Location: Africa

CIMMYT’s work in Africa helps farmers access new maize and wheat systems-based technologies, information and markets, raising incomes and enhancing crop resilience to drought and climate change. CIMMYT sets priorities in consultation with ministries of agriculture, seed companies, farming communities and other stakeholders in the maize and wheat value chains. Our activities in Africa are wide ranging and include: breeding maize for drought tolerance and low-fertility soils, and for resistance to insect pests, foliar diseases and parasitic weeds; sustainably intensifying production in maize- and wheat-based systems; and investigating opportunities to reduce micronutrient and protein malnutrition among women and young children.

A farmers group stands for a photograph at a demonstration plot of drought-tolerant (DT) maize in the village of Lobu Koromo, in Ethiopia’s Hawassa Zuria district. (Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT)

New publications: Understanding changes in farming systems to propose adapted solutions

Written by Natasha Nagarajan on November 28, 2019. Posted in Publications.

Farming systems are moving targets. Agricultural Research and Development (R&D) must understand where they come from and where they are going to offer solutions that are adapted. This is one of the main objectives of the Trajectories and Trade-offs for Intensification of Cereal-based systems (ATTIC), project funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) and implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Farming System Ecology group at Wageningen University & Research.

A recent study led by Yodit Kebede — who obtained her PhD last year under the ATTIC project — examined the drivers of change affecting smallholder farming in southern Ethiopia, farmer’s responses to these changes, and consequences for agricultural landscapes.

As in many parts of the developing world, small farms in southern Ethiopia have become smaller. Population increase and urban expansion have been major drivers of this change. Population has been increasing over 3% annually in Ethiopia, the second most populated country in Africa. Grazing areas and forests were converted to cropland, putting stress on the availability of livestock feed and fuelwood.

Farmers responded to these changes through three broad trajectories: diversification — mixed cropping and intercropping, particularly for the smallest farms —, specialization — often in high-value but non-food crops — and consolidation — maintenance or increase of farm area. Each of these trajectories has its own specific R&D needs, although farms following a consolidation trajectory are often favored by R&D programs. The same three trajectories can be identified in many rural areas where rural transformation has not taken place yet, in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world.

The loss of grassland and forest produced a landscape more susceptible to erosion and loss of soil fertility. However, all outcomes from these landscape changes may not be negative. Another study conducted by the same authors in the same study area demonstrated that an increasingly fragmented agricultural landscape may lead to increased pest control by natural enemies.

While aiming to mitigate against negative outcomes from landscape changes — for example, land degradation — policies should be careful not to inadvertently reduce some of the positive outcomes of these changes, such as increased pest control. As concluded by the study, “a better understanding of interlinkages and tradeoffs among ecosystem services and the spatial scales at which the services are generated, used, and interact is needed in order to successfully inform future land use policies”.

Read the full study:
Drivers, farmers’ responses and landscape consequences of smallholder farming systems changes in southern Ethiopia

See more recent publications by CIMMYT researchers:

Estimation of hydrochemical unsaturated soil parameters using a multivariational objective analysis. 2019. Lemoubou, E.L., Kamdem, H.T.T., Bogning, J.R., Tonnang, H. In: Transport in Porous Media v. 127, no. 3, p. 605-630.
Analyses of African common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm using a SNP fingerprinting platform : diversity, quality control and molecular breeding. 2019. Raatz, B., Mukankusi, C., Lobaton, J.D., Male, A., Chisale, V., Amsalu, B., Fourie, D., Mukamuhirwa, F., Muimui, K., Mutari, B., Nchimbi-Msolla, S., Nkalubo, S., Tumsa, K., Chirwa, R., Maredia, M.K., He, Chunlin In: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution v.66, no. 3, p. 707-722.
Deep blade loosening increases root growth, organic carbon, aeration, drainage, lateral infiltration and productivity. 2019. Hamilton, G.J., Bakker, D., Akbar, G., Hassan, I., Hussain, Z., McHugh, A., Raine, S.R. In: Geoderma v. 345, p. 72-92.
Maize crop nutrient input requirements for food security in sub-Saharan Africa. 2019. Berge, H.F.M. ten., Hijbeek, R., Loon, M.P. van., Rurinda, J., Fantaye, K. T., Shamie Zingore, Craufurd, P., Heerwaarden, J., Brentrup, F., Schröder, J.J., Boogaard, H., Groot, H.L.E. de., Ittersum, M.K. van. In: Global Food Security v. 23 p. 9-21.
Primary hexaploid synthetics : novel sources of wheat disease resistance. 2019. Shamanin, V., Shepelev, S.S., Pozherukova, V.E., Gultyaeva, E.I., Kolomiets, T., Pakholkova, E.V., Morgounov, A.I. In: Crop Protection v. 121, p. 7-10.
Understanding the factors influencing fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) damage in African smallholder maize fields and quantifying its impact on yield. A case study in Eastern Zimbabwe. 2019. Baudron, F., Zaman-Allah, M., Chaipa, I., Chari, N., Chinwada, P. In: Crop Protection v. 120 p. 141-150.
Predicting dark respiration rates of wheat leaves from hyperspectral reflectance. 2019. Coast, O., Shahen Shah, Ivakov, A., Oorbessy Gaju, Wilson, P.B., Posch, B.C., Bryant, C.J., Negrini, A.C.A., Evans, J.R., Condon, A.G., Silva‐Pérez, V., Reynolds, M.P. Pogson, B.J., Millar A.H., Furbank, R.T., Atkin, O.K. In: Plant, Cell and Environment v. 42, no. 7, p. 2133-2150.
Morphological and physiological responses of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. to different pruning dates. 2019. Ortega-Vargas, E., Burgueño, J., Avila-Resendiz, C., Campbell, W.B., Jarillo-Rodriguez, J., Lopez-Ortiz, S. In: Agroforestry Systems v. 93 no. 2 p. 461-470.
Stripe rust resistance in wild wheat Aegilops tauschii Coss.: genetic structure and inheritance in synthetic allohexaploid Triticum wheat lines. 2019. Kishii, M., Huerta-Espino, J., Hisashi Tsujimoto, Yoshihiro Matsuoka. In: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution v. 66, no. 4, p. 909-920.
Comparative assessment of food-fodder traits in a wide range of wheat germplasm for diverse biophysical target domains in South Asia. 2019. Blummel, M., Updahyay, S.R., Gautam, N.R., Barma, N.C.D., Abdul Hakim, M., Hussain, M., Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, Chatrath, R., Sohu, V.S., Gurvinder Singh Mavi, Vinod Kumar Mishra, Kalappanavar, I.K., Vaishali Rudra Naik, Suma S. Biradar., Prasad, S.V.S., Singh, R.P., Joshi, A.K. In: Field Crops Research v. 236, p. 68-74.
Comment on ‘De Roo et. al. (2019). On-farm trials for development impact? The organization of research and the scaling of agricultural technologies. 2019. Wall, P.C., Thierfelder, C., Nyagumbo, I., Rusinamhodzi, L., Mupangwa, W. In: Experimental Agriculture v. 55 no. 2 p. 185-194.
High-throughput phenotyping enabled genetic dissection of crop lodging in wheat. 2019. Singh, D., Xu Wang, Kumar, U., Liangliang Gao, Muhammad Noor, Imtiaz, M., Singh, R.P., Poland, J.A. In: Frontiers in Plant Science v. 10 art. 394.
Differential response from nitrogen sources with and without residue management under conservation agriculture on crop yields, water-use and economics in maize-based rotations. 2019. Jat, S.L., Parihar, C.M., Singh, A.K., Hari S. Nayak, Meena, B.R., Kumar, B., Parihar M.D., Jat, M.L. In: Field Crops Research v. 236, p. 96-110.
Drip irrigation and nitrogen management for improving crop yields, nitrogen use efficiency and water productivity of maize-wheat system on permanent beds in north-west India. 2019. Sandhu, O.S., Gupta, R.K., Thind, H.S., Jat, M.L., Sidhu, H.S., Singh, Y. In: Agricultural Water Management v. 219 p. 19-26.
Impact of tillage and crop establishment methods on crop yields, profitability and soil physical properties in rice–wheat system of Indo‐gangetic plains of India. Kumar, V., Gathala, M.K., Saharawat, Y.S., Parihar, C.M., Rajeev Kumar, Kumar, R., Jat, M.L., Jat, A.S., Mahala, D.M., Kumar, L., Hari S. Nayak, Parihar M.D., Vikas Rai, Jewlia, H.R., Bhola R. Kuri In: Soil Use and Management v. 35, no. 2, p. 303-313.
Increasing profitability, yields and yield stability through sustainable crop establishment practices in the rice-wheat systems of Nepal. 2019. Devkota, M., Devkota, K.P., Acharya, S., McDonald, A. In: Agricultural Systems v. 173, p. 414-423.
Identification of donors for low-nitrogen stress with maize lethal necrosis (MLN) tolerance for maize breeding in sub-Saharan Africa. 2019. Das, B., Atlin, G.N., Olsen, M., Burgueño, J., Amsal Tesfaye Tarekegne, Babu, R., Ndou, E., Mashingaidze, K., Lieketso Moremoholo |Ligeyo, D., Matemba-Mutasa, R., Zaman-Allah, M., San Vicente, F.M., Prasanna, B.M., Cairns, J.E. In: Euphytica v. 215, no. 4, art. 80.
On-farm trials as ‘infection points’? A response to Wall et al. 2019. Andersson, J.A., Krupnik, T.J., De Roo, N. In: Experimental Agriculture v. 55, no. 2 p. 195-199.
Doing development-oriented agronomy: Rethinking methods, concepts and direction. 2019. Andersson, J.A., Giller, K.Ehttps://repository.cimmyt.org/handle/10883/20154. In: Experimental Agriculture v. 55, no. 2, p. 157-162.
Scale-appropriate mechanization impacts on productivity among smallholders : Evidence from rice systems in the mid-hills of Nepal. 2019. Paudel, G.P., Dilli Bahadur KC, Rahut, D.B., Justice, S., McDonald, A. In: Land Use Policy v. 85, p. 104-113.

Enumerator Mary Mdache (left) interviews Shangwe Stephano, staff of BAYDA agrovet shop in Haydom town, Mbulu district, Tanzania. (Photo: Furaha Joseph)

Do smallholders get the right seed and inputs from their agrodealer?

Written by Jérôme Bossuet on November 28, 2019. Posted in News. 1 Comment on Do smallholders get the right seed and inputs from their agrodealer?

Judith Thomson, agrodealer in Mbalizi, Mbeya district, Tanzania. (Photo: Owekisha Kwigizile)

Many Tanzanian smallholder farmers fail to produce even 1 ton of maize grain per hectare. To improve crop yields, a farmer needs the right seeds and complementary inputs, including inorganic fertilizer. The “right” inputs will depend upon what his or her geographical location and farming system are. How many farmers have access to such inputs and advice? What is the distribution of agrodealers in rural areas? What do they stock, and at what prices?

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) recently carried out a survey of agrodealers in Uganda and Tanzania to answer such questions related to the last-mile delivery of seeds and other agronomic inputs.

This is a joint initiative from two projects — Taking Maize Agronomy to Scale in Africa (TAMASA) and Strengthening product profile-based maize breeding and varietal turnover in Eastern and Southern Africa — funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID.

For the study, CIMMYT teams interviewed 233 agrodealers in Uganda and 299 agrodealers in Tanzania. The survey started in September 2019, just before the main maize planting season, and covered five districts in each country, in both easy-to-reach and remote areas.

The study focuses particularly on two types of agricultural inputs: maize seeds — similar to an earlier survey done this year in Kenya — and fertilizer.

Are agrodealers catalyzers of varietal turnover?

For maize seed, researchers looked at which varieties are available at the agrodealer and how do they decide on what to stock.

Agrodealers were also asked to report the key selling attribute of the different varieties they had in store whether it was yield, drought tolerance, maturity level or another marketing characteristic like pricing or packaging. Such information will give some better insights for CIMMYT’s maize breeding team about perceived differences along the seed value chain on key attributes and product profiles.

For example, a new variety in Uganda that was tolerant to maize lethal necrosis (MLN), was mainly promoted as a double cobber and not as MLN tolerant. And unlike in Uganda, there was no “cheap variety” option available in Tanzania, according to the agrodealers interviewed for the study, although high seed prices were often mentioned as the main barrier for seed purchases.

Better understanding how retailers select their varieties could help improve varietal turnover, a key indicator of how fast CIMMYT’s research reaches out farmers.

Besides their own role, it is also interesting to see how agrodealers perceive external challenges to influence farmer adoption of improved varieties. In Uganda, agrodealers saw counterfeit seed and government free seed distributions to farmers as the main challenges for their business, issues that were not frequently mentioned in Tanzania.

Understanding input market characteristics

The use of fertilizer is very low in sub-Saharan Africa, around 8-12 kg per hectare, twenty times less than Western standards. Fertilizer access and affordability have been cited as key factors in the low rates of uptake.

The study may shed some new light on this, as it looks at what types of fertilizer is available to farmers at agrodealer shops, and what drives sale and prices. Researchers will examine whether there is a competition effect and how transport costs or subsidies impede the growth of the fertilizer market.

Georeferencing of interviewed agrodealers and farmer population mapping will help reveal the degree to which agrodealers are concentrated in particular areas, leaving other areas with relatively little local access to inputs. Project researchers will investigate how marketing conditions vary across such situation, examining, for instance, how input pricing strategies, selection and quality varies spatially. The team will also use data collected on fertilizer prices to further refine regional fertilizer profitability maps.

Such mapping exercises could help improve the relevance of extension advice. As an example, to tackle acid soils or phosphorus deficiency, could farmers find the recommended input, lime or appropriate P fertilizer at the right time and right price, so that it is profitable for them?

The detailed results of the study are expected in early 2020 to guide agronomic investments and policies for more functional input markets that drive a much-needed sustainable intensification of African smallholder agriculture.

Preventing post-harvest losses key to food security

Written by Mary Donovan on November 26, 2019. Posted in In the media.

According to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, one of the key constraints to improving food and nutritional security in Africa is the poor post-harvest management that leads to between 14 percent and 36 percent loss of maize grain, thereby aggravating hunger.

Zimbabwe: Farmer Combats ‘Hidden Hunger’. . . Grows Biofortified Crops

Written by Mary Donovan on November 26, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Since 2015, Harvest Plus, through the Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP), has collaborated with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS), and more than 30 national and international partners, in breeding biofortified crop varieties of vitamin A orange maize.

Investing in drought-tolerant maize is good for Africa

Written by Jérôme Bossuet on November 26, 2019. Posted in News. 1 Comment on Investing in drought-tolerant maize is good for Africa

Geoffrey Ochieng’, a smallholder farmer from northern Uganda. He plants the UH5051 variety on his land. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Zambia’s vice-president has recently called to reduce maize dominance and increase crop and diet diversification in his country. The reality is that maize is and will remain a very important food crop for many eastern and southern African countries. Diet preferences and population growth mean that it is imperative to find solutions to increase maize production in these countries, but experts forecast 10 to 30% reduction in maize yields by 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario, with projected temperature increases of up to 2.7 degrees by 2050 and important drought risks.

Knowing the importance of maize for the food security of countries like Zambia, it is crucial to help maize farmers get better and more stable yields under erratic and challenging climate conditions.

To address this, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and its partners have been developing hundreds of new maize varieties with good drought tolerance across sub-Saharan Africa. Stakeholders in the public research and African seed sectors have collaborated through the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project and the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative to develop drought-tolerant seed that also incorporates other qualities, such as nutritional value and disease resistance.

A groundbreaking impact study six years ago demonstrated that drought-tolerant maize significantly reduced poverty and food insecurity, particularly in drought years.

A new study from CIMMYT and the Center for Development Research (ZEF) in the main maize growing areas of Zambia confirms that adopting drought-tolerant maize can increase yields by 38% and reduce the risks of crop failure by 36%.

Over three quarters of the rainfed farmers in the study experienced drought during the survey. These farming families of 6 or 7 people were cultivating 4 hectares of farmland on average, half planted with maize.

Another study on drought-tolerant maize adoption in Uganda estimated also good yield increases and lower crop failure risks by 26 to 35%.

A balancing act between potential gains and climate risks

Drought-tolerant maize has a transformational effect. With maize farming becoming less risky, farmers are willing to invest more in fertilizer and other inputs and plant more maize.

However, taking the decision of adopting new farm technologies in a climate risky environment could be a daunting task. Farmers may potentially gain a lot but, at the same time, they must consider downside risks.

As Gertrude Banda, a lead farmer in eastern Zambia, put it, hybrid seeds have a cost and when you do not know whether rains will be enough “this is a gamble.” In addition to climate uncertainty, farmers worry about many other woes, like putting money aside for urgent healthcare, school fees, or cooking nutritious meals for the family.

Information is power

An additional hurdle to adoption is that farmers may not know all the options available to cope with climate risks. While 77% of Zambia households interviewed said they experienced drought in 2015, only 44% knew about drought-tolerant maize.

This inequal access to knowledge and better seeds, observed also in Uganda, slows adoption of drought-tolerant maize. There, 14% of farmers have adopted drought-tolerant maize varieties. If all farmers were aware of this technology, 8% more farmers would have adopted it.

Because farmers are used to paying for cheap open-pollinated varieties, they are only willing to pay half of the hybrid market price, even though new hybrids are performing very well. Awareness campaigns on the benefits of drought-tolerant maize could boost adoption among farmers.

According to the same study, the potential for scaling drought-tolerant maize could raise up to 47% if drought-tolerant varieties were made available at affordable prices at all agrodealers. Several approaches could be tested to increase access, such as input credit or subsidy schemes.

Read the full articles:
Impacts of drought-tolerant maize varieties on productivity, risk, and resource use: Evidence from Uganda

Productivity and production risk effects of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties in Zambia

Heterogeneous seed access and information exposure: implications for the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties in Uganda

These impact studies were made possible through the support provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), funders of the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative.

L.M. Suresh (center-right), Maize Pathologist at CIMMYT and Head of the MLN Screening Facility, facilitates a training on MLN with national partners. (Photo: CIMMYT)

How a disease without borders was contained

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 25, 2019. Posted in Features.

It’s been eight years since maize lethal necrosis (MLN) was first reported on the African continent. When it appeared in Kenya’s Bomet County in 2011, a sense of panic swept across the maize sector. Experts quickly realized that all maize varieties on the market were susceptible to this viral disease, which could wipe out entire maize fields.

Spearheaded by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a rapid regional response involving national agriculture research systems (NARS), national plant protection organizations and seed sector partners was set up. The response involved multiple approaches: rigorous surveillance, epidemiology research, disease management across the seed value chain, and screening and fast-tracking of the MLN-tolerant maize breeding program.

Now, CIMMYT and its partners are reflecting on the tremendous impact of transboundary coalition to contain the devastating disease.

“Country reports show there are now much less incidents of MLN in the region. We have effectively contained this disease as no new country in sub-Saharan Africa reported MLN since Ethiopia in 2014. This is a great achievement of an effective public private partnership,” noted B.M. Prasanna, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize.

He was speaking at the closure workshop for the MLN Diagnostics and Management project and the MLN Epidemiology project on October 15-17, 2019, in Nairobi, Kenya. Experts from research, plant health and seed sector organizations from eastern and southern Africa reflected on the tremendous impact of the transboundary coalition to contain MLN across the region.

“The outbreak of the disease in Uganda in 2012 was a huge challenge as all the maize varieties and hybrids on the market were susceptible. With the support of CIMMYT and other partners in the national agriculture research systems, we got access to Bazooka, a high-yielding, drought- and MLN-tolerant maize variety that has helped in containing the disease,” said Godfrey Katwere, marketing manager for NASECO.

Until now, 19 MLN-tolerant and -resistant hybrids have been released, helping to keep the disease away from farmers’ fields and to stop its spillover to non-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

CIMMYT team members check for traces of the maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) in maize plants during a visit to the MLN screening facility in Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Science in action

The MLN screening facility, established in Naivasha in 2013, has been key to a better understanding of the disease and to setting up MLN hybrid tolerance and resistance breeding efforts. The facility, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, has supported public and private partners to screen over 200,000 germplasm with around 300,000 rows of maize.

State-of-the-art epidemiology research has been carried out to identify how the disease could be transmitted and the best diagnostics methods along the seed value chain.

MLN is caused by the combination of the maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and any of the viruses belonging to the Potyviridae family.

As part of the project, studies showed that moist soil had higher MCMV virus loads than dry soil. The studies — conducted by Benham Lockhart of University of Minnesota and Peg Redinbaugh, a professor at Ohio State University and Research Leader and Research Plant Molecular Geneticist at USDA — indicated that MCMV can stay active in runoff water, and helped in understanding how the disease is transmitted and how to define management protocols.

“Crop debris may also act as source of MCMV inoculum but for a limited period of up to two months,” said L.M. Suresh, CIMMYT Maize Pathologist, in reference to soil transmission studies conducted by CIMMYT. “A host-free period of two months is, therefore, recommended for effective management of MLN,” he noted.

Rapid and low-cost MLN-causing virus detection methods such as immunostrips and ELISA-based tests were adopted at scale.

“After optimizing the protocols for MLN viruses’ diagnosis suitable for African systems, we transferred these technologies to [national plant protection organizations] and seed companies, not just within the endemic countries but also to the non-endemic countries in southern and west Africa, through intensive trainings,” Prasanna explained. “We created a digital MLN surveillance tool under the Open Data Kit (ODK) app for NPPOs and other stakeholders to effectively carry out MLN surveillance on the ground. The survey information is captured in real time in farmers’ and seed production fields coupled with rapid immunostrips MLN tests,” he remarked.

According to Francis Mwatuni, Project Manager of the MLN Diagnostics and Management project, this proactive and collaborative surveillance network has been an important outcome that helped curb MLN from spreading to non-endemic regions. “In 2016, we only had 625 surveillance points. By 2019, the surveillance points in all the target countries stood at 2,442, which intensified the alertness on MLN presence and how to effectively deal with it,” Mwatuni said. In total, 7,800 surveillance points were covered during the project implementation period.

Over 100 commercial seed firms have also been trained on how to produce MLN-free seed to facilitate trade within the endemic nations and to ensure the disease is not transferred to the non-endemic countries via contaminated seeds.

Participants at the MLN projects closure workshop stand for a group photo. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Sustaining the fight

Researchers continue to work to lessen MLN’s resurgence or new outbreaks. In 2018, incidents in all endemic countries, except Ethiopia, declined sharply. One suggested explanation for the upsurge in Ethiopia, especially in the northwestern region, was reduced use of pesticide for fall armyworm control, as compared to previous years where heavy application of these pesticides also wiped out MLN insect vectors, such as maize thrips and aphids.

At the end of the projects, partners urged for the scale-up of second-generation MLN-tolerant and -resistant varieties. They explained farmers would fully benefit from recent genetic gains of the new improved varieties and its protection against MLN.

“Despite the success registered, MLN is still a major disease requiring constant attention. We cannot rest as we redirect our energies at sustaining and building on the gains made,” said Beatrice Pallangyo, principal agricultural officer in Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives.

After the success containing MLN, stakeholders suggested the need to stay alert on other transboundary pests and diseases such as the tar spot complex, which could be a major threat to Africa’s food security in case of an outbreak.

Breaking Ground: Pieter Rutsaert looks to better marketing for faster adoption of climate-smart maize in Africa

Written by Matthew O'Leary on November 22, 2019. Posted in Features.

Ever wondered why farmers prefer a certain maize variety over another? What crop traits different farmers value? How they make their seed selections at the market? Pieter Rutsaert, an expert in markets and value chains with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), analyzes the important factors that African farmers consider when purchasing maize varieties at agro-dealers and the implications for how the seed industry can better meet farmers’ needs.

Maize is the most important cereal crop in Africa, grown on over 29 million hectares of rainfed farmland and consumed daily by around 50% of the population. However, increasingly erratic weather patterns threaten the performance the maize varieties grown, putting household food security at risk.

“African smallholders typically plant maize seeds they are familiar with, but these varieties often lack the attributes to tolerate harsher weather including droughts, extreme heat or disease stress,” Rutsaert explains.

“Despite the existence of maize varieties bred to stand up to harsher weather, their intrinsic attributes alone are not enough to convince farmers to leave their preferred varieties. These stress-tolerant varieties need to be properly marketed to be competitive and increase their market share.”

With previous experience as a marketing consultant in the food industry, Rutsaert brings unique skills and approaches to CIMMYT’s Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project, to help businesses develop new seed distribution and marketing strategies to get climate-resilient varieties into farmers’ fields.

Pieter Rutsaert (right) discusses a research study questionnaire with consultant enumerator Victor Kitoto. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)

Market intelligence on climate-smart seed

Rutsaert sees local agro-dealers as a strategic entry point for researchers to gather information on the varying farmer interests and conditions as information about seed demand is revealed at the point of purchase.

Despite large investments to support seed systems in sub-Saharan Africa, including investments to upgrade agro-dealer capacity, there is limited evidence into how women and men take decisions on maize seed purchases to support development initiatives.

“The agro-dealer space is where farmers decide what inputs to buy. In addition to providing farmers access to inputs at competitive prices, front-line agro-dealers offer technical assistance, such as advice on input use and production practices, and short-term credit for input purchases.”

Thus, agro-dealers offer the chance to learn about farmers’ unique conditions and ensure they adopt the right variety. Gathering these insights has the potential to support locally owned small and medium enterprises that produce stress-tolerant varieties, suited for local conditions, says the marketing expert.

An agent from a seed company (right) promotes sales at an agro-dealer shop. (Photo: Pieter Rutsaert/CIMMYT)

Marketing strategies for agro-dealers

Compared to multinational seed companies, local seed businesses are expected to show greater willingness to seek out traditionally underserved segments of the seed market, such as poorer farmers or those located in less-favored production regions. However, local seed producers and retailers generally lack marketing capabilities and have a limited understanding of the costs and benefits of different approaches to market their seed, Rutsaert says.

“Without effective marketing strategies responding to the needs of different clients, farmers will stick to the seeds that they know, even when this might not be the best for their situation,” he continues.

Based on the market information gathered, Rutsaert works with agro-dealers to develop retail strategies, such as targeted marketing materials, provision of in-store seed decision support, and price incentives, to help women and men farmers get the inputs that work best.

Rutsaert says he is committed to use his private sector experience to improve CIMMYT’s understanding of the seed sector and build the capacity of local agro-dealers to distribute climate-resilient maize varieties throughout the African region.

The Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project seeks to develop maize cultivars with tolerance and resistance to multiple stresses for farmers, and support local seed companies to produce seed of these cultivars on a large scale. STMA aims to develop a new generation of over 70 improved stress tolerant maize varieties, and facilitate the production and use of over 54,000 metric tons of certified seed. The STMA project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID.

Walter Mupangwa

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 20, 2019. Posted in Uncategorized.

Walter Mupangwa is a farming systems agronomist with PhD in Soil Science and Agrometeorology from University of the Free State, South Africa.

At CIMMYT, he is involved in testing and integrating different climate smart practices for crop and livestock production into smallholder farming systems, as well as modelling the impact of weather elements and climate-smart agricultural practices on crop production in smallholder farming systems. He also works on testing and promoting appropriate small-scale mechanization for crop establishment, harvesting and post-harvest processing in smallholder systems.

As part of the SIMLESA project team, he backstops national partners in the implementation of agronomic trials in Ethiopia, co-designing agronomic trials, collecting and analyzing data, and producing synthesis products including scientific publications and extension materials.

A wheat field in Ethiopia. (Photo: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI)

CIMMYT is ready to support Ethiopia’s move toward — and beyond — wheat self-sufficiency

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 19, 2019. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on CIMMYT is ready to support Ethiopia’s move toward — and beyond — wheat self-sufficiency

Ethiopia has huge potential and a suitable agroecology for growing wheat. However, its agriculture sector, dominated by a traditional farming system, is unable to meet the rising demand for wheat from increasing population and urbanization. Wheat consumption in Ethiopia has grown to 6.7 million tons per year, but the country only produces about 5 million tons per year on 1.7 million hectares. As a result, the country pays a huge import bill reaching up to $700 million per year to match supply with demand.

A new initiative is aiming to change this scenario, making Ethiopia wheat self-sufficient by opening new regions to wheat production.

“We have always been traditionally a wheat growing country, but focusing only in the highlands with heavy dependence on rain. Now that is changing and the government of Ethiopia has set a new direction for import substitution by growing wheat in the lowlands through an irrigated production system,” explained Mandefro Nigussie, director general of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). Nigussie explained that several areas are being considered for this initiative: Awash, in the Oromia and Afar regions; Wabeshebelle, in the Somali Region; and Omo, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR).

A delegation from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) recently met Ethiopian researchers and policymakers to discuss CIMMYT’s role in this effort. Ethiopia’s new Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Oumer Hussien, attended the meeting.

“We understand that the government of Ethiopia has set an ambitious project but is serious about it, so CIMMYT is ready to support you,” said Hans Braun, director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT.

Hans Braun (center), director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, speaks at the meeting. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

Strong collaboration

CIMMYT and the Ethiopian government have identified priority areas that will support the new government initiative. These include testing a large number of advanced lines to identify the right variety for the lowlands; developing disease resistant varieties and multiplying good quality and large quantity early generation initial seed; refining appropriate agronomic practices that improve crop, land and water productivity; organizing exposure visits for farmers and entrepreneurs; implementing training of trainers and researchers; and technical backstopping.

CIMMYT has been providing technical support and resources for wheat and maize production in Ethiopia for decades. As part of this support, CIMMYT has developed lines that are resistant to diseases like stem and yellow rust, stress tolerant and suitable for different wheat agroecologies.

“This year, for example, CIMMYT has developed three lines which are suitable for the lowlands and proposed to be released,” said Bekele Abeyo, wheat breeder and CIMMYT Country Representative for Ethiopia. “In India, the green revolution wouldn’t have happened without the support of CIMMYT and we would also like to see that happen in Ethiopia.”

“With our experience, knowledge and acquired skills, there is much to offer from the CIMMYT side,” Abeyo expressed. He noted that mechanization is one of the areas in which CIMMYT excels. Through a business service providers model, CIMMYT and its partners tested the multipurpose two-wheel tractors in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and the southern regions. Good evidence for impact was generated particularly in Oromia and the south, where service providers generated income and ensured food security.

“Import versus export depends on a comparative advantage and for Ethiopia it is a total disadvantage to import wheat while having the potential [to grow more],” said Hussien. “The Ministry of Agriculture is thus figuring out what it can do together with partners like CIMMYT on comparative advantages.”

Hussien explained that the private sector has always been on the sidelines when it comes to agriculture. With the new initiative, however, it will be involved, particularly in the lowlands where there is abundant land for development under irrigation and available water resources, with enormous investment potential for the private sector. This, he noted, is a huge shift for the agricultural sector, which was mainly taken care of by the government and smallholder farmers, with support from development partners.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture, Oumer Hussien, speaks about the new initiative. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

Thinking beyond the local market

As it stands now, Ethiopia is the third largest wheat producing country in Africa and has great market potential for the region. With more production anticipated under the new initiative, Ethiopia plans to expand its market to the world.

“We want our partners to understand that our thinking and plan is not only to support the country but also to contribute to the global effort of food security,” Hussien explained. However, “with the current farming system this is totally impossible,” he added. Mechanization is one of the key drivers to increase labor, land and crop productivity by saving time and ensuring quality. The government is putting forward some incentives for easy import of machinery. “However, it requires support in terms of technical expertise and knowledge transfer,” Hussien concluded.

Cover photo: A wheat field in Ethiopia. (Photo: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI)

Kenya: Maize contamination

Written by Mary Donovan on November 19, 2019. Posted in In the media.

B.M. Prasanna, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize, is interviewed by France 24 on the aflatoxin crisis in Kenya. Watch here.

Ethiopia: Launching Digital Agro-Climate Advisory Platform in Ethiopia

Written by Mary Donovan on November 16, 2019. Posted in In the media.

In the midst of Ethiopia’s exponential population climb and the strikes of the climate emergency with erratic rains, dry spells, sharp floods and failed crops, the country launched a digital agro-climate advisory platform, called EDACaP, to put resilience at the center of agricultural livelihoods.

A team effort led by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the National Meteorological Agency (NMA), alongside numerous research centers and programs: the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), with support from the Agricultural Growth Program (AGP), the EDACaP has come to life.

Launching digital agro-climate advisory platform in Ethiopia

Written by Mary Donovan on November 16, 2019. Posted in In the media.

In this era of climate emergency, what is left when traditional knowledge is no longer enough?

Dorine Akoth, a smallholder demo plot farmer in Gulu, northern Uganda, shows a maize plant on her plot on which she has planted several varieties that have passed through CIMMYT’s breeding pipeline. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Seeds of hope

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 15, 2019. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Seeds of hope

Seed of drought-tolerant maize developed through long-running global and local partnerships in Africa is improving nutrition and food security in northern Uganda, a region beset by conflicts and unpredictable rainfall.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been working with Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) and local seed companies to develop and disseminate maize seed of improved stress-tolerant varieties. Under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects, farmers are now using varieties such as the UH5051 hybrid, known locally as Gagawala, meaning “get rich.”

For two decades, most of the population in northern Uganda has lived in internally displaced people’s camps and depended on food aid and other relief emergencies for their livelihoods due to the insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Gulu, one of the affected districts, has been on a path to recovery for the past few years. With the prevailing peace, Geoffrey Ochieng’ and his wife can now safely till their 4.5 acres of land to grow maize and other staples. They are able to feed their family and sell produce to meet other household needs.

However, farmers in this region, bordering South Sudan, are facing more erratic rains and the uncertain onset of rainfall. Thanks to new drought-tolerant and disease-resistant maize varieties, the Ochieng’ family can adapt to this variable climate and secure a good maize harvest even in unreliable seasons.

Tolerance is key

“The popularity of this drought-tolerant variety among the farmers has been growing thanks to its good yield and reliability even with poor rains and its resistance to common foliar diseases like northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot, plus good resistance to the maize streak virus,” explained Daniel Bomet, a NARO maize breeder. “Maturing in slightly over four months, Gagawala can produce two to three maize cobs, which appeals to farmers.”

Ochieng’ has been planting UH5051 maize since 2015. Before adopting the new hybrid, Ochieng’ was growing Longe 5, a popular open-pollinated variety that is less productive and not very disease-resistant.

“What I like about UH5051 is that even with low moisture stress, it will grow and I will harvest something,” Ochieng’ said. Under optimal conditions, he harvests about 1.2 metric tons of maize grain on one acre of UH5051 hybrid.

With the old Longe 5 variety, he would only harvest 700 kg. “If the rains were delayed or it didn’t rain a lot, I would be lucky to get 400 kg per acre with the Longe 5, while I get twice as much with the hybrid,” Ochieng’ explained.

Thanks to this tolerant maize variety, he can pay his children’s school fees and provide some surplus grain to his relatives.

A worker at the Equator Seeds production plant in Gulu displays packs of UH5051 maize seed. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Out with the old, in with the new

“One key strategy to improve our farmers’ livelihoods in northern Uganda is to gradually replace old varieties with new varieties that can better cope with the changing climate and problematic pests and diseases,” said Godfrey Asea, the director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) at NARO. “Longe 5 for instance, has been marketed for over 14 years. It has done its part and it needs to give way to new improved varieties like UH5051.”

The Gulu-based company Equator Seeds has been at the core of the agricultural transformation in northern Uganda. From 70 metrics tons of seed produced when it started operations in 2012, the company reached an annual capacity of about 7,000 to 10,000 metric tons of certified seed of different crops in 2018. Working with dedicated out-growers such as Anthony Okello, who has a 40-acre piece of land, and 51 farmer cooperatives comprising smallholder farmers, Equator Seeds produces seed of open-pollinated hybrid maize and other crops, which reaches farmers through a network of 380 agro-dealers.

“80% of farmers in northern Uganda still use farm-saved or recycled seed, which we consider to be our biggest competitor,” Tonny Okello, CEO of Equator Seeds remarked. “Currently, about 60% of our sales are in maize seed. This share should increase to 70% by 2021. We plan to recruit more agro-dealers, establish more demonstration farms, mostly for the hybrids, to encourage more farmers to adopt our high yielding resilient varieties.”

The two-decade unrest discouraged seed companies from venturing into northern Uganda but now they see its huge potential. “We have received tremendous support from the government, non-governmental organizations, UN and humanitarian agencies for buying seed from us and distributing it to farmers in northern Uganda and South Sudan, to aid their recovery,” Okello said.

Godfrey Asea (right), director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) maize breeder, Daniel Bomet, visit an improved maize plot at NARO’s Kigumba Station, in central Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Social impact

The Ugandan seed sector is dynamic thanks to efficient public-private partnerships. While NARO develops and tests new parental lines and hybrids in their research facilities, they have now ventured into seed production and processing at their 2,000-acre Kigumba Farm in western Uganda through NARO Holdings, their commercial arm.

“Because the demand for improved seed is not always met, NARO Holdings started producing certified seed, but the major focus is on production of early generation seed, which is often a bottleneck for the seed sector,” Asea said.

Aniku Bernard, Farm Manager, examines a maize cob at the foundation seed farm located inside the Lugore Prison premises. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Another innovative collaboration has been to work with the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) establishments to produce maize seed. “When we started this collaboration with UPS, we knew they had some comparative advantages such as vast farmland, ready labor, mechanization equipment and good isolation, which are important for high-quality hybrid maize seed production,” Asea explained. The UPS facility in Lugore, Gulu, which has 978 hectares of land, produces foundation seed of UH5051.

“Prisons offer a big potential to support the growing seed industry,” he said. “Together with CIMMYT, we should build further the capacity of UPS to produce foundation and certified seeds. It provides much-needed income for the institutions. The inmates, in addition to being remunerated for farm labor, are engaged in positive outdoor impactful activities. This skill is helpful for their future reintegration in the society.”

From left to right: Winnie Nanteza, National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCCRI) communications officer; Daniel Bomet, NARO maize breeder; Byakatonda Tanazio, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Lugore Prison, Gulu; Aniku Bernard, Farm Manager at Lugore Prison; and Godfrey Asea, director of NaCRRI, stand for a group photo at the foundation seed production farm inside Lugore Prison. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Resilient agriculture: Several agreements concluded

Written by Mary Donovan on November 5, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Several climate change agreements were signed in Benguérir, Morocco, promoting climate resilient agriculture. Read more here.

Scientists develop an early warning system that delivers wheat rust predictions directly to farmers’ phones

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 4, 2019. Posted in Press releases.

One of the researchers behind the study, Yoseph Alemayehu, carries out a field survey in Ethiopia by mobile phone. (Photo Dave Hodson/CIMMYT)

TEXCOCO, Mexico — Using field and mobile phone surveillance data together with forecasts for spore dispersal and environmental suitability for disease, an international team of scientists has developed an early warning system which can predict wheat rust diseases in Ethiopia. The cross-disciplinary project draws on expertise from biology, meteorology, agronomy, computer science and telecommunications.

Reported this week in Environmental Research Letters, the new early warning system, the first of its kind to be implemented in a developing country, will allow policy makers and farmers all over Ethiopia to gauge the current situation and forecast wheat rust up to a week in advance.

The system was developed by the University of Cambridge, the UK Met Office, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). It works by taking near real-time information from wheat rust surveys carried out by EIAR, regional research centers and CIMMYT using a smartphone app called Open Data Kit (ODK).

This is complemented by crowd-sourced information from the ATA-managed Farmers’ Hotline. The University of Cambridge and the UK Met Office then provide automated 7-day advance forecast models for wheat rust spore dispersal and environmental suitability based on disease presence.

All of this information is fed into an early warning unit that receives updates automatically on a daily basis. An advisory report is sent out every week to development agents and national authorities. The information also gets passed on to researchers and farmers.

Example of weekly stripe rust spore deposition based on dispersal forecasts. Darker colors represent higher predicted number of spores deposited. (Graphic: University of Cambridge/UK Met Office)

Timely alerts

“If there’s a high risk of wheat rust developing, farmers will get a targeted SMS text alert from the Farmers’ Hotline. This gives the farmer about three weeks to take action,” explained Dave Hodson, principal scientist with CIMMYT and co-author of the research study. The Farmers’ Hotline now has over four million registered farmers and extension agents, enabling rapid information dissemination throughout Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa but the country still spends in excess of $600 million annually on wheat imports. More can be grown at home and the Ethiopian government has targeted to achieve wheat self-sufficiency by 2023.

“Rust diseases are a grave threat to wheat production in Ethiopia. The timely information from this new system will help us protect farmers’ yields, and reach our goal of wheat self-sufficiency,” said EIAR Director Mandefro Nigussie.

Wheat rusts are fungal diseases that can be dispersed by wind over long distances, quickly causing devastating epidemics which can dramatically reduce wheat yields. Just one outbreak in 2010 affected 30% of Ethiopia’s wheat growing area and reduced production by 15-20%.

The pathogens that cause rust diseases are continually evolving and changing over time, making them difficult to control. “New strains of wheat rust are appearing all the time — a bit like the flu virus,” explained Hodson.

In the absence of resistant varieties, one solution to wheat rust is to apply fungicide, but the Ethiopian government has limited supplies. The early warning system will help to prioritize areas at highest risk of the disease, so that the allocation of fungicides can be optimized.

Example of weekly stripe rust environmental suitability forecast. Yellow to Brown show the areas predicted to be most suitable for stripe rust infection. (Graphic: University of Cambridge/UK Met Office)

The cream of the crop

The early warning system puts Ethiopia at the forefront of early warning systems for wheat rust. “Nowhere else in the world really has this type of system. It’s fantastic that Ethiopia is leading the way on this,” said Hodson. “It’s world-class science from the UK being applied to real-world problems.”

“This is an ideal example of how it is possible to integrate fundamental research in modelling from epidemiology and meteorology with field-based observation of disease to produce an early warning system for a major crop,” said Christopher Gilligan, head of the Epidemiology and Modelling Group at the University of Cambridge and a co-author of the paper, adding that the approach could be adopted in other countries and for other crops.

“The development of the early warning system was successful because of the great collaborative spirit between all the project partners,” said article co-author Clare Sader-Allen, currently a regional climate modeller at the British Antarctic Survey.

“Clear communication was vital for bringing together the expertise from a diversity of subjects to deliver a common goal: to produce a wheat rust forecast relevant for both policy makers and farmers alike.”

RELATED PUBLICATIONS:

An early warning system to predict and mitigate wheat rust diseases in Ethiopia
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4034

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

Dave Hodson, Senior Scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

Marcia MacNeil, Communications Officer, CIMMYT. m.macneil@cgiar.org, +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 2070.

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT. r.ordonez@cgiar.org, +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 1167.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

This study was made possible through the support provided by the BBSRC GCRF Foundation Awards for Global Agriculture and Food Systems Research, which brings top class UK science to developing countries, the Delivering Genetic Gains in Wheat (DGGW) Project managed by Cornell University and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The Government of Ethiopia also provided direct support into the early warning system. This research is supported by CGIAR Fund Donors.

ABOUT CIMMYT:

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.

ABOUT THE ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (EIAR):

The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) is one of the oldest and largest agricultural research institutes in Africa, with roots in the Ethiopian Agricultural Research System (EARS), founded in the late 1940s. EIAR’s objectives are: (1) to generate, develop and adapt agricultural technologies that focus on the needs of the overall agricultural development and its beneficiaries; (2) to coordinate technically the research activities of Ethiopian Agricultural Research System; (3) build up a research capacity and establish a system that will make agricultural research efficient, effective and based on development needs; and (4) popularize agricultural research results. EIAR’s vision is to see improved livelihood of all Ethiopians engaged in agriculture, agro-pastoralism and pastoralism through market competitive agricultural technologies.