing committee of the Ethiopian parliament; alumni of the Haramaya University working at various national, regional, and international top-level positions, such as Berhane Gebrekidan, Sime Debela, Zemedu Worku, Ephirem Mamo, and Solomon Bekure; senior staff of Haramaya, Jimma, Hawassa, Dire Dawa, and Mekele universities; members of USAID’s Capacity to Improve Agriculture and Food Security (CIAFS); representatives of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR); the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise; CIMMYT; and ILRI.

Panel discussions covered 60 years of agricultural research in Ethiopia; agricultural research at regional institutes and Ethiopian universities; perspectives of users of technologies generated by the national agricultural research system (NARS); linking research at international levels with NARS for greater impact; the Ethiopian experience; presentations on contributions of agricultural research in Ethiopia in terms of food security, foreign earnings, and climate change adaptation; reflections on dialogues and issues deserving special attention; and recommendations for enhancing efficiency and productivity of NARS.

Three CIMMYT scientists –Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project leader Tsedeke Abate, Bekele Shiferaw from the Socioeconomics Program, and Bekele Abeyo from the Global Wheat Program– presented during the panel discussions. The presentations were followed by a Q&A session, during which CIMMYT was named as top-rated CG center in Ethiopia due to its contributions, along with other institutions and centers, to national agricultural education, research for development, and extension with outputs and impacts. CIMMYT was commended by the current and former EIAR directors general and deputy director general, as well as Haramaya University senior alumni and political representatives, for its long-standing relations and close collaborative work with the NARS in generating technologies, strengthening national capacities, and reaching farmers.

As the meeting assessed the gaps and constraints of agriculture for development, ways forward, and future continuity of the dialogue, Abeyo assured the participants that “CIMMYT is committed to continue and maintain its high-quality contributions to Ethiopia.”

A new era for Agricultural Innovation in Pakistan

Written by on June 4, 2013. Posted in News.

On 27-28 May, representatives from CIMMYT, USAID, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), ILRI, IRRI, AVRDC, and UC Davis met with colleagues from several Pakistan universities, agricultural secretaries of the provinces, development sector organizations, private sector representatives, and farmer organizations, to discuss and plan the next stage of the USAID-supported Agricultural Innovation Program for Pakistan (AIP).

In his opening address, Randy Chester, USAID’s Deputy Office Chief for Agriculture, stated that “AIP represents a unique and unprecedented collaboration, in that it will bring together the expertise and resources of all of these organizations, including USAID, to increase the income of farmers across Pakistan.” By using the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) approach of agricultural research for development (AR4D), AIP “will foster a demand-driven, results-oriented, science research community, and enhance linkages between Pakistan’s agricultural research and innovation communities, the wider global community of agricultural scientists, and the private and civil society sectors,” he concluded.

AIP is a unique program for CIMMYT, aiming to address not only cereals and cereal systems, but also livestock, vegetables, and fruit trees, through a combination of commissioned projects, a competitive grants system, and human resource development. The program will draw on the expertise and resources of the five international partners, but many other Pakistan partners will be brought on as the program develops. PARC Chairman, Iftikhar Ahmad, highlighted the role that Pakistan organizations have to play: “We need a new kind of collaboration,” he said. “It must be a two-way process in that Pakistan must also contribute to international science. Pakistani scientists must play a crucial role in paying back what we get from the outside. Other economies can benefit from Pakistani science as well,” he added.

It would not be the first time that Pakistan has positively impacted worldwide agricultural development. Its national agricultural research system was instrumental in identifying two high-yielding wheat mega-varieties, ‘Mexi-Pak’ and ‘Pak81’, also known as ‘Siete Cerros’ and ‘Seri’, respectively, recalled Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

During spirited working groups, participants put forward their suggestions for project priorities that will enable AIP to increase the incomes of tens of thousands of farmers, through increased agricultural productivity, in the shortest time frame possible. There will be a strong focus on adapting and up-scaling existing technologies present elsewhere in the region, such as Greenseeker sensors for improved nutrient management.

Closing the meetings, Jonathon Conly, USAID Mission Director, Pakistan, praised the group in their collaboration to revolutionize Pakistan’s agricultural sector. “If we care about driving economic growth, it has to be done by increasing farm productivity, by increasing adoption of technologies, and human capacity,” he said; concluding: “I believe that AIP will lead to the desperately-needed increases in agricultural productivity in this country.” Pakistan35

Successful partners’ day at CIMMYT-Harare showcasing research work

Written by on April 29, 2013. Posted in News.

The value of CIMMYT’s research work is enhanced through partnerships supporting the development and dissemination of new maize production technologies. To encourage this collaboration, the CIMMYT Southern Africa regional office in Harare, Zimbabwe, holds an annual event during which stakeholders from the ministries of agriculture, academic institutions, seed companies, and donor representatives tour field trials and get acquainted with the station’s research outputs.

On 05 April 2013, the Australian ambassador Matthew Neuhaus together with donor representatives from the European Union, AusAID, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation joined stakeholders from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a successful partners’ day. Over 200 visitors explored CIMMYT fields, observed various products on the maize breeding pipeline such as trials on drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, and demonstrations on conservation agriculture. Visitors also learned about small-scale farm mechanization for conservation agriculture and management of post-harvest losses through the use of metal silos.

During the field tour, it was evident that CIMMYT is incorporating legumes into maize production systems. This not only includes cover crop that contributes to nitrogen fixing but also grain legumes to improve diversity in the farming households’ nutrition. “CIMMYT is keen to see farmers gain more yield per unit area as opposed to having them increase the acreage under maize,” explained Mulugetta Mekuria, regional liaison officer for southern Africa. “When the maize yield is increased on a small portion of the land, the family can then use the rest of the land to grow high value crops such as pigeon peas that are being successfully exported to India from Mozambique and Tanzania,” he added.

Nutrition was a topic of other parts of the partners’ day as well. Farmers in most of the African continent prefer white maize but where diets are predominantly based on maize, especially with weaned infants, nutritional deficiencies may arise. Two exciting options for overcoming such nutritional deficiencies are quality protein maize (QPM) and vitamin A maize (also called orange maize). The QPM varieties have increased amounts of the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan thereby enhancing the protein quality of maize and contribute to reducing malnutrition that is often seen in children under five years of age who are commonly weaned on maize porridge. “The mothers may not be able to ensure their children’s nutrition needs with the food they currently have,” said seed systems specialist John MacRobert, as he explained the benefits of QPM varieties. The orange maize has improved levels of pro-vitamin A and may help in alleviating vitamin A deficiency. Two varieties have been released in Zambia and two are in pre-release in Zimbabwe. During the tour, seed company representatives were encouraged to identify pre-release materials in which they may be interested.

The tour elicited a lot of interest from the participants who engaged the scientists in discussions, asked questions, and commented on the benefits of new technologies. Kgotso Madisa, an extension officer from Botswana’s Ministry of Agriculture, highlighted the value of nitrogen use efficient maize for farmers who cannot afford to apply the recommended fertilizer doses. “Most of our smallholder farmers are resource poor, these varieties would be of benefit to them,” said Madisa with reference to the hybrids developed under the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project.

Arsénio Mutatisse from Mozambique’s Higher Polytechnic Institute of Manica confessed that he had been skeptical about conservation agriculture before the event. However, after hearing agronomist Christian Thierfelder explain how to implement conservation agriculture successfully and after observing the trial, Mutatisse said he was convinced about its benefits. “This event was really helpful for us to see how the varieties perform in trials as we work closely with CIMMYT to ensure they get to the farmers,” said Helene Dinova Nsolani, leader of a group of community seed producers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The partners’ day was made possible through the help of CIMMYT’s national staff and intern students working at the station. Thanks to training provided by the regional office, the students have all the necessary knowledge and were thus instrumental in explaining the technologies on display. “We do capacity building to ensure that whenever we move on, we have people to continue with the breeding work,” explained maize breeder Cosmos Magorokosho.

The field day was followed by a feedback session and a technical seminar on the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease that has emerged recently in East Africa. During the seminar presented by Magorokosho and MacRobert, principal director of the Department of Agriculture Research Services Danisile Hikwa expressed her appreciation to CIMMYT for its efforts to develop MLN resistant varieties.

Far in the South and seeking food security: East Timor farmers adopt improved maize seed

Written by on April 3, 2013. Posted in Features.

CIMMYT photo — Buddhi Kunwar, Informal Seed Production Advisor, Seeds of Life Program, MAF-East Timor (third from right wearing a hat and with sunglasses hanging from shirt) with members of Community Seed Production Group at ‘Sele’ maize harvest ceremony.”

Through five years of on-farm trials supported by the governments of East Timor and Australia using locally-suited crop varieties provided by five centers of the CGIAR-Consortium, small-scale farmers in East Timor learned about and acquired seed of improved varieties of maize and other key food crops, as well as improved cropping practices. The hungry season for the major staple, maize, was significantly reduced among the adopters and, with more recent support from the “Seed of Life” project and East Timor’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, farming communities are producing improved maize seed to satisfy local demand.

A mountainous nation at the very end of the 4,200 kilometer-long Indonesian Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, East Timor has poor soils and limited irrigation that barely support farming of its staple crops, maize and rice. It has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but 80% of East Timor’s working population practices agriculture. The struggles leading up to the country’s independence in 1999 left widespread food insecurity. Rural inhabitants—particularly in the uplands—suffer a several-month-long hungry season, when annual stocks of the staples and of root crops (cassava, sweet potato, taro, arrowroot) run out.

Launched in 2000 with support from the governments of Australia and East Timor, the Seeds of Life initiative organized more than 3,000 on-farm demonstrations in the initial 5 years of the project to raise awareness among farmers about improved varieties and cropping practices for maize, rice, groundnut, sweet potato, and cassava. Through more than 1,000 on-farm trials during 2006-10, East Timor’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) found that an improved open-pollinated maize variety “Sele,” derived from CIMMYT breeding programs, yielded nearly 50% more grain on average than traditional varieties. During 2008-11, nearly 28,000 households obtained seed of Sele and by 2010 more than 70% of those families (up from only 58% in 2006-07) were harvesting enough maize grain for their entire year’s food needs. Overall, Seeds of Life’s efforts to identify, multiply, and distribute seed of higher-yielding, more nutritional varieties of the food crops farmers grow have measurably improved the food security and general welfare of participating households.

“A major bottleneck for maize has been the shortage of quality seed of improved varieties,” says Buddhi Kunwar, Informal Seed Production Advisor of MAF who has been working in Seeds of Life. “Despite intensive efforts, the supply of MAF-released Sele seed was only 32 tons in 2011 and 89 tons in 2012, far below the nation’s total maize seed requirement. To address this, we have included community-based seed production as a key part of the Seeds of Life’s most recent phase, which began in 2011 and runs through 2016.”

In community-based seed production, organized groups of farmers operating close to their homes produce, store, and market maize seed, initially with training and other backstopping from MAF or non-government organizations (see the list below). Each group eventually operates on its own, once members gain experience in producing quality seed and marketing or distributing it within the group and their community.

During 2011, more than 700 community-based seed production groups were facilitated by MAF and non-government organizations. Of these, 320 were growing Sele, using 5 kilograms of certified seed they received to sow a 2,000 m² seed plot. That year 289 groups produced a total of 46 tons of seed, which was stored in airtight steel drums and used to meet the seed requirements of group members and, with the seed left over, for barter or sale.

One problem encountered was grazing animals: these consumed the entire maize seed crops of 31 groups. “During the 2012-13 maize cropping season, MAF and NGO extension officers have selected seed plots that are well protected by fencing in most locations,” says Kunwar, “and a few communities have introduced ‘tara bandu’–a traditional social rule to restrain animals–to protect seed plots.”

In 2012-13 Seeds of Life operates in 11 of East Timor’s 13 districts, including 45 sub-districts and 135 villages. There are 680 community-based seed producer groups supported by MAF extension and another 400 groups supported by non-government organizations. According to Kunwar, Phase 3 of Seeds of Life runs from February 2011 through January 2016 and will support more than 1,000 community seed production groups for subsistence seed production and 50 farmer associations for commercial seed production, covering all 13 districts. The groups produce seed of maize as well as seed of improved varieties of rice and peanuts and cuttings of cassava and sweet potato.

For more information: B.M. Prasanna, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT (b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org), or Buddhi Kunwar, Seeds of Life Program, MAF (buddhi.kunwar@seedsoflifetimor.org)

Australian funding for Seeds of Life comes through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and ACIAR; it is managed by ACIAR. The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) within The University of Western Australia coordinates Australian-funded activities. Adapted lines of food crops for on-farm tests were provided by CIMMYT, IRRI, CIP, ICRISAT, and CIAT. Field work has been led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), with facilitation by non-government organizations such as CARE-International, Mercy Corps, Hivos, USC-Canada, World Vision International (WVI), and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Pakistan: Innovation to boost agriculture

Written by on March 26, 2013. Posted in News.

NARC-17 Pakistan ushered in a new era of agricultural research earlier this month when the Ministry of Food Security and Research, CIMMYT, USAID, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), and key agricultural leaders from throughout Pakistan gathered in Islamabad on 08 March 2013 to announce the Pakistan ‘Agricultural Innovation Program’ (AIP). This $30 million project seeks to revitalize the contribution of science-supported innovation to the economic growth of Pakistan’s agricultural sector by utilizing the Agricultural Research for Development paradigm.

“Pakistan’s agricultural productivity has fallen behind comparable countries with similar agroecologies,” said Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General. “There is a tremendous potential for growth, but we must act now.” Under AIP, commissioned projects and competitive grants will address key objectives to increase productivity within the cereals/cereal systems, livestock, and horticulture sectors. Whilst CIMMYT will manage and take responsibility for the overall AIP portfolio and the cereals/cereal systems component, the program will also draw on the expertise of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the University of California, Davis. UC Davis will also assist in linking Pakistan research systems to agriculture science and innovation in the USA via the human resources development component of AIP; which will make a particular effort to engage women scientists in Pakistan. PARC is the hosting partner and will also oversee the competitive grants portfolio and ensure that AIP is led and executed by national partners.

The relationship between CIMMYT and Pakistan spans five decades. In 1961, Pakistani FAO trainee Manzoor Bajwa, who was working with Norman Borlaug, selected Mexipak, a high-yielding wheat that went on to become the country’s most popular variety and one of the original megavarieties of the Green Revolution. After a large import of Mexipak seed from Mexico, Pakistan harvested 7 million tons of wheat in 1968, making it the first country in Asia to become self-sufficient in the crop. Most of Pakistan’s wheat crop (24 million tons in 2012) is produced with varieties derived from the CIMMYT/Pakistan collaboration. During the 1990s-early 2000s, CIMMYT helped Pakistani research to launch conservation agriculture in South Asia.

Now, AIP hopes to foster a demand-driven, results-oriented science research community and enhance linkages between Pakistan’s agricultural research and innovation communities, the wider global community of agricultural scientists, and the private and civil society sectors. Research is one among many contributors to increase food security and economic growth; but by creating a dynamic, responsive, and competitive system of science and innovation partnerships, the Agricultural Innovation Program hopes to rapidly boost agricultural production, productivity, and value.

For additional information contact Interim AIP project leader Rick Ward (r.ward@cgiar.org) or CIMMYT Pakistan Country Liaison Officer Muhammad Imtiaz (m.imtiaz@cgiar.org)

Discussing future research and development in Afghanistan

Written by on March 22, 2013. Posted in News.

Afghanistan1 For over 10 years, CIMMYT has been working assiduously with the national agriculture research system of Afghanistan to contribute to the war-torn country’s sustainable agricultural growth and research and development. So far, the joint efforts have led to the release of 12 wheat, 4 maize, and 2 barley varieties. As wheat and maize together account for about 84% of cereal acreage and production in Afghanistan, the work continues. During 5-7 March 2013, CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin visited Afghanistan to observe CIMMYT activities and initiate a dialogue on further cooperation.

During a tour of the Kabul-based research station of the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) at Darulaman, station manager Gul Zaman informed Lumpkin that 70-80% of the field experiments carried out at the station were ARIA-CIMMYT wheat trials. Lumpkin observed that the station was in dire need of reconstruction, as it lacked proper infrastructure and all farm machinery was kept outside. Lumpkin also met with Qasem Obaidi (ARIA director), Abdullahjan Ahmadzai (Agricultural Extension and Development director general), Nasrullah Bakhtani (Policy and Planning director general), Haqiqatpal Rabani (Statistics and Marketing director), and S.D. Pakbin (ARIA technical advisor) to assess the needs of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). Ahmadzai updated Lumpkin on the current involvement of CIMMYT-Afghanistan in drafting a longterm R&D strategy document for the country. “CIMMYT could also bring in the latest technologies, such as conservation agriculture, precision agriculture, and the use of cell phones for extension services,” commented Lumpkin. Other areas requiring assistance, according to Obaidi, include a gene bank, soil and pathological laboratories, technical support in basic research, capacity building, and R&D for agricultural machinery.

Abdul Ghani Ghuriani, deputy minister for technical affairs at MAIL, then hosted a dinner reception for Lumpkin and representatives from ICARDA, FAO, USDA, USAID, JICA, private seed enterprises, MAIL officials, and other partners. During the lively dinner discussion, the deputy minister suggested that CIMMYT submits a proposal to establish a permanent facility to provide long term R&D support to the national agriculture research system and other stakeholders in the country. Mir Dad Panjsheri, MAIL chief advisor, then highlighted the issue of sustainability of any intervention brought by development agencies, acknowledged the continued support from CIMMYT, and suggested new collaboration areas: “It is important to carry out multi-crop, interdisciplinary research. We would appreciate CIMMYT’s assistance with diversification of the cropping sequence in farmers’ fields, genetic resource conservation, and support of home-grown breeding programs.”

Prior to his departure, Lumpkin held a series of discussions with Kabul-based USAID, USDA, AusAID, and ACIAR officials. Both USAID and AusAID welcomed the idea of a BISA-type facility in Afghanistan, as it could act as a platform for other CG centers, in-country partners, and foreign universities to address Afghanistan’s R&D gaps programmatically and sustainably. Afghanistan2

Thomas Lumpkin and Marianne Bänziger visit CIMMYT offices and projects in Bangladesh

Written by on March 13, 2013. Posted in News.

Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, and Marianne Bänziger, deputy director general for research and partnerships, visited CIMMYT-Bangladesh during 20-23 February 2013 to meet with CIMMYT-Bangladesh personnel, government officials, and representatives from key national agricultural research systems. They toured the fields of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) and visited the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institution (BARI) stations at Jamalpur and Gazipiur.

On 20 February, Lumpkin and Bänziger accompanied the staff of CIMMYT-Bangladesh —cropping system agronomists T.P. Tiwari (country liaison officer), Mahesh Kumar Gathala, and Timothy Krupnik, and agricultural economist Frederick Ross— to a dinner meeting with Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Secretary Monzur Hossain, MoA Additional Secretary M.A. Hamid, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Executive Chairman Wais Kabir, BARI Director General Rafiqul I. Mondal, and government scientists. The dinner discussion covered the general state of agriculture in the country and the long-standing collaboration between the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and CIMMYT, a partnership established in 1973 and formalized in 1982. Hossain and Kabir highlighted the importance of the collaboration and lauded CIMMYT for its continuous support in terms of enhancing BARI capacity to promote maize and wheat in Bangladesh as part of the quest to achieve food security in the country. “CIMMYT-Bangladesh has a very strong presence with a great, proactive team,” added Kabir. Lumpkin then briefed the distinguished guests on CIMMYT’s regional focus, including the latest developments regarding the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), and thanked the GoB for facilitating CIMMYT’s work in the country.

The following day, Dinabandhu Pandit, CIMMYT-CSISA cropping systems agronomist, organized a field tour to the Mymensingh Hub of the CSISA-BD project. Accompanied by farmers and staff of partner organizations (IRRI, BARI, Department of Agriculture and Extension, Bangladesh Agricultural University, CARE Bangladesh, and ASPADA), Pandit led the team across the Old Brahmaputra River to Char Jelkhana to observe on-going activities initiated in the 2011/12 winter season. The location used to be limited to black gram cultivation and grazing, but thanks to the successful demonstration of maize and wheat by CIMMYT-CSISA on this charland (charlands are islands formed by river sedimentation) and in neighboring villages, local farmers have expanded the area under maize and wheat cultivation by 743% (4.7 ha to 39.4 ha). They are planning to further expand these crops next year.

Upon their return to Dhaka, the team visited the BARI campus in the Gazipur District. Mondal welcomed the CIMMYT director general and deputy director general and explained BARI’s focus and reach before a tour of the station to observe wheat and maize breeding work coordinated by senior wheat breeder Naresh Chandra Barma and BARI Hybrid Maize Program leader Bhagya Rani Banik.

On the last day of the visit, a breakfast meeting was held with USAID representatives David Yanggen and Anar Khalilov. Lumpkin and Bänziger acknowledged and thanked USAID for supporting CIMMYT-Bangladesh through the CSISA-BD project, and briefed USAID on CIMMYT’s focus in the region. They discussed the importance of diversification and sustainable production of maize in Bangladesh, as well as ways to enhance adoption of new technologies. Yanggen and Khalilov agreed that the forthcoming proposal from CIMMYT emphasizing agricultural mechanization and surface irrigation for southern Bangladesh is a very exciting initiative that USAID is keen to support. They appreciated CIMMYT’s work in Bangladesh and encouraged CIMMYT-CSISA to continue developing short, simple, and effective communication materials on successes in the field.

Following breakfast, Lumpkin and Bänziger visited the office of CIMMYT-Bangladesh to meet the staff, discuss their thoughts and concerns, and thank everyone for their good work.

CIMMYT-Bangladesh, February 2013: distinguished guests and donors

Written by on March 12, 2013. Posted in News.

As farmers in southern Bangladesh –the country’s most impoverished region– face increasing costs of agricultural labor and negative effects of climate change, CIMMYT-Bangladesh partners with farmers and agricultural service providers throughout the region to turn these challenges into opportunities. This work to improve farmers’ livelihoods by developing affordable irrigation and efficient machinery has drawn attention from donors and distinguished guests, many of whom recently visited some of the region’s areas to see the changes brought by CIMMYT in action.

On 06 February 2013, Saharah Moon Chapotin (team leader for agricultural research at USAID) and Tony Cavalieri (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BMGF) visited activities conducted under the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) funded by USAID’s Feed the Future initiative with support from the BMGF. CSISA-BD is a collaborative project of CIMMYT, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and WorldFish aiming to sustainably increase productivity of cereal-based farming systems by developing innovative agricultural technologies –including small-scale agricultural machinery and conservation agriculture– and market linkages to raise household incomes. Accompanied by cropping system agronomists Timothy J. Krupnik and Samina Yasmin (CIMMYT-CSISA), Global Wheat Program associate director and wheat pathologist Etienne Duveillier (CIMMYT), regional agronomist Andrew McDonald (CIMMYT), and director of IRRI in Bangladesh Timothy Russell, the team visited the Patuakhali region of southern Bangladesh, where preliminary results of rainfed maize field trials managed by farmers showed both yield increase (1.5 t/ha) over conventional management practices and reduced production costs. Farmers have seized this opportunity and are increasingly growing maize to sell to tourists at premium prices in the nearby beach district. The guests also visited IRRI rice screening trials, WorldFish activities to introduce micronutrient dense fish species, and women’s producer groups involved in maize cultivation.

The following week, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena and USAID Mission Director in Bangladesh Richard Green visited CSISA-BD activities in the Shatkira district. After a welcome from CIMMYT agronomists Krupnik and Md. Shahjahan, and IRRI and WorldFish delegates, they learned about CIMMYT’s efforts to test, refine, and extend labor-saving and cost-reducing conservation agriculture machinery to farmers through agricultural service networks, and through the study and promotion of two-wheel tractors to power fuel-efficient, surface water irrigation pumps (axial flow pumps, AFPs) used particularly for bed-planted maize fields. Ambassador Mozena commented, “I have seen a CIMMYT project funded by USAID and working with the Government of Bangladesh to help increase food security. Wonderful things are happening right here. I saw a beautiful maize field grown with new technology. If you don’t have this machinery and you are using only day labor, it is very hard to cultivate enough land. This machinery really works.”

Two days later, a European Union delegation visited the EU-funded Agriculture, Nutrition and Extension Project (ANEP) in Barisal, Bangladesh, one of the poorest regions subjected to tidal flooding and low annual crop productivity. ANEP is a partnership between CIMMYT, International Development Exchange (iDE), Save the Children, WorldFish, Community Development Center (CODEC), CEAPRED, and BES-Nepal. The EU delegation included Philippe Jacques (head of EU cooperation in Bangladesh), João Anselmo (attaché to the EU delegation), Marion Michaud (ANEP-EU task force manager based in Nepal), and Roselyn Mullo (ECHO regional nutrition coordinator). ANEP focuses on increasing cropping intensity in Barisal to enable farmers to grow two economically viable crops per year. Krupnik and Yusuf Ali demonstrated how small-scale machinery used for strip tillage and bed planting can help farmers to plant dry season crops such as wheat, maize, and legumes, while reducing costs and saving irrigation water. “Within ANEP, CIMMYT partners with iDE to develop seasonal crop production business plans tailored to specific villages and farmers’ organizations. These production plans help farmers to make better decisions on how to assure timely harvesting, aggregation of grain, and delivery of maize to the market to obtain premium prices,” added Krupnik.

Achieving food security through seed security in Timor-Leste

Written by on February 25, 2013. Posted in News.

Timor-Leste-CBSP-Maize-Photo In Timor-Leste, maize is the main staple crop grown by 88% of farming households. However, availability of quality seed of improved maize varieties is a major bottleneck for enhancing crop production and productivity. Experiences gained through the Seeds of Life program within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) indicated that there was a significant yield advantage of MAF-released maize varieties over the local varieties under farmer management practices. The MAF recommended an improved open-pollinated maize variety Sele, originally LYDMR (Late, Yellow, Downy Mildew Resistant) introduced by the CIMMYT Asian Regional Maize Program, whose yield is 47% higher than that of traditional maize varieties (average result from 1,091 on-farm demonstrations trials during 2006-10).

Annually, Timor-Leste pays at least US$ 1.5 million to service its national maize seed requirements, a large expense for such a small nation. Despite intensive efforts, the supply of MAF-released Sele seed was only 32 tons in 2011 and 89 tons in 2012, which is far below the nation’s total maize seed requirements. To address the maize seed insecurity, the MAF, with support from the Australian Government through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), included community-based seed production (CBSP) in the third phase of the Seeds of Life (SoL3) program. The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) within the University of Western Australia (UWA) is commissioned to coordinate the Australian-funded activities.

CBSP is a decentralized system of production, storage, and marketing of seeds by organized groups of farmers operating close to their homes as community groups or farmers associations. At the initial stage, the groups or associations received training on seed production, storage, and marketing from extension staff of MAF or NGOs. After gaining experience, these groups continue seed production activities on their own with little or no extension support. The CBSP groups follow basic seed production procedures, produce quality seed for use by group members, and sell or barter any surplus to others in the local community. The SoL3 program currently operates in 11 of the 13 districts of Timor-Leste (45 sub-districts and 135 sucos) through 680 CBSP groups with support from the MAFSoL extension program. Four hundred more CBSP groups are facilitated through collaboration with international NGOs, such as CARE, World Vision, Mercy Corps, Hivos, Catholic Relief Services, and USC Canada. The program not only supports maize seed production by community groups, but also seed production of other major food grains, such as rice and peanuts, as well as plots of improved varieties of cassava and sweet potato.

During the initial year of SoL3, nearly 726 CBSP groups were facilitated by MAF and NGOs. Of these, 320 (99 groups by MAF-SoL and 221 groups by NGOs) were growing Sele maize variety. Each participating group was composed of an average of 15 members, and each group was provided with 5 kg of certified Sele seed, sufficient to plant a 2,000 m2 seed plot. In the initial year of implementation, 289 CBSP groups produced an average of 159 kg of quality Sele seed (totaling 46 tons), while 31 groups suffered total crop failure due to grazing animals. This locally produced seed, stored in airtight 200-liter steel drums, was sufficient to meet the seed requirements of all group members and still leave extra seed for local barter or sale.

CBSP in Timor-Leste has proved to be a cost-effective and sustainable method of achieving local seed security. With further planning and effective implementation, each village, sub-district, and district in Timor- Leste could potentially achieve local seed security, a necessary prerequisite for maize food security of Timor-Leste.