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Drought tolerant maize wins UK climate prize

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The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) has won Best Technological Breakthrough at the 2012 UK Climate Week Awards for its support to the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. The awards were held in London on 12 March 2012 to celebrate the UK’s most effective and ambitious organizations, communities, and individuals and their efforts to combat climate change.

Climate-Week-award-picDTMA has been responsible for the development and dissemination of 34 new drought-tolerant maize varieties to farmers in 13 project countries—Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—between 2007 and 2011. An estimated two million smallholder farmers are already using the drought-tolerant maize varieties and have obtained higher yields, improved food security, and increased incomes.

Drought-tolerant varieties are invaluable on a continent where maize is the staple crop for over 300 million people, and nearly always relies on rainwater alone. The DTMA varieties, produced by conventional breeding, provide farmers with better yields than leading commercial varieties under moderate drought conditions, while also giving outstanding harvests when rains are good. DTMA works with a diverse network of partners to develop, market, and distribute seed, including private companies, publicly funded agricultural research and extension systems, ministries of agriculture, nongovernmental organizations, and community-based seed producers.

Jointly implemented by CIMMYT and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the DTMA project is presently funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and is also receiving complementary grants from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“DFID has been a highly-valued and reliable, top-ten core contributor to CIMMYT’s work,” said DTMA project leader Wilfred Mwangi. In addition, the efforts of DTMA build on long-term support from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Eiselen-Foundation.

Drought tolerance, conservation agriculture, and double-cropping: A recipe for success in Mozambique

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Copy-of-IMG_1029“Increasing Sustainable Agricultural Production in Mozambique through Drought Tolerant Maize and Conservation Agriculture” is a USAID-supported initiative bringing together two key components of CIMMYT’s work: Breeding for drought tolerance and sustainable land management to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Demonstrations in rural farming communities of Mozambique are currently exhibiting four varieties, which were selected for drought tolerance in Harare, Zimbabwe, and are currently being multiplied by two seed companies in Mozambique: Lozane Seed and Dengo Commercial. Farmers are also being shown several different cropping systems for these new varieties: conventional (burning residues and significant soil movement), conservation agriculture (CA) with seeding into previously dug planting basins, and CA seeded with a pointed stick or jab planter and retaining of crop residues. Farmers are showing significant interest in these new methods, favoring the jab planter and dibble stick as the fastest way of sowing.

During 16-24 February 2012, CIMMYT scientists, partners from the University of Tennessee, and USAID representatives travelled to project sites in the Manica and Sofala Provinces, to monitor project progress and evaluate the quality of implementation. The demonstrations also feature growing maize in full rotation with cowpeas, a technique previously unused. “We never thought of growing cowpeas as a sole crop in rotation with maize and are amazed about the good crop stand and the yield we will get. We will try this on our own fields in the coming season,” said Raimundo Luis, a farmer from Sussundenga, Manica Province.

Maize is the staple food crop for farmers in Mozambique, with most growing just one crop, during the rainy season from November to April. Average yields are generally low, often less than one ton/hectare. However, with the advent of new varieties, such as the CIMMYT-developed short season open pollinated variety (OPV), ZM309, farmers can harvest their early seeded maize crops in February, a time when many grain stores are diminished. CA systems with residue cover enable greater conservation of soil moisture, and therefore allow farmers to plant a second maize or legume crop, for harvesting in June or July.

Double cropping will assure food security for farmers in Mozambique, and by planting protein-rich legumes as the second crop, nutrition of farm families can also be increased. The use of these methods will also reduce the risk of crop failure and increase productivity of the land.

Crop rotations in conservation agriculture systems equal healthy profits and soils in Zambia’s Eastern Province

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DSC06486During 06-10 February 2012, a team of CIMMYT scientists travelled to six communities in Zambia’s Eastern Province to monitor progress on activities implemented under the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume systems for the Eastern Province of Zambia (SIMLEZA) project, funded by USAID as part of Barack Obama’s “Feed the Future” initiative. The team was joined by national partners from governmental extension services, field coordinators from Total Land Care, Zambian researchers from Msekera Research Station, IITA, and CIP, and a group of farmers from Monze, in Zambia’s Southern Province. Journalists from two radio stations, one daily newspaper, and Zambian television covered the visit.

The SIMLEZA project began in October 2011 and exhibits a large variety of validation trials using improved maize and legume varieties, in conjunction with conservation agriculture (CA), to sustainably increase productivity on farmers’ fields. The validation trials currently demonstrate maize grown either as a sole crop, intercropped, or planted in full rotation with legumes. Farmers in the Eastern Province are excited about these new ways of farming; they want to shift from traditional, monocropped systems to more profitable crop rotations. In field discussions, farmers commended the other benefits of CA: Reductions in labor, effectiveness of weed control through judicious use of herbicides, increased moisture conservation, and reduced surface run-off and soil erosion. The project also has a strong emphasis on involving women in the extension of new technologies to improve their livelihoods.

Identifying a suitable market for alternative crops such as cowpeas or soyabeans remains a challenge in the Eastern Province, though the SIMLEZA project is addressing this by targeting bottlenecks in the value chain. Through involvement of agro-dealers, the availability of improved seed and markets for produce will be facilitated and processing skills will be enhanced. CIMMYT also collaborates with IITA scientists in this project to make use of their expertise in legume production and processing.

Currently the SIMLEZA project operates in six target communities, but it aims to impact 20,000 households in the Eastern Province by 2014.

Regional dialogue for conservation agriculture in South Asia

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During 01-02 November 2011, agricultural science, extension, and development leaders, key researchers of South Asian national agricultural research and extension systems, and representatives from regional CGIAR centers, FAO, USAID, NGOs, and farmer associations, met in New Delhi, India, for a dialogue on conservation agriculture (CA) in South Asia. The meeting focused on conservation agricultural research for development (CAR4D) and greater impacts on small-holder farmers, and was organized jointly by the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural research Institutions (APAARI), CIMMYT, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

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Raj Paroda, Executive Secretary, APAARI, emphasized the dual challenges currently facing food security in South Asia, namely resource fatigue and decelerating productivity growth. These factors are being further exacerbated by rises in the costs of food and energy, depleting water resources, vulnerability of soil to degradation, and climate change. Producers’ profits are decreasing, making farming unattractive and unsustainable in the region. CA is seen as a key driver in the Millennium Development Goals to improve efficiency and sustainability through systembased management, optimization of crop yields, economic benefits, and environmental impacts. Whilst the pace of adoption of CA in the region has slowed in the past few years, it is hoped that meetings such as this can provide a common regional platform for stakeholders to share information and define priorities for the deployment of CA, develop common strategies for local problem resolution, facilitate the exchange of knowledge, products, and experiences, and map the future of CA in South Asia.

Other speakers at the event included AK Singh, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), ICAR, Peter Kenmore, IPM Expert, FAO, Thomas Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT, and S. Ayyappan, Director General, ICAR. Ayyappan spoke of the successes achieved by the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC), including increasing the use of CA technologies in the region. He also highlighted the current importance being given to CA, through the National Initiative on Conservation Agriculture that will be launched by the Indian Government as part of its 12th five-year plan for special programs. Lumpkin reiterated these points, mentioning that CA will play an important role in most of the CRP’s (the CGIAR mega-programs for rice, maize, wheat, climate change, etc.).

CIMMYT’s Senior Cropping Systems Agronomist, ML Jat, presented the global overview of CA with several key recommendations, including the need to establish long-term basic and strategic research in different production systems, define appropriate CA technologies for different systems with improved access for farmers, and develop communication tools to better enable sharing of knowledge, experiences, and farmer innovations between all stakeholders.

Traveling seminar exhibits maize research and development in the hills of Nepal

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Travelling-SeminarDuring 19-21 August 2011, a travelling seminar on “Maize Research and Development in the Hills of Nepal” was organized by the CIMMYT-led Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), and the Nepal Department of Agriculture (DoA). The seminar offered policy makers first-hand information on maize varietal development, seed multiplication, technology dissemination, and HMRP’s efforts to improve food security and livelihoods of small-scale and disadvantaged farmers in the region. The 25 participants included representatives from the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, National Seed Board, NARC, DoA, donors (SDC and USAID), and NGOs.

The first day included visits to participatory variety selection (PVS) and community-based seed production (CBSP) sites, and women’s CBSP cooperatives in Fulbari and Buluwa villages, 60km east of Kathmandu in the Kavre district. HMRP Leader, Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, described the work of HMRP, highlighting the increasing role of CBSP groups and the private sector in seed production and marketing, participation of multi-stakeholders, focus on gender equity and social inclusion, and continuation of farmers’ participatory adaptive research, including maize germplasm introduction and testing. Nanu Ghatani, Chairperson of the cooperatives, was one of the 45 members of the women’s cooperative and farmers who gathered to welcome the participants. She described the accomplishments of the CBSP cooperatives and their impact on enhancing food security; since the introduction of the new maize varieties and improved crop management technologies “maize yield has been doubled, and by selling improved seed, farmers could fetch NRs 35/Kg in 2010, when the price of maize grain was NRs 17/Kg. In value terms our land has been tripled,” she said. This has enabled women farmers to substantially increase their savings, she added. USAID representative Kip Sutton commended HMRP and partners for reducing poverty and food insecurity in the area, but participants also learned that there are further needs to improve yields, storage facilities, credits, inputs, and training.

Travelling-Seminar21The following day featured a visit to the Hill Crop Research Program (HCRP), Kabre, Dolakha. Participants observed the onsite maize research and development activities, such as source seed production of improved maize varieties, and had the opportunity to interact with scientists at the station. N.P. Adhikari, Director of Crops and Horticulture, NARC, and D.B. Gurung, National Maize Coordinator, complimented the scientists for their accomplishments in maize research and development, both at the station and in the field.

Station Chief, K.B. Koirala, gave a presentation on “Present status, priority, and challenges of maize research and seed production in HCRP Kabre”, highlighting that the work of the station has improved maize source seed production and quality, and reached thousands of poor farmers in the target area. The team then visited one of the farm cooperatives, which is conducting maize CBSP on 7ha. In later feedback, Adhikari commented that the seminar provided experiences which could only be appreciated by observations at the field level.

On the final day, participants visited the Hariyali Seed Company, a community-managed private seed company promoted by HMRP in Sindhupalchowk district. Company Coordinator, D.B. Bhandari, and the President of Sindhu-Tuki Seed Producers’ Cooperative, Gunda Bahadur Thami, outlined the progress of the cooperative so far; from the first maize PVS and intercropping trials in 2004, to the formation of a CBSP group in 2005, transformation into a cooperative in 2008, and culminating in the formation of the community-owned seed company in 2010, with maize seed being multiplied in 50ha.

The feedback from participants was very positive, with Bharat Upadhyaya, Executive Director of Nepal’s Center for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension, and Development, commenting that “my 30 years of professional career in agriculture development in Nepal would have been incomplete if I would have missed this visit.” It was suggested that the event should be conducted annually during the main maize season.

Spotlight on maize seed marketing in Nepal

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Since 1999, the CIMMYT-led Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) has been analyzing the maize seed value chain, increasing market assurance for seed from community-based seed production (CBSP) projects, and enhancing management and marketing competencies of stakeholders. The project covers 20 hill districts across Nepal and is funded by SDC and USAID-Nepal. Now in its fourth phase, the overall goal remains improving the food security and income of farm households, particularly of the poor and disadvantaged.

Seed marketing is a major component of this goal, and HMRP Phase IV aims to improve this by enabling seed producers to get sustainable, best possible returns through reliable, on time market information and pre-sowing contracts; encouraging farmers to sell a maximum quantity of seed by providing seed revolving funds to CBSP groups; increasing market efficiency to reduce the price gap between seed producers and buyers; making seed of farm origin available at a reasonable price by ensuring quality through accurate labeling; and enabling seed businesses to become sustainable enterprises.

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On 25 August 2011, HMRP held a “Maize Seed Marketing Workshop” in Nepalgunj, Banke, to facilitate the marketing of maize seed and help establish links between CBSP groups, partners, and seed traders, to improve efficiency and sustainability. The 66 participants represented both seed suppliers and buyers or traders. Lila Ram Poudel, Deputy Director General, Department of Agriculture, Nepal, chaired the workshop, with training assistance from D. Bhandari, Chief of the Seed Quality Control Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Suroj Pokharel, Program Director, Crop Development Directorate, Durga Adhikari, General Secretary, Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal, and Ram Chandra Bhusal, Seed Value Chain and Marketing Specialist, Center for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension, and Development.

Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, HMRP Leader, introduced the workshop, with subsequent technical sessions focusing on HMRP’s approaches to seed production and marketing, with particular reference to government seed programs, and sustainable strategies for maize seed marketing with a value chain approach. Participants were also able to share their own experiences of seed trading in open discussions.

The workshop resulted in several recommendations: that local Agrovets participate in seed trading with CBSPs, ideally distributing seed in cooperation with the Seed Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal and the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO); allocation of Village Development Committee block grants to enable the purchase of seed from CBSPs, with other social groups also encouraged to purchase the improved seed; DADOs to increase informal research and development kits and improve seed coverage in remote areas, to facilitate access to improved seed for poor farmers; and the investment of a proportion of the government’s seed subsidy to purchase seed from CBSP groups, rather than importing.

A second workshop was conducted on 22 September 2011 for 69 public and private stakeholders from the mid-western and eastern hills of Nepal. Chaired by Dil Bahadur Gurung, National Maize Coordinator of Nepal, this workshop also encompassed problem identification and recommendations for efficient and sustainable maize marketing (Group 1), and the recommendation of guidelines for seed revolving funds (Group 2).

Group 1 recommended that seed availability information be disseminated via local radio and newspapers; seed should be produced under the pocket area concept; DADO should enforce a code of conduct, with mandatory seed packaging and labeling; a seed bank should be established at the district level, with infrastructure support; and seed revolving funds and transportation subsidies should be provided to seed producers. Group 2 added that these seed revolving funds should be monitored, with training given for management of the funds.

First Ug99 tolerant wheat variety released in Nepal

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On 02 September 2010, Nepal gave the go-ahead to release a new wheat variety with resistance to Ug99. BL3063—given the common name “Vijay” meaning Victory—has CIMMYT parental lines in its pedigree, good resistance against variants of Ug99, and impressive agronomic performance under both normal and late sown conditions in the Terai region of Nepal.

13“NL 3063 yielded 7% higher than the current most popular variety, Gautam, in three years of multi-location testing in Nepal,” said Madan Raj Bhatta, wheat breeder at Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), adding that it also performed better than other varieties in on-farm testing.

Because of its notable performance under late-sown conditions, BL 3063 is believed to have terminal heat tolerance. It also performs exceedingly well under zero tillage, said Janmejai Tripathi, wheat agronomist in Bhairahwa, Nepal. Additionally, BL 3063 has large, bold, amber colored grains, high protein content (12.5%), and good quality for baking industries. Recently, Yue Jin of the United States Department of Agriculture reported that this variety possesses adult plant resistance for Ug99.

In Nepal, under the guidance of the National Wheat Research Program (NWRP) and CIMMYT, BL 3063 was under demonstration and multiplication on 22 hectares of farmers’ fields. This resulted in 50 tons of improved seed for the coming year, according to Arun Joshi, CIMMYT wheat breeder. This important step toward mitigating the threat of Ug99 was made possible in part by a USAID seed multiplication famine fund program in which six countries are currently multiplying wheat varieties resistant to Ug99. The NWRP of the NARC and CIMMYT-Nepal are working together under this program to identify suitable Ug99-resistant varieties, seed production, and seed delivery.

USAID Famine Seed Project meeting held in Nepal

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17On 30 June 2010, a USAID Famine Seed Project meeting was organized at CIMMYT’s South Asia Office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Seventeen participants, including those from the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), CIMMYT-Nepal, CIMMYT-Bangladesh, and Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) HUB partners in Nepal, attended the meeting. The objectives of the day were to: (1) review 2009-10 crop cycle work and progress, (2) to develop a work plan for the upcoming 2010-11 cycle and, (3) to strengthen collaboration with technology-delivering stakeholders.

Arun Joshi, CIMMYT wheat breeder, opened the event with an overview of the progress and on-going challenges facing the six countries involved in the USAID project (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Nepal). He identified the project’s major activities as: (1) identification of suitable Ug99 resistant varieties and their pre- and post-release seed production, and (2) delivery of seed to farmers and rapid dissemination. CIMMYT, ICARDA, the BGRI, and national wheat programs are jointly implementing these activities.

This year, 2010, marks 25 years of strong partnership between CIMMYT and NARC, a milestone highlighted by NARC Executive Director B. Mishra, who also pointed out that the Famine Fund meeting was the first major NARC-CIMMYT meeting this year. Mishra said that Nepal is doing its best to produce sufficient amounts of Ug99 resistant seed, with a goal of producing enough to replant at least 5% of Nepal’s wheat area within the next two to three years. He happily announced that the new Ug99 resistant variety BL 3063 (GS348/NL746//NL748) has been approved by NARC’s technical committee, and will soon be released for cultivation.

Next, NARC scientists J. Tripathi, S.R. Upadhyay, and N.R. Gautam presented the specifics of Nepal’s work and efforts from the 2009-10 crop cycle, and outlined a potential 2010-11 work plan. They said that the estimated seed production of resistant lines in 2010–11 will be sufficient to meet 7.3% of the effective seed market, and to cover 2.4% of the total wheat area in Nepal. M.R. Bhatta and Sarala Sharma highlighted the importance of farmer participatory research for successful dissemination of new resistant seed varieties in Nepal.

The following presentation included explanations and deatils about the progress of the field demonstrations overseen by Nepal’s CSISA HUB. D.P Sherchan, CSISA HUB manager, and A.P. Regmi, agronomist, said that field demonstrations are important for the delivery of Ug99 resistant seed and seed resistant to other rusts, and that in large-scale trials, the yield of newly obtained resistant varieties (BL 3063 and Francolin) under zero tillage was significantly superior to the local checks.

Toward the end of the meeting, K.D. Joshi, South Asia regional coordinator for CAZS Natural Resources, part of Bangor University, UK, explained ways to enhance linkages with NGOs and newly emerging private sector companies to promote seed production and dissemination. T.P. Tiwari, CIMMYT-Bangladesh cropping system agronomist, summarized his experiences with particular agronomic interventions that could benefit field trials in Nepal.

The discussion outcomes led to the development of similar agronomic plans for Nepal and Bangladesh to harness the potential of Ug99 resistant lines. The meeting also provided a good update on progress in the USAID seed project, and provided ideas on how to strengthen ties between CSISA, NGOs, and the private sector, as well as providing suggestions on new agronomic innervations that could be integrated into trials in the upcoming crop cycle.

Mega programs discussed in Bangladesh

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Recent meetings in Bangladesh about collaboration for improved food security focused on two new CGIAR mega programs for maize and wheat. Global Maize Program director BM Prasanna and Global Conservation Agriculture director Pat Wall met with scientists at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and members of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in late May, and received positive feedback on partners’ desire to help implement these programs in Bangladesh.

After talking with CIMMYT representatives, Wais Kabir, BARC’s executive chairman, expressed his satisfaction about the comprehensive nature of the two megaprograms and thanked CIMMYT for the long-term functional partnership with BARI under BARC in various research projects in Bangladesh. He said that BARC would like to be a key partner in the maize and wheat mega programs. Other consulted organizations in Bangladesh included the International Rice Research Institute, WorldFish, and USAID.

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Training on conservation agriculture in Bangladesh

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185Over 60 researchers, field technicians, farmers, machinery manufacturers, service providers, and extension workers attended two recent conservation agriculture (CA) training events in Bangladesh. The first event was held at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) station in Comilla on 28-29 April, followed by an event at the Wheat Research Centre of BARI in Dinajpur on 04-05 May. The events focused on machinery operation and maintenance, as well as the agronomy of dry direct-seeded rice (DSR). Both were part of joint CIMMYT-IRRI efforts to promote sustainable ricemaize systems in collaboration with several national Bangladesh partners.

At both locations, participants learned about the power tiller operated seeder (PTOS) and the bed former/planter attached with the Chinese-made two-wheel tractor. This equipment is promoted by the project for the rapid establishment of maize, rice, and other crops under CA-based tillage systems such as zero tillage, reduced or minimum tillage, and raised beds. Participants also learned various methods to calibrate seed rates for DSR and decided that fluted roller metering devices with 8 or 16 grooves are the best currently available option for sowing DSR. They also learned basic agronomy for DSR and unpuddled transplanted rice, both of which require the use of the demonstrated machinery.

Temporary-Internet-Files“Machinery operation and maintenance is vital for rapid dissemination of CA-based technologies,” said Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist. He added that this ACIAR-funded ricemaize project has been adapting and evaluating the PTOS and the bed former/planter at project sites, and has been refining these machines for their use in different soils with the help of agriculture engineers from the national agriculture research intuitions involved in the project. The project has given special emphasis to training and capacity building for machine use and has already trained more than 120 people from government and non-governmental organizations, as well as farmers, service providers, machinery manufacturers, and extension workers since it started in November 2008.

Thanks to those who assisted with and attended these two events, including Israil Hossain and M. Wohab, principal scientific officers and agriculture engineers from BARI who helped in Dinajpur; M. Wohab and A. Rahman, principal scientific officers and agriculture engineers from BRRI who helped in Comilla; T. P. Tiwari, CIMMYT cropping system agronomist and the coordinator of the USAID Famine project; and Timsina.

First Ug99 tolerant wheat variety released in Bangladesh

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Bangladesh recently gave the go-ahead to release a new wheat variety with resistance to Ug99. Bari Gom 26—commonly known as Hashi, and previously called BAW 1064—has CIMMYT parental lines in its pedigree, fairly good resistance against variants of Ug99, and impressive agronomic performance.

“Bari Gom 26 yielded 10% higher than the most popular variety, Shatabdi, in three years of multilocation testing in Bangladesh,” said T.P. Tiwari, cropping systems agronomist, CIMMYT-Bangladesh, adding that it also performed better than other varieties during on-farm testing. Because of its notable performance under late-sown conditions, Bari Gom 26 is believed to have heat tolerance. It also performs exceedingly well under zero tillage, said Shirajul Islam, director of the Wheat Research Center (WRC).

In Bangladesh, under the guidance of WRC and CIMMYT, Bari Gom 26 is under demonstration and multiplication on 44 hectares of farmers’ fields. This will result in 120 tons of improved seed that will be available for next year, according to Tiwari and Arun K. Joshi, CIMMYT wheat breeder.

This step toward mitigating the threat of Ug99 was made possible in part by a USAID seed multiplication famine fund program in which six countries are currently multiplying wheat varieties resistant to Ug99. The WRC of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), and CIMMYT-Bangladesh are working together under this program to identify suitable Ug99 resistant varieties and for seed production and delivery. Wheat scientists involved in the development of Bari Gom 26 include Naresh Chandra Deb Barma, Moznur Rahman, Paritosh Kumar Malaker, Dinabandhu Pandit, and Abdul Hakim. Enamul Haque from CIMMYTBangladesh was involved in promotional activities for the variety.

Improved Maize for African Soils: better harvests and livelihoods

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On 17 February 2010 CIMMYT launched a new public- private collaborative project for improved food security in Africa. The initiative, known as Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS), will spearhead the creation and sharing of new maize varieties that use fertilizer more efficiently and help smallholder farmers get higher yields, even where soils are poor and little commercial fertilizer is used. For this project, CIMMYT is partnering with the DuPont Business, Pioneer Hi-Bred; the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI); and the South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC). IMAS is funded with USD 19.5 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The launch, which followed two days of IMAS stakeholder meetings, was held at the Serena Hotel in Kenya and attended by Nairobi media. The distinguished panel of speakers was headlined by KARI Director Ephraim Mukisira, and included Shadrack Moephuli, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mohammed Jeenah, Executive Director for Research and Development, ARC; Lloyd Le Page, Senior Manager, Technology Acceptance and Sustainable Development, Pioneer Hi-Bred; and Marianne BĂ€nziger and Wilfred Mwangi from CIMMYT. “Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Kenya must optimize the use of its soils for agriculture to increase food security, and do this while facing climate change, escalating input costs, and a deteriorating natural   resource base,” Mukisira said, as he officially announced the project to the world. “The IMAS project will apply scientific innovations to provide long-term solutions for African farmers, developing maize varieties suited to Kenya’s diverse farming ecologies.”

The stakeholder meetings brought together some 50 participants from the previously-mentioned organizations. In addition to the high-quality technical and planning discussions, the impressive enthusiasm and project “buy-in” evident among partners pleased project leader Gary Atlin, associate director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program. “We will succeed, and we will have impact,” Atlin said, in a wrap-up session after the first day. Former CIMMYT maize physiologist and “father” of the center’s research on drought and low-nitrogen tolerance in maize, Greg Edmeades, took part as a special consultant.

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Machine mastery

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Nearly 50 two-wheel tractor operators in Bangladesh examined, adjusted, and tested several planting machines during in a four-day practical training course at the Wheat Research Center (WRC), Dinajpur. The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), and CIMMYT organized the course, which ran during 12-15 October 2009 and focused not only on the operation, repair, and maintenance of farm machinery, but also on different crop establishment techniques.

Course leaders divided participants into groups of four and gave each a Sayre Smart Planter (SSP), a farming implement with built-in seed dispensers for multiple crops and a fertilizer application mechanism. The small group size allowed each person to practice converting the machine into its various modes: bed planter, strip tillage seeder, minimum tillage seeder, and zero tillage seeder. All participants then operated the machine in its numerous settings and learned seed calibration techniques for crops such as rice, wheat, jute, lentil, and chickpea. To ensure full understanding of SSP mechanics, each group dismantled the seeder, indentified its various parts, and then reassembled it.

On-hand to provide assistance were Enamul Haque, CIMMYT cropping systems agronomist; Israil Hossain of BARI; and Abdur Rahman, AKM Saiful Islam, and Bidhan Chandra Nath of BRRI. The Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development Cooperation (BMZ), and USAID Famine Fund Projects funded the course.

Matthew Reynolds talks about climate change

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The US government has temporarily satisfied its hunger for information on how to adapt agriculture to climate change. On 14 September 2009, Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT wheat physiologist, joined around 15 other agriculture experts just outside of Washington, DC, USA, to present at a conference titled: “Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: What Will It Take?”

The conference, sponsored by the US Department of State, opened with a keynote by John Holdren, science adviser to the President of the United States, and was followed by four main panel topics: Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture; Research in the Public Sector; Research in the Private Sector; and Alternative Crops, Sustainable Management, and Integrative Strategies. The goal of the event was to explore strategies and raise awareness about adaption measures that are required—or will be required in the future—to maintain sufficient global food production.

“It is reassuring to know that the US government is taking the issue of food security in the context of climate change seriously,” said Reynolds, who presented on adapting the major cereal crops (including maize and wheat) to climate change. “The State Department was not the only government program represented at the conference; the broad spectrum of speakers and government officials (including USDA and USAID) present shows that they are considering a comprehensive approach to the issue.”

A position paper based on the outcomes of the conference will be prepared for the US government. It will also be published in Science magazine.

CSISA takes off: Official program launch

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csisa1The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) was formally initiated 29 April 2009 in Delhi, India. This large project, which is jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, brings together public- and private-sector organizations and international agricultural research centers (IRRI, CIMMYT, IFPRI, and ILRI) to reduce hunger and increase food and income security for resource-poor farm families in South Asia. The launch of this project comes at a critical time for South Asia, home to 40% of the world’s poor with nearly half a billion people subsisting on less than USD 1 a day. The project’s targeted countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan are struggling to boost grain supplies in the wake of growing demand and strained natural resources. CSISA aims to increase the cereal crop yields of at least 6 million farmers in these regions by at least 0.5 t/ha. With this huge task ahead, time is precious and so many parallel planning activities and interviews for local staff positions were conducted alongside the launch to speed the project’s progress.

In addition, several planning workshops preceded the official program launch. CSISA objectives discussed included the widespread delivery and adaptation of production and post-harvest technologies to increase cereal production and raise incomes, and crop and resource management practices for sustainable cereal-based systems. The meetings were attended by many CIMMYT scientists, all of whom will play a role in the project: Hans Braun, Etienne Duveiller, Olaf Erenstein, Raj Gupta, Ravi Gopal Singh, Enam Haque, Arun Joshi, Petr Kosina, Guillermo Ortiz Ferrara, IvĂĄn Ortiz-Monasterio, Ken Sayre, Jagadish Timsina, Pat Wall, and P.K. Zaidi.

The launch meeting was followed by a three-day stakeholder workshop to establish a Certified Crop Advisor Program (CCA) in South Asia. CCA is an agricultural extension certification system developed by the American Society of Agronomy for North America. As part of CSISA’s Objective 7, the CCA program will be adapted for local needs in South Asia to create a highly-qualified professional workforce for private and public sector extension and to support continued education of program participants.